The Forrests

The Forrests Book coverDorothy Forrest is immersed in the sensory world around her; she lives in the flickering moment.

From the age of seven, when her odd, disenfranchised family moves from New York City to the wide skies of Auckland, to the very end of her life, this is her great gift and possible misfortune.

Through the wilderness of a commune, to falling in love, to early marriage and motherhood, from the glorious anguish of parenting to the loss of everything worked for and the unexpected return of love, Dorothy is swept along by time. Her family looms and recedes; revelations come to light; death changes everything, but somehow life remains as potent as it ever was, and the joy in just being won’t let her go.

In a narrative that shifts and moves, growing as wild as the characters, The Forrests is an extraordinary literary achievement. A novel that sings with colour and memory, it speaks of family and time, dysfunction, ageing and loneliness, about heat, youth, and how life can change if ‘you’re lucky enough to be around for it’.

Prizes, Reviews, and Media for The Forrests

 

PRIZES

Longlisted, 2013 Women’s Prize for Literature
Shortlisted, 2013 New Zealand Post Book Award for Fiction
 

REVIEWS

Links to reviews on the Bloomsbury book page

‘Transcendent’ Publishers Weekly starred review

‘Exhilarating: intensely attentive, funny, lyrical and moving.’ Daily Telegraph Books of the Year

‘…part of the magnificence of the novel is the way in which each of the 20 chapters can be read as a stand-alone piece… the center always holds.’ The Daily Beast

‘This beautiful, kaleidoscopic novel shows life as messy and complex yet illuminated by love’ People Magazine, US

‘beautifully written, original’ Philadelphia Inquirer

‘remarkable’ Michelle de Kretser in The Monthly

‘…word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, this book accelerates into brilliance’ Saturday Review, BBC Radio 4

‘Magnificent’ The Independent

‘gives the reader a total emotional intimacy… a daring experiment that comes off’ Sydney Morning Herald

‘A work of great emotional depth… exceptional’ Overland Literary Journal

‘Savour every word’ Kill Your Darlings

‘Dot’s warmth and joy are what carry the reader through the story, but it’s the thoughtful exploration of notions of identity, selfhood and – yes! – the meaning of life and the meaning in a life that last well beyond the final page. The Forrests is a simply wonderful book.’ The Listener

‘funny, painful, and utterly mesmerising’ The Independent on Sunday

‘stylistically… exuberant… abounds in quotable lines’ North & South

‘A book of the year and then some’ The Lady

The Forrests would be an ideal book for a reading group; the sisters’ experience of sex, love, children, cancer, resentment against their parents and ageing are all beautifully done. Every word counts, but the novel is also a page-turner. Very highly recommended’ Readers Digest

‘There is heart to this novel… real, tangible soul’ fictionuncovered.co.uk

‘authentic and true and extremely poignant’ Tales From The Reading Room

‘Vividly human characters, gorgeous writing… full of surprises, twists, turns and moments of illumination, quiet but profound in its brilliance…’ Pickle Me This

‘This is one of those rare and precious books that made me want to pick up my pen and write.’ Paula Green in the NZ Herald

‘Nuanced, compelling and a treat for the mind, senses and emotion.’ 5 stars, Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine (PDF 1.5mb)’


MEDIA

Radio New Zealand’s recording of The Forrests, read by Fiona Samuel.

‘A tender and delicate epic of family ties and obsession … Perkins writes wonderfully sensuous prose as though she’s writing, and we’re reading with a layer of skin removed … We think we know where a character’s life is going and then we turn the page and suddenly it goes somewhere else. It’s just like holding up a glass and you’re seeing different kinds of light through it; it’s a filmic effect, it’s a poetic effect, it’s like listening to a song’ Ian McMillan, introducing Emily on BBC Radio 3 The Verb

An interview with ABC Radio Books and Arts.

A playlist for The Forrests, over at Largehearted Boy.

‘…literary fiction at its most luscious’ Damian Barr of Shoreditch House Literary Salon picks The Forrests as a summer read in the Daily Mail

A write-up and photos from the book launch on Beattie’s Book Blog.

Five Easy Questions in the NZ Book Council newsletter

‘[the] writing is incredibly spontaneous and refreshing’ An interview with Angela Meyer in Australia’s Bookseller & Publisher magazine