Reviews for Green Mansions

The average rating for Green Mansions based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-03-01 00:00:00 Sergio De La Madrid Torre Sigh… this is a novel that has lived in my memory as a beloved book from my late teenage years. I first stumbled across this book deep in the stacks of my university library while randomly browsing in order to take a break from proving some tedious, complicated mathematical theorem. Perhaps it was the dullness of the mathematical formulas that in comparison led me to believe this book was truly magical. I became completely obsessed with the book and at the time considered it to be one of the most romantic stories ever written! I read this perhaps three times over the course of the next five years following my first reading, and my opinion did not alter. Then time slipped away, I moved out of town, the book was a precious memory… I eventually forgot about it. Then I joined Goodreads and tried to recall some novels that made an impact on me in my younger days. This one came to mind, but for the life of me I could not recall the title or the author… yes, some 25 years or so had passed, but still… perhaps this should have been a sign to leave well enough alone. I eventually figured it out, and back it went onto my to-read shelf. Needless to say, it did not have the same impact this time around! The story is narrated by a young man, Abel, who has taken refuge with an Indian tribe in the tropical forests of Venezuela. The tribe fears entering the depths of one part of the jungle; their fear deriving from a superstition regarding the daughter of the "Didi", who they believe wishes them harm. Abel, however, does not harbor any misgivings about the forest, and ventures out to explore. The vivid and beautiful descriptions of the local flora and fauna are the most redeeming qualities of the book, in my opinion. They were captivating and reflect the true love that W.H. Hudson had for the natural world. It is here that Abel then encounters the object of the tribe's superstition - Rima, an ethereal, bird-like girl; her mysterious and enchanting songs will lure Abel farther and farther into the forest. "… before I had been resting many moments it was broken by a low strain of exquisite bird-melody, wonderfully pure and expressive, unlike any musical sound I had ever heard before. … its greatest charm was its resemblance to the human voice - a voice purified and brightened to something almost angelic. … The blood rushed to my heart as I listened; my nerves tingled with a strange new delight, the rapture produced by such music heightened by a sense of mystery." Rima represents all that is lovely and pure in nature. Abel quickly falls in love with this angelic creature. Rima seems to be the last survivor of some mystical race of people, yet in her isolation she seeks to find more of her kind. She sets out on a journey with the help of Abel and her 'grandfather', Nuflo. This journey becomes likened to a battle between mankind and nature, paralleling man's greed and exploitation with the peace and harmony of the natural world. On the surface, this is still a decent novel. Unfortunately, perhaps as a product of its time (written in 1904), the racist language is pervasive throughout. In his narration, Abel frequently refers to the South American Indian tribes as 'savages', 'inferior', and of the white man being intellectually superior. I have found that I am not a big fan of Romanticism, having read one or two other works from this period that have seemed too flowery or overwritten. I do enjoy descriptive writing, but this style in particular grates on my nerves a bit. While I was quite fond of Rima, Abel on the other hand was arrogant and rather unlikeable. I do appreciate the fact he exhibited some growth towards the end of the novel, yet this did not manage to ultimately endear him to me. I think this book is a worthwhile read in the sense that it is an excellent reminder about what we as human beings need to consider if we truly desire to protect our natural resources and ensure the longevity of our planet. I can't really wholeheartedly recommend Green Mansions any longer; yet for nostalgic purposes, some splendid descriptions of nature, and the vital message contained within, I will rate this one 3 stars. "The sense of the beautiful is God's best gift to the human soul." - W.H. Hudson

Review # 2 was written on 2009-03-22 00:00:00 Greg Heiges Green Mansions: a Romance of the Tropical Forest (1904) is an exotic romance by W. H. Hudson (1841-1922) about a traveller to the Guyana jungle of southeastern Venezuela and his encounter with a forest dwelling girl named Rima. Hudson was born in Argentina, son of settlers of U.S. origin. He spent his youth studying the local flora and fauna and observing both natural and human dramas on what was then a lawless frontier, publishing his ornithological work in Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society, initially in an English mingled with Spanish idioms. He settled in England during 1869. He produced a series of ornithological studies which helped foster the back-to-nature movement of the 1920s and 1930s. He was a founding member of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Hudson wrote more than three dozen books during his life but by far his best known novel is Green Mansions, and his best known non-fiction is a memoir, Far Away and Long Ago (1918). When I began to reread Green Mansions recently I instantly remembered why it impressed me so much. More than most other authors Hudson is able to instill the sense of wonder through his protagonist Abel who, while living by the Orinoco river in Venezuela, is drawn to the forest lands by strange bird-like singing. There he discovers a young girl named Rima and it is her story that takes up much of the remainder of the novel. She is unspoiled and wild like the animals among whom she lives. She knows neither the evil nor guile common to most civilized humans. This gives her supernatural stature in the eyes of the worldly Abel, who falls passionately in love with her. Hudson based Rima and her lost tribe on persistent rumors about a tribe of white people who lived in the mountains. Temple paintings often showed light-skinned people, and Spanish Conquistadors were at first thought to be gods. I first read this novel when I was in high school and the memory of its' evocative and lyrical prose has lingered over the intervening decades. With qualities of a striking and original sort it has an enchantment; its pages are haunted by an unearthly perception of beauty and a wonderment that stirs the imagination. The story is one of people who are almost in an original state of nature, a romantic, if flawed, view that suggests their world may be better than civilization. Green Mansions is one of the few novels ever to become an undisputed classic during the author's lifetime. It inspired a statue of Rima that you can find in Kensington Garden, London. It is a book I found to be truly enthralling and full of romantic magic making it a great read.