I read Green Mansions in high school, and it broke my heart. I don’t remember much about it, only Rima, the beautiful wild girl in the trees. I fell completely in love with her.
(Spoilers for the book coming up.)
She appears first in a tree in the jungle, playing a game of hide and seek with the narrator, running easily along branches that are high in the air. I don’t remember what else there was about her, but that alone was enough to capture my heart. People who live in the trees, oh yeah!
Okay, so here’s the spoiler. After I had fallen deeply and madly in love, she was killed by some men. Why? I don’t remember. I have a vague recollection that they set her tree on fire.
I cried for an hour, and even now I can barely pick up the book.
However, I decided the time was right to try the book again. I have a clever plan, the kind of plan that comes from being a writer. I read the book, just until before she gets chased by the men, and I write a happy future for her.
So far, I’ve finished the prologue and the first two chapters. Turns out it’s full of references to “savages.” That’s imperialism for you. Even so, the characters are well drawn, sympathetic, and full of life.
Wish me luck with the rest. But don’t tell me anything whatsoever about the book! I don’t want to know. I just want Rima to live.
Kristin Ann King 