Circles in a Forest

Dalene Matthee Bosboeke #1

by Dalene Matthee

A descendant of the first Dutch colonists in South Africa comes of age in the late 1800s, torn between his love of the Knysna Forest and its wildlife and the demands of his family and a dramatically changing world

Genres: Fiction, Africa, South Africa, Historical Fiction, Classics, Drama, Animals

305 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Dalene Matthee (nee Scott) matriculated in 1957 and went on to study music at a conservatorium in Oudtshoorn as well as at the Holy Cross Covent in Graaff-Reinet.

Before gaining fame and wide acclaim for her first "forest novel", she also wrote stories for magazines as well as two popular novels - ’n Huis vir Nadia (A House for Nadia) (1982) and Petronella van Aarde, burgemeester (Petronella van Aarde, Mayor) (1983).

Kringe in ’n bos (Circles in a forest) (1984), a novel about the extermination of the elephants and the exploitation of the woodcutters of the Knysna forest, was an international success. Two other highly successful "forest novels" followed: Fiela se Kind (Fiela's Child) in 1985 and Moerbeibos (The Mulberry Forest) in 1987. Fiela's Child and Circles in a forest were filmed. She also won numerous literary prizes for her works.

After a short sickbed caused by heart failure, she died in Mossel Bay, South Africa. She was survived by her three daughters; her husband, Larius, died in 2003.

Reviews

[L.G. Cullens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a rare gem in the world of literature, written with consummate skill and uncommon insight. Set in the late 1800s in South Africa, it reflects both timelessness and universality.

I'm not surprised that the book's blurb/synopsis fails to do the story justice, because this is truly a 1 + 1 > 2 writing that is difficult to capture the gist of. Yes, the main character, Saul Barnard, is disturbed by the wanton destruction of the Knysna Forest, it's wildlife, and its fiercely independent human inhabitants, but the story is so much more. Saul Barnard, a descendant of the first Dutch colonists in South Africa, subjected to English exploitation, is torn between his love of the Knysna Forest and its wildlife, the demands of his family, and a dramatically changing world. It's a coming of age story, an awakening to the connectedness of the natural world, an insightful and intimate depiction of a broad range of human emotions and proclivities (destructive and productive), and a parallel mystical kinship with a majestic wild elephant, all in all an engrossing story catching the reader up in the tension and playing with the reader's emotions. On the surface it is a simple enough story, but as a thoughtful reader is pulled in there are multiple layers to experience and contemplate.

To me this is the best form of eco-lit, immersing readers in the natural world without them necessarily realizing. As with this story, hopefully more will come to understand that it is the consequences of our actions that our children will have to live with.

Different passages will catch different readers attention, but these are some small bits that stood out for me:

“Were they right and was he wrong? he suddenly wonders. Is being slave, being dog, being nothing, being blind not perhaps the better way and you, in your stupidity, just did not realise it? Does it really matter where the blue buck’s gall is? Or where you believe it is? Yes, it matters! To believe a lie is to betray yourself. To walk past a truth because the path of the untruth is well trodden is just the same. Let him then be guilty of everything, but not that!”


“It took him four years to learn that life was a crooked circle. The woodcutter killed the Forest, the wood-buyer killed the woodcutter. Round and round and round you walked the crooked circle. Year in, year out. Where Harison or his men stopped them today, they felled tomorrow because the Government – who paid Harison to save the Forest – were putting on pressure from the west for more and more wood for railway lines, wood for jetties, wood for harbours, wood for the mines, wood for making wagons that had to take man and his possessions north! Wood for tables and chairs and cupboards and beds! Wood! Wood! Wood!”


“You won’t catch me that way. The Forest has been put at the mercy of man, and man, my dear Kate, is the most merciless creature on earth.”

“I do not agree with you. I know exceptions; you are one of them.”

“Don’t be fooled that easily; man is merciful as long as it suits him and as long as his mercy doesn’t stand between him and other things. I suspect the Government is weighing wood and gold on the same scale at the moment; gold will be heavier in the end because the diggers are demanding it, therefore the Government will be merciful and their mercy will mean that the diggers can destroy this Forest as they please. Lower down in the Big Forest, the woodcutters are destroying it because they have to live; a hungry stomach, hungry children, know no mercy for things they do not understand. De Regné is powerless against hungry stomachs and fortune-hunters, and if I stay here, the day will come when the picks and shovels and stamp-mills will catch up with me in every remote corner. I will hear their guns destroying the forest life and I will have no means of defence. I hear from Frank Jefferson that the same thing happened to many of the forests of Europe; miles and miles and miles of oak forests were felled by man, leaving naked earth. It took two thousand mature oak trees to build one fighting ship. So you see, Kate, for some or other reason, man always takes more than he needs or is entitled to… I have watched this Forest being wounded – I’m not staying to see it die.”


Whether he stays or not I leave for you to find out. What I will say is that the ending of this story brought tears and some solace to this world-weary old naturalist, especially for the majestic wild elephant as a symbol of all that sustains us.

[Coenraad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit maak nie saak hoeveel keer ek dié boek lees nie (selfs al is dit meermale omdat ek dit as voorgeskrewe boek behandel), dit bly uitstekend, interessant en ontroerend. My suster het onlangs die saak knap opgesom: Dalene Matthee was dalk nie die koningin van skrywers nie, maar sy was die koningin van storievertellers. Sela.

Rereading (even because I use it as setwork with my students) does not exhaust this excellently told story.

[Chrisl · Rating 5 out of 5]

27June2020 - Planning a re-read ... found article providing contemporary perspective. (No more travels in my life, but visiting Knysna would be on short list.)
https://www.knysnacharters.com/home/s...
***
7/12/17 - (There exists a video based on the book. I don't recommend it. What little I watched wasn't appealing. Video review noted differences in versions.)
***
Perhaps it s the loss of the woodcutting culture -- something from the book stuck within -- I need a re-immersion in the forest.
***
Wish I had not given away my copy. Definitely re-read class. One of those places and times on earth I would like to have experienced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knysna-A...
This wiki article certainly could benefit from some indigenous people's perspective, or even that of the lowest class whites depicted by Matthee.

[Traveller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rainforest and the elephants, both endangered by destruction from ever-greedy exploiters, are, for me, the stars of this charming and poignant novel.

[Ilze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Besides the intricate human relationships one reads about in this book (which I would rate one up from Fiela's Child), one also gets to know African elephants and - most important of all - trees. If anything, one comes to realize what an absolute tragedy it is that trees are being stripped from this earth at a tremendous rate, and once they're down, there is nothing you can do to get them as tall and as beautiful again.

For those not living in South Africa, us South Africans are facing a major tragedy as far as trees go: New legislation is forcing us to take any tree down that is not indigenous. Some of the trees, e.g. the Jacarandas in Pretoria (soon to be called Tshwane), have been growing there for years. What is this country going to do without the shade they provide? Turn into another Sahara desert?

[R.L. Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great foreign language book, which a friend in South Africa sent me, to practice reading Afrikaans and, at the same time, learn something of the history and culture of the Afrikaners, or Boers. It is a powerful story set in 19th century South Africa. I found it very interesting and educational in learning the language and gaining an insight into this great culture and a country which I hope to visit someday. If you don't know Afrikaans, that's no reason not to read and enjoy this book, as it's also available in an English translation, Circles in a Forest.

[Shadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dalene Matthee has an incredible way of describing life in the Forest in South Africa in the 19th century (read also Fiela's Child)! I got sucked in with all the detail, I felt like I was living there. Although it was set over 100 years ago, many of the stories are relevant today. Not to mention the whole theme of struggle with one's self, others, nature, change, reality, myth, ... etc. Like others who have reviewed this book, I found it a little slow to start but later I did not want the story to end.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

This affricaans language author from South Africa is excellent! Her works have obviously been translated into English, making her accessible not only to non-affricaans speakers in SA, but to the world anglophone community. Her stories are well told - I highly recommend this particular story, about the coming of age of a young man who wants to connect with the world beyond the enclosed forest and its families of the Knysna region along the south coast of SA. Wonderful!!

[Margitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hierdie boek was my eerste kennismaking met Dalene Mathee wat my al haar boeke laat koop het.
Sy het net 'n aanslag wat nie geëwenaar kan word nie, alhoewel sy as mentor opgetree het vir Annelie Botes. Dalene se "Kringe in 'n Bos" is 'n boek wat 'n mens gryp en nie los nie. Misterieus, werklik, histories korrek, geloofbaar in alle opsigte. Sy ken haar onderwerp. Haar vroeë dood was 'n groot slag vir die Afrikaanse leserswereld.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it in the original Afrikaans, of course. Haven't read the English translation yet so can't speak for that. But the original book is haunting, stayed with me, even years later. The descriptions of the Knysna forest and the people living there, were done with love and caring eyes.

[Zanrik Steenkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uitstaande gebruik van simboliek. Die deurlopende tema van kringe wat onderskeidelik die hede en die verlede aanmekaar bind tot 'n sikliese eenheid, is meesterlik voltrek en is dus 'n onontbeerlike leserservaring vir die Afrikaanse fynproewer.

[Zoe Zuniga · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is yet another gorgeously crafted book by Dalene Matthe. Her characters are so believable because she is able to show every detail of how it feels to grow up in the forest. It took me a minute to orient myself to the era and the place which were foreign to me. But with her incredible descriptions and dialog I became a 19th century dutch wood cutter living in the forest in South Africa. I feel as if I know the forest inch by inch.

Her book describes the class struggle and the ecological disaster of the human greed. the dutch wood cutters know nothing else except cutting down the forest and being enslaved to the company store.
More and more people come to rape the forest taking ivory, gold and diamonds and leaving a gutted bleeding landscape behind along with the people who live there.

Her description of the thought processes that create this vicisous circle of poverty, slave labor and tradition help us understand now human beings become so entrenched in beliefs that they cannot change. She shows us how visionaries are punished for having new ideas and how human creativity, wisdom and intuition are mutilated by the small minded fear of those who recognize greatness and fear it.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saul Barnard comes from a long line of woodcutters in the Knysna forest of South Africa. Only Saul is different...he begins to question some of the lore and is accused of having his head in the clouds. He realizes what all the cutting is doing to the future of the forest, and he gets wise to the unscrupulous dealings of the wood-buyers in the village. But trying to make his family and relatives aware of what's happening labels him as a traitor. He wants to fight to save the forest and the elephants. In fact, he seems to have a strange understanding with one elephant in particulr, Old Foot. Years later he hears that the elephants have been on a rampage and he must go back. The storyline goes back and forth between the "present" day return to the forest and his experiences growing up to get to this point.
Although I've never actually been to the Knysna Forest, I feel as if I have - the descriptions are THAT good. I found myself really feeling for Saul with the emotional roller coaster and also for Old Foot and the elephants as their habitat was destroyed.
I definitely want to read this again - as I'm sure that there are events at the beginning that, knowing the end, I'll catch earlier.

[Anette Lenk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful piece of work, Dalene wove her whole story through the use of circles....you go from one to another and then the whole completion of the beginning forms another circle at the end of the book. She has done thorough research and although the book is translated from Afrikaans it reads as if English was the original language. The story is about the Knysna forest in the Cape, South Africa. It tells the story of the forest people and the elephants and how they interact with each other. It is a book that will make you hungry for more. Dalene only wrote a few books before she passed away. Another master piece is 'Fiela's child' - also a must read!

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the best books I have read, Dalene Matthee produced a book that, at times, has the beauty of Dickens yet the simple but elegant style of Steinbeck. A moving story written by a talented South African author. There are so many levels at which the reader can enjoy this little gem. I would like to read the Afrikaans version as the few lines of Afrikaans she writes are exquisite. I will definitely look for more of her books.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dis rêgrig n besonderse boek. Een van die beste boeke wat ek gelees het

[Celine · Rating 5 out of 5]

hierdie boek het my soveel emosies laat voel. die band wat saul en oupoot het, die liefde en woede wat hy teenoor die bos en die mense daar binne voel is so mooi geskryf dat jy saam met die karakter lag, huil, skree en jouself soek. saul wat vir homself opstaan en weet dat hy beter verdien maar ook dat hy verward is oor wat om te doen tref jou in jou eensame siel en jy word, nee jy is, saul barnard.

[Duncanator · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I see why this book is a classic. I really loved it. There were a couple of issues with the translation (it seemed a little stilted sometimes) but overall it was a really great book.

[Christian Crowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The description of a vanishing world of the forest, along with the plants, animals and people who inhabited it, is my favorite part of this book. The contrast between the classes and language groups is also fascinating.

My pen-pal from South Africa sent me the Afrikaans and English versions of this book, and I sent her a variety of books on Native Americans. Reading the two versions in parallel, along with a copy of Teach Yourself Afrikaans and Colloquial Afrikaans, I was able to get the hang of reading Mathhee's words in her original language. I'm inspired to try the same approach for improving my reading skills for French and Spanish.

[Maggie Luck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book once back in 1986 while I was walking through the forests where this takes place. I then read it again in 2008. The magic of the book is in the setting - colonial days in a forest on the southern tip of Africa where the elephants hide.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel that highlights how uncontrolled human activity destroys all that is good about nature. Set in a forest in South Africa the woodcutters are struggling to make a living. Unfettered wood extraction is causing irreparable damage to the environment, something the government is trying to manage, but with little success. Some woodcutters have started shooting the native elephants for their ivory. This and the reduction of suitable habitat from timber extraction means that their population is declining. Against this backdrop gold is found in the local river leading to a gold rush with further disastrous consequences for the natural world.

The story is told through the eyes of one of the woodcutters as he grows up from his late childhood into his early adult life. From a young age he has a close affinity with the natural world. He starts questioning the damage that his family's business is doing to this leading to an ongoing family feud that remains unresolved for much of the story. He tries to make his own way in the world but is soon in conflict with others.

He discovers how differences in race, class and wealth translate into social injustice. He recognises this when he sees how his family are cheated by the timber merchants. He and they are treated as an underclass who do not have the same rights as the privileged few. The gold rush and the consequent damage done to the forest are the last straw. Determined to make some one pay he sets out to thwart a planned killing of the biggest and oldest elephant still living.

Well written with lovely descriptions of the native fauna and flora I quickly identified with the main character and his concerns. Although written 30 years ago and about an earlier era, these remain relevant to today's environmental worries. Destruction of forests continues, many "big game" species are threatened by extinction and humans' needs for ever more mineral and other natural resources means that mankind is in the midst of an environmental emergency. Whilst the novel ended on a positive note with some kind of resolution to the main character's conflicts this is far from the case with our relationship with nature.

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saul Barnard is deel van ‘n derde generasie houtkappers in die Knysna woude. Dis harde werk vir geen geld nie, gevaarlike werk te danke aan siektes en olifante, ondankbare werk aangesien die houtkappers as minder as mense gesien word deur die mense in die dorp. Min van die houtkappers kan lees en skryf en hulle werk hulle lywe moeg vir bietjie suiker, twak en meel. Die hoeveelheid goodfor wat hulle kry by die houtkopers raak al hoe meer en die houtkopers word net Ryker by die dag.

Saul is anders gebore. Hy dink met sy kop. Hy aanvaar nie al die stories, tradisies en misbruik net so nie, hy bevraagteken dinge. Dit maak die ander houtkappers ongemaklik en hulle verwerp hom stukkie vir stukkie. Die dag toe Saul sien dat die bloubokkie se gal nie in sy kop sit nie, weet hy niks gaan ooit weer dieselfde wees nie.

Saul weet hy moet uit, daar’s ‘n beter lewe daar buite. ‘n Lewe waar niemand af kyk na jou nie, ‘n lewe waar hy niemand iets skuld nie, ‘n lewe ver uit die bos uit, 'n lewe waar Kate is. Toe daar gerugte van goud in die bos die rondte doen, gebruik Saul alles in sy vermoë om eerste deel te wees van dit. Om hopelik te kry wat sy geboortereg is as iemand van die Bos. Om sy eie mense te help. Om te help keer dat die Bos verder vernietig word. Om uit te kom uit die Bos, moet hy weer teruggaan na die plek van sy geboorte, sy mense en die plek van Oupoot.

[Meital Ben-Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

ספר נפלא! מזכיר לי את דרום אפריקה של ילדותי. ממליצה בחום !!!!

מס' ציטוטים שריגשו אותי:
"אל תקרא לי אדון עוד, מאסקה. זקן-רגל בחר לו לאח לו את האדם הלא נכון."
"לא ולא, אלא יפה בחר! בך בחר מפני שאדם אתה, אדון שאול. אדם שהלך אחר ראשו מפני שראשו היה גדול מראשינו שלנו כולנו. בשום פנים לא היה זקן-רגל בוחר לו פחדן לאח לו!"
"למה זה לא אמרת לי מה אתה אומר לעשות כשבאתי לשאול את הרובה?"
"כי קיוויתי שתבוא הנה ותמצא את אחיך האדם, את יוסף, שתשלים עמו קודם שתצא לך לדרכך."
עמ' 194-195.

חזקשאול וישב על-ידה ואמר לה: "קייט, יש דברים שאדם מיישב עם עצמו בקלות יתרה, ויש דברים שנדרשות לו שנים ליישבם. כשחפרנו פה קומץ החופרים ואני לבדנו, היו הימים ההם שמחים והמאושרים שבחיי. היה בכוחי לאלץ אותם לחטוב להם עצים יבשים למדורות, לימדתי אותם את ההבדל שבין קודו מסורטט ממין זכר ובין הנקבה, והכרזתי על הצביון שהוא בגדר צייד אסור, לכשתרצי ראיתי את עצמי כאילו מיניתי את עצמי לשומר היער, והיתה לי בזה הנאה ושמחה...."
עמ' 240.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik had eerst moeite om erin te komen maar vond het boek beter worden en meer boeien hoe verder ik kwam. De wereld van de arme houthakkers in Zuid Afrika in de late 19e eeuwen, hun verhouding tot de Engelsen en hun verhouding tot de olifanten, de zoek naar goud en een beter leven... het is een vreemde wereld voor mij en juist daarom boeiend om er meer over te weten te komen.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took him four years to learn that life was a crooked circle. The woodcutter killed the Forest, the wood-buyer killed the wood-cutter. Round and round and round you walked the crooked circle. Year in, year out.

One man, one elephant, one forest, one destiny.

[Mijke Müller · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Michael D'Offay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. I love her books

[Lorraine Shorter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely beautiful story about one man’s relationship with the forest, and how, no matter the times he tries to leave, he can never escape it.

Saul Barnard was born a woodcutter, raised by his father all he knew was forest life. But when he begins to see the devastation being reaped upon the forest as the developing world demands wood for wagons, wood for railroads and wood for homes and furniture, it stokes a fire in him that cannot be put out; not even when it destroys his relationships with his family, and makes him an outcast from all he’s known.

As man’s greed compels them to plunder the forests for wood and gold, and to cull the elephants who call the forest home and steal their ivory, Saul is driven to take a stand.

When the oldest elephant in the forest, an elephant that has always held the other half of Saul’s soul, is rumoured to have taken the life of his brother’s son, Saul cannot stand by and let the greed of strangers destroy such majesty. The elephant must be allowed to die with dignity. His race to search for the elephant known as Old Foot takes him through the forests that he loves and on a journey through his past. But when he reaches his destination, he’s surprised by what he finds, and wonders if maybe the wise old elephant has always had a plan for him.

This story, packed with so much emotion is so much more than just a book. It’s a life lesson the whole world should read and understand. Circles in the forest, tells us a story that’s played out again and again, every day, all around the world. Man’s greed and hunger is an ugly thing indeed.

[Riana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saul Barnard is born as a woodcutter’s sun in the enormous Knysna forest. Cutting and selling wood, growing sweet potatoes and keeping watch for the bigfeet are all they know. Living with just enough to get by, and nothing more. At a young age, Saul realizes that he doesn’t think the same as all the other woodcutters. Further, he seems to have a strange bond with Old Foot, the King of the forest elephants. He comes to know and face his painful but necessary fate: “Saul Barnard walks alone.”

I've read this book twice before in the original Afrikaans version. The English translation feels slightly clumsy and slow. Some of the character and style found in the incredible "kitchen-Dutch" era is unmistakably lost here.

However, it still carries across this touching and eye-opening story with emotion and horror. An amazing piece of South African history with a touch of fiction - a must read!

[Amanda Bredenkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

'n Mens moet die Knysna woud ten minste een keer in 'n mens se leeftyd beleef om die ware prag en prentjie van Dalene Mattthee se woudstories te waardeer. Kringe in die bos sou ek sonder twyfel aanbeveel as die eerste van haar bosstories. Die verhouding tussen 'n astrante seun en sy ouers, sy skatryke Engelse nooi, en sy geestesdier -'n olifantbees, en sy God. Die pragtige uitbeelding van die eenvoudige lewens van arm houtkappers, hulle griekwa vriende, en die kontras tussen hulle leefstyle en die leefstyle van die Engelse houtkopers en hul skaamtelose uitbyting van die bosbewoonders. Hierdie boek sal jou van bladsy tot bladsy laat lag, laat huil, laat treur, laat kwaad word, laat prys en jou so deel maak van die storie dat jy sal voel asof jy weer met jou rugsak en stapstevels jouself tussen die farings en die bome en sampioene reg daar in Knysna bevind. Dis 'n absolute moet lees, veral as jy glo Afrikaans is nie dood nie.