Set on a struggling farm in a fiercely beautiful colonial country teetering on the brink of civil war, this second novel by one of literature’s rising young stars weaves a brilliant tale of family drama and political turmoil. Since his mother’s death ten years earlier, Tom and his father have fashioned a strained peace on their family farm. Everything is frozen under the old man’s vicious, relentless control—even, Tom soon discovers, his own future. When a young woman named Carine enters their lives, the complex triangle of intrigue and affections escalates the tension between the two men to the breaking point. After a catastrophic volcanic eruption ignites the nation’s smoldering discontent into open revolution, Tom, his father, and Carine find themselves questioning their loyalties to one another and their determination to salvage their way of life.

With the author’s trademark spare, spellbinding prose, Gone to the Forest delivers a powerful tale of unfathomable loss and ultimate redemption.

Reader Reviews

Rich

(1/5)

May 01, 2024

there's a chance this whole book is a big metaphor and it's really deep and I didn't get it. otherwise it's really really dull. the plot is depressing but doesn't really keep you gripped, you feel attached to no-one, the writing is very repetitive-which I understand is on purpose, but it's bloody annoying!

Bec

(4/5)

A strange & haunting book. It is hard to pin down exactly what it is about, it is set on a farm during a period of land reclamation & told through the eyes of Tom, a man so bowed down by life or perhaps innate stupidity that he doesn't realise what is going on around him, til the land before his eyes is literally sub-divided into 1 acre farms, where before his land stretched 10 000 acres. But this isn't what it's really about. It's about his relationship with his father, & the girl who is really...

steph // bookplaits

(2/5)

2 stars because it was a quick read, but it was a very 'meh' sort of book. And I didn't really get on with Kitamura's writing - it felt quite stilted and I didn't like her staccato sort of sentences, or her use of full stops where I think commas would have worked better. Such a shame, because the cover of this edition is gorgeous!

Karen

(3/5)

I grabbed this one off a mention on Goodreads, I think. It's a small novel set in an unspecified, generic colonial country during the process of decolonization. The story centers around an old colonial farmer, his hapless adult son, and a woman who enters their lives right around the time things start to go to hell.So, I have some different thoughts about this book. First off: the prose is dense and simple and solid, in the vein of Cormac McCarthy. Kitamura trains her omniscient lens on the land...

Misty

I won this book in the Goodreads giveaways.When I started reading this book after getting into the first few chapters I lost interest in the book but I wanted to finish the book to give it and the author a chance.But after reading it to the end I didn't really care for it I found It a little difficult to read .

Bernie Walsh

The book was interesting however the style of writing just didn't click well for me. I found it to be somewhat methodical in its tone and it left me feeling like I wanted it to hurry along.

Professor Weasel

Reminiscent of early Coetzee.

Kim Skidmore

A stylistically artistic rendition of the age old story of colonialism--> the rape of a country, a people, the fight to save a dying lifestyle, and all of the analogies that go along with it. The characters are one-dimensional: although I do believe that is an intentional, artistic, choice of the author. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy reading this book. The writing is stylistic, but not lyrical and the story is boring... I really didn't care whether I ever picked it up again or not.

Debbie

I won this book from Goodreads First Reads. I really tried to read it, in spite of what I consider elementary school level writing. But when a man is having sex with his son's fiancé, and then she's stripping for more men, I had enough. Life is too short.

Agnes Muscoreil

I did not like any character in the book, I didn't like the style of writing, and I was glad it was a short read. I have no idea what the thought process was behind this book, very depressing! Surprised at all the awards it got, I can't figure that out either. LOL

Meryan

I won it through Good Reads Eirst Reads. It didn't have a plot that I could find,you never found out where it was set, or when it was, and you never cared about the characters.All in all a wasted read.

Connie

First time reading this author. Wasn't really my cup of tea..had to finish reading for a book challenge.

Catherine Weller

(5/5)

Kitamura's deceptively simple prose draws the reader into her tale of colossal colonial and personal collapse and keeps one spellbound to the end. The cast of characters runs from an infuriatingly cold land owner, to his ignorant and naive son, to a victimized and victimizing young woman -- each of them unlikable, each at times sympathetic. And each unwitting participants in the undoing of the world as they know it. The land buckles, social order is breached, and the main characters march (or st...

Amy Rose

This book had so much potential but just seemed to fall short. I wanted to like it, I did. The majority of the book is very slow and almost boring with not much development. The characters are all very unlikable with no real redeeming qualities. The last few chapters had me more interested and invested in the plot but this was abruptly ended by a vague attempt to end the story on a meaningful note which seemed to fall flat and was at best, frustrating and annoying. Just when the story starts to

Gwen

We're not told where this novel is set. The land looks a little bit like everywhere, with its river, forest, and open plains for farming, and the 'natives' are never described. The only time Kitamura is specific is when she talks about the old man, his son Tom, and the other 'white settlers'. She tells us that old man appears in this land one day, walks to the river, and decides that a 'spine' of 100,000 acres along it belong to him. He becomes a farmer and supplements his income by renting out

Scott Simpson

This book has all kinds of problems.

Laura

This book was well written, but not my style. I just wasn't a favorite; luckily, it was fairly short, so I did finish it quickly.

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Gone to the Forest

Gone to the Forest

Gone to the Forest

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Reader Reviews