The Forest
With such novels asSarumandRusska, Edward  Rutherfurd has laid claim toJames Michener's longtime turf: the immensely researched, meticulously detailed epic ofplace, in which the characters tend to play  second fiddle to the setting.The Forestis the most ambitious  example yet of Rutherfurd's art. This time the location is that bosky  patch of English real estate known as the New Forest. Other writers  have tackled the area before. ButThe Forestis surely the  definitive chronicle, with all the local stories, legends, and  apocrypha woven into an irresistible narrative--think ofThomas  Hardy's power and drama filtered through a very modern  sensibility.Opening with the assassination of King William II in 1099, the book covers nearly a millennium's worth of history. Rutherfurd creates  generation after generation of adroitly realized characters, the best  of whom defy our generic expectations: the canny Brother Adam, for  example, is that rarest of literary creatures, a virtuous man who  doesn't end up being simply bland and anodyne. Rutherfurd may be at his  best when dealing with big-canvas events like the bloody Monmouth  Rebellion of 1685. But he's no slouch at detailing more microcosmic  conflicts, like this head-butting contest between two buck deer:Her buck had hit firmer ground and his feet suddenly got a purchase on  the grass. His hindquarters shivering, he dug in. She saw the shoulders  rise and his neck bear down. And now the interloper was slipping on the  wet leaves. Slowly, cautiously, their antlers locked, the two straining  bucks began to turn. Now they were both on grass. Suddenly the  interloper disengaged. He gave his head a twist. The jagged spike was  aiming at the buck's eye.Bestial behavior? Perhaps. Yet the level of human folly and brutality scattered throughoutThe Forestmakes the foregoing passage resemble an outtake fromBambi--and gives this sylvan saga a very memorable edge.--Barry Forshaw--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.