Lost In The Forest

LOST IN THE FOREST

by Sue Miller

 

Nomination: Dublin Longlist 2007, Women's Prize Longlist 2006

 

Date Read: February 15, 2021

 

Lost In The Forest is the story of a family in sudden and unwanted transition, of the beauty and difficulty of marriage and the pitfalls of coming of age. As a blended family, these characters seem to have reached a satisfying stasis that is upended with the loss of John, Eva’s current husband. Although John is not Emily and Daisy’s bio-dad (only Theo claims that title), they feel his loss profoundly as their relationship with their bio-dad, Mark (Eva’s ex-husband) doesn’t seem as stable.

 

The loss of John allows both Eva and Mark to re-explore the marriage they abandoned, which leaves Mark wanting Eva back and Eva unsure. Ultimately, their relationship never materializes as they both embark on other more compelling unions with the passage of time.

 

As the family is in chaos, reeling from this loss, Daisy, Mark and Eva’s daughter, is left much to her own devices. She is quickly and uncomfortably seduced by a family friend, Duncan. While the entirety of their relationship made me squirm, I could see why Daisy was seduced – the need to feel special and seen, to be wanted so profoundly, to satisfy ever-consuming hormonal urges, to have a secret that is truly your own. For these reasons and more, Daisy allows herself to fall into Duncan’s desire.

 

As their relationship begins to stale, which is inevitable with their age difference and Duncan’s wife haunting them, Mark gets wind of what is going on under his very nose. He is able to pull Daisy back from the brink. The question then becomes how much damage was really caused? In the end, not too much that can’t be mended. 

 

And as the years roll by and the kids settle into their lives and the grown-ups settle into new relationships, Daisy and Mark are able to look back with fresh eyes. As much as this makes so many uncomfortable and Duncan was definitely out of bounds (Lolita comes to mind and was in fact mentioned in the book), I can think of so many other first romances that weren’t as lovely or forgiving. 

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