Maybe it is only me but I don't think Galsworthy's style superficial.

Of course, he is somehow partial to the Forsytes (thanks for the biographical info, Golda!) but I don't think he is subjective.
I thought that these first seven chapters were very realistic, partly of course because they resemble diary-entries, as Myretta has pointed out, but also because he depicts the characters so detailed.
On the first few pages I confused the characters, too, although I've read the book before, but now I feel myself very intimately aquainted with them.
Old Jolyon has been the main character so far and we've learnt much about his feelings and perspective on life but the other characters have assumed a definite form now, too.
For example, I can see the old aunts perfectly in my imagination.
Galsworthy describes these people like they are, very superficial and obsessed with money matters. This reveals a very good observation not only of the principles & habits of the Victorian Age but also of human nature in general as people have not changed much since then IMO.