What do readers think of The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth? Write your own review.

I was intrigued with the subject matter of this book and enjoyed the author's ability to provide historical details in an entertaining manner. I thought the characters were well drawn and I cared about their experiences throughout the book. I don't need an action packed thriller, actually I prefer character driven stories such as this one. However, on several occasions while reading this book, I had the sensation that somebody had moved my bookmark back and that I was rereading passages. I would recommend editing some of the repetitive sections about how difficult life was under Napoleon's rule. This would make a good read even better.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I was not impressed by Wilhelm. Despite the reality of his poverty, he seemed to be an "ivory-tower" academic, preoccupied with his work and insensitive to anything real. Because of this, I could never believe that Dortchen's love was more than the crush she never outgrew, that she clung to in order to survive her own reality.

I found that the premise of The Wild Girl" by Kate Forsythe was very interesting. The novel told the story of the brothers Grimm, who they were, how they found the fairy tales, the times they lived, and the story of Dortchen Wild who was the main character. I love historical fiction as I end up doing my own research on the times that I don't know that much about. This book definitely does make me want to learn more about the Napoleonic wars especially with Russia and I want to read the Grimm's fairy tales as well. Having said that, it was a bit of a slog for me and I think it could have been much shorter. The book was just not written very well which was surprising because I enjoyed her first novel "Bitter Greens" which did not take me days to read like "The Wild Girl" did.

The beautiful book cover and the promise of an "untold love story" made me start reading this book immediately. I should know by now not to judge a book by its cover; this was a much more serious novel than I expected. Dortchen Wild's family lives in the same German village as the Grimm family in the early 1800s. Life is hard for everyone in the area during the Napoleonic Wars, but especially difficult for Dortchen and her sisters, who have a cruel, abusive father. Wilhelm Grimm is determined to document the folk tales of his people, to preserve the German culture despite invading military forces. These folk tales are dark, disturbing stories, not the "happy ending" tales that I remembered from my childhood. Many of the tales are told to Wilhelm by Dortchen. Some of the most interesting scenes in the book take place when Dortchen tries to communicate her feelings for Wilhelm and her painful situation at home through these stories. The book is well-researched (the author is studying for her PhD in "Fairy Tale Retellings") and gave me an entirely different perspective on Grimm's fairy tales.

Unfortunately, The Wild Girl did not deliver what I had hoped for. I love historical fiction and look forward to learning historical facts in a fun way. While I learned facts about the Grimm Brothers and the world they lived in , I felt that the delivery was a bit juvenile . At times, I felt like it read like a fairy tale.

I did learn about the Napoleanic era and the affects it had on the people of Germany. The information about how the Grimm Brothers formulated their published tales was fairly interesting too but all of this was just not enough for me.

Dortchen's story was a sad and disturbing one. Her childhood was nothing short of horrific.

In total, I found The Wild Girl just an average read with somewhat of a weak in delivery.

i was excited to read an account, albeit fictional, about Germany's Grimm's brothers. I know there is a Grimm's Fairy Tale Road in Germany that brings to life castles and other places that were the inspiration behind many of the stories. This book disappointed me because it didn't follow the journeys of the Grimm brothers, but the "wild girl,"Dortchen Wilde, who lived next door to the brothers.
The author focused on this character and her life. Many characters, such as her sister, Rose, were introduced and after my interest was peaked, following her arranged marriage to a man many years her senior, she was never written about again.
There were parts of the storyline that were hard and disturbing to absorb. Most of the story was dedicated to Dortchen's life in the same house, with her family, in the same town and situation. It was interesting, but could have been expressed in many less pages, in my opinion.
I wanted more information about the Grimm's travels and what inspired their tales. I didn't learn anything new but kept hoping for more. I finished the book, but it, unfortunately, took a long time. I was hoping for more.