The Forsyte Saga, Volume II. Indian Summer of a Forsyte In Chancery Kindle Edition

This short novel is poignant. It involves perhaps the most sympathetic character of the Forsyte Saga--Old Jolyon--dying.Even though I've read Indian Summer before, I turn the pages dreading the end. I fear that, the older I get, the sadder--or maybe, more relevant the book becomes.The qualities that set Old Jolyon apart from his siblings--love of beauty and capacity to care for another--are in full bloom. And, as in The Man of Property, the love object is Irene. Jolyon is 81; Irene, 28. This relationship knows limits; yet, what is available to both is touching, and makes a thoughtful reader consider and appreciate the extent to which his or her life includes the qualities that Old Jolyon cherishes.

The second volume of John Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga is a masterful work. The characters, while very wealthy and privileged, have lives are replete with pain, love, loneliness, regret, and joy. This book which centers around the stigma of divorce, surely was more provocative is his time than it is today, yet one can clearly see the difficulties it presented in turn-of-the-20th century Britain. His writing style was absolutely masterful with some of the most beautiful phrasing I've ever read. Before reading this book, I didn't realize he won the Nobel Prize for literature. I can easily see why. I am even more amazed that he isn't a better known literary figure today.

Arrived promptly in perfect condition. HOWEVER the print used in this instance is so small it’s beyond rediculous. I have to return.

This is one of my favorites. I hated to reach the end because it meant goodbye to characters that have become so familiar .I can’t wait to continue with the saga,

Americans did not come up with conspicuous consumption. A glimpse into the inner workings of how the British upper middle class defines itself and those around them.

In this, the second book of the Forsyte Saga, Galsworthy continues his look at an upper-middle class family in late Victorian England, concentrating mainly on the doings of Soames Forsyte and his wife Irene. At the end of book one, The Man of Property, Irene had left her husband after he raped her. This book begins twelve years later, when Soames comes to feel that he needs a son to inherit all the wealth he has so lovingly accumulated. He decides to seek a divorce so that he may remarry, but when he meets his former wife again his old passion is reawakened, and he begins to stalk her to browbeat her into coming back to him. When his first cousin, young Jolyon, helps Irene to escape from him, a family feud begins which will surely extend through the generations.All of this sounds rather like a standard soap opera, but Galsworthy's extraordinary writing talent makes it so much more. It is also a picture of changing times in attitudes toward standards of conduct and of the roles and rights of women. Soames, who could have been portrayed in an entirely unfavorable light, is afforded a measure of sympathy as a man who has been shaped by his country's and his family's viewpoints concerning the importance of reputation and property who is thus entirely bewildered when his former wife refuses to conform to his wishes, even though she tells him she detests him.Galsworthy is a wonder of a writer. I look forward to the final installment in the Forsyte Saga.

Old Jolyon was easily the most likable and sympathetic character in A Man of Property, so, while it's sad to see him exit the series, it's also a pleasure to get to spend more time with him. This short installment is necessarily less sordid than its predecessor, and so I enjoyed it quite a bit more. Its musings on life and death are thought-provoking, even if the short length keeps the story as a whole from reaching any great depth.