Title: Our Forest of the Lady
Product review: As a great fan of Guterson's previous novels, I was eager to read "Our Lady of the Forest." Page by page, the book has elements that please, particularly the descriptive treatment of the forest community and Guterson's literate dialog. But ultimately the book fails to satisfy.Ostensibly, the theme is the personal struggle to come to terms with religious experience. But Guterson makes it clear through this book that he has no first-hand religious experience to draw upon: no anguish of soul, no conversion, no sense of devotion, no spiritual witness, and ultimately no faith. We're left with a portrayal of Christianity so lifeless and banal that it might have been pieced together from NPR talk-shows.Please, Mr. Guterson, inform your next novel from your own experience, and people it with folks that you really know.
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