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Title: Daughter of the Forest (The Sevenwaters Trilogy | Book 1) |
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Review of Daughter of the Forest (The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Book 1)
- Lovely Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light in their lives, they are determined that she know only contentment.
But Sorcha's joy is shattered when her father is bewitched by his new wife, an evil enchantress who binds her brothers with a terrible spell, a spell which only Sorcha can lift-by staying silent. If she speaks before she completes the quest set to her by the Fair Folk and their queen, the Lady of the Forest, she will lose her brothers forever.
When Sorcha is kidnapped by the enemies of Sevenwaters and taken to a foreign land, she is torn between the desire to save her beloved brothers, and a love that comes only once. Sorcha despairs at ever being able to complete her task, but the magic of the Fair Folk knows no boundaries, and love is the strongest magic of them all...
Product Description
- At the heart of this surprisingly accomplished first novel, first book of the Sevenwaters trilogy, is a retelling of an ancient Celtic legend. Marillier's story, however, is much more than a slightly disguised fairy tale. Young Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Irish Lord Colum of Sevenwaters, a domain well protected from invading Saxons and Britons by dense forest where, legend says, fey Deirdre, the Lady of the Forest, walks the woodland paths at night. Colum is first and foremost a warrior, bent on maintaining his lands against all outsiders. Not all of his sons are so bound to the old ways, and that family friction leads to outright disobedience when Sorcha and her brother Finbar help a Briton captive escape from Colum's dungeon. Soon after, Colum brings home a new wife who ensorcels everyone she can't otherwise manipulate. By her spell Sorcha's brothers are cursed to become swans. Only Sorcha, hiding deep in the forest, can break the spell by painfully weaving shirts of starwort nettle--but then Sorcha is captured by Britons and taken away across the sea. Determined to break the curse despite her captivity, Sorcha continues to work, little expecting that ultimately she will have to chose between saving her brothers and protecting the Briton lord who has defended her throughout her trials. Marillier's writing is deft and heartfelt, bypassing the usual bombast of fantasy fireworks for a rich, magical story of loyalty and love. --Charlene Brusso
Amazon.com
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Comments for Daughter of the Forest (The Sevenwaters Trilogy | Book 1)
- Posted on 2008-07-02
Gorgeous fairy tale retelling
First book in the Sevenwaters trilogy.
Marillier has crafted a gorgeous retelling of a Celtic fairytale. Lord Colum, an Irish widower, with six sons and a daughter, buries his grief at his beloved wife's death by throwing himself into fortifying his stronghold in order to withstand the endless attacks of the Britons.
Finbar believes that his father is too harsh and decides to help a wounded Briton escape from Colum's dungeon. He asks his young sister Sorcha, a gifted healer, to save the man's life. She does, but is soon forced to leave him on his own. He escapes into the forest, where he disappears.
Meanwhile, Colum remarries, but Sorcha's new step-mother is a witch, literally. When she discovers that she can't control Colum's children, she turns the sons into swans. Sorcha, hiding in the forest, is told by the fairy folk that she can save her brothers, but the task will be difficult and she must complete it without telling anyone what she is doing. The only way to break the spell is to weave a shirt for each brother out of nettles. If she utters a single sound before the task is complete, her brothers will be trapped in their animal forms forever.
After being brutally raped, Sorcha is captured by the older brother of the Briton whose life she saved. Because of a trinket she carries, Red knows that she has met his brother. He vows to keep her with him until she speaks to him about his brother.
Sorcha will not speak, as to do so will doom her brothers. Despite the pain caused by the nettles, as well as various other threats to her health and safety, Sorcha continues to weave the shirts and to keep silent. Finally, Sorcha is forced to make a choice between saving her beloved brothers or the man who has protected her and who she has come to love.
Beautifully written.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2008-06-09
Still Dazed...
Upon having devoured this book in a day and a half,
I was positively bedazzled, mystified and hypnotized, though not without some overpowering sense of loss. For because of these alluring, real characters and settings, I'd myself unwittingly become a part of them;
I felt, thought, and reacted as though everything, in some way or other, would directly affect ME.
I think this is why I'd been so taken with Daughter of the Forest;
though I very much appreciated the refreshing irony of a fairy tale having dark undertones, it was still difficult for me to fully acknowledge the way the story ended, with its beloved characters each going their seperate ways, so different from traditional happily-ever-after's.
Whether I found this part of the story depressingly bleak or not, it still is one of the most enchanting works of fiction I've come across.
I Could not recommend it enough.
Score: 5 - Posted on 2008-05-01
i love it!
this is one of my favorite books in the entire world! i first picked this in grade 9 or 10 and to this day it remains one of my favorite and most highly recommended books. i think that marillier is wonderful with words. after reading the first paragraph of this book i was enthralled. i've loved faeries all my life, but after reading this book i became interested in celtic culture and started reading up on it. the characters are all very well done. sorcha is a strong, resiliant woman that you thoroughly enjoy reading about, though my personal favorite character is finbar. i have given this book to both my mother and grandmother and aunt and they all loved it. this is a definite purchase!
Score: 5 - Posted on 2008-03-19
A strong and endearing heroine
This novel is one of the few books that has emotionally touched me. I wouldn't classify this book as entertainment but rather as an experience - an emotional journey with its protagonist that despite the historical setting and the element of magic is so grounded in human realities.
The story is set in pagan times when the tension between the Brits and the Irish was just brewing. Amidst this political tension is a far greater force - the spirit world of the Irish forest that plays with the lives of seven gifted siblings. Sorcha is the seventh daughter of a seventh son and she possesses the power of healing. When her widowed father marries the mysterious lady Oonagh her brothers are turned into swans and Sorcha has to save them by weaving shirts of the poisonous starwort plant that stings and disfigures her hands. Most importantly she cannot speak until she finishes her task.
This novel is Sorcha's story. It recounts the hardships she faced alone in the forest. The terrible experience of loneliness, of privation and abuse that makes the reader suffer with her (I cried on three occasions). However it also recounts Sorcha's fateful discovery of love in the most unlikely place and is therefore a tender love story of two people who have to reconcile their loyalties and let fate take its course.
The only flaw I found in the book is that with so much sorrow and challenges imposed upon the protagonists, the novel ends like a traditional fairy tale on a happy note. I found it difficult to accept. However this element can be forgiven as the novel also ends with a lot of questions about the other characters. Who is the mysterious figure lurking in Sorcha's vision? Where has Finbar (her brother) gone? Will Diarmid and Cormack return? What of the lady Oonagh?
I found this book difficult to put down and contradictorily wanted to prolong the reading experience and get to the end at the same time. It's one of the best books I have read and would recommend it to all. Can't wait to read the second book. Too bad it's not available in my country.
Score: 5 - Posted on 2008-02-21
Transformative and Captivating
I actually loved this book. It was one of those books that I found it nearly impossible to put down and I was left feeling bereft when it ended. Set in ancient Ireland, the tale weaves together elements of magic, folktales, and history. Her main character, Sorcha, is the daughter of Lord Colum, and sister to six brothers. When the father brings home a new stepmother for the children, chaos ensues. The stepmother is described as almost unequivocally evil, and capable of great magic. That might, in fact, be my one criticism - her character was not only evil, it was a little flat. I don't hink that detracted from the book at all, and I suspect we may learn more of her in the following two books.
The family is pitted against the people from the British Isles, and there is enough strife and conflict in here to have anyone hurriedly flipping pages. The book is also sad in many ways, but redemptive. I can't wait to read the sequels. If you like folk or fairy tales or historical novels in any way, read this book.
Score: 4