The Light in the Forest is a fictional novel written by the American author Conrad Richter and published in the year 1953. The novel is considered as being a coming of age novel because it follows the development of the main character, True Son.
The novel has two different narrators and because of this arrangement the story varies according to the narrator. While the novel is not lengthy, it addresses themes such as identity, knowledge and how someone defines good and evil. Because True Son is the main character, the themes center on him. True Son’s identity crisis is also what sparks the other conflicts and sets the action in motion.
While the novel is considered as being a work of fiction, historical elements can be found in it as well. For example, the description of the Paxton boy’s massacre, the characters of Henry Bouquet and Parson Elder as well as the existence of some geographical places are all true. The novel was also adapted into a movie 1959, and this version was received with mixed reviews.
