By Joni:
David Guterson is the author of one of my all time favorite novels - Snow Falling on Cedars - so I picked this book up hoping to find something similar. While I didn't find it as lyrical as Snow Falling on Cedars, I did enjoy it and I recommend it.
Our Lady of the Forest is the story of a 15 year old runaway named Ann who, while picking mushrooms in the rainy forests of the Pacific northwest, sees a vision of the Virgin Mary. Guterson explores how this event - whether real or imagined - impacts on the constellation of people around Ann.
The novel explores some of the uglier of human failings including child sexual abuse and drug use and one scene in particular was so horrific to me that I think I must have somehow read it with my eyes closed. A character named Tom Cross is interesting. He is at times unredeemable and at other times just tragic. His fate in the final chapter doesn't ring true for me. It's too easy. I love that his name is Tom "Cross" - a veiled reference to the cross he has to bear.
I was happy to discover that Guterson has two other novels: East of the Mountains and The Drowned Son. I am starting East of the Mountains this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes!
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