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The Vaster Wilds: A Novel
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023 NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, TIME, ESQUIRE, VOGUE, LA TIMES, SLATE, HARPER'S BAZAAR and others "Part historical, part horror, part breathless thriller, part wilderness survival tale, The Vaster Wilds is a story about the lengths to which we will go to stay alive."--NPR staff pick "Lauren Groff just reinvented the adventure novel."--Los Angeles Times
"Glorious...surroundings come alive in prose that lives and breathes upon the page." --Boston Globe
A taut and electrifying novel from celebrated bestselling author Lauren Groff, about one spirited girl alone in the wilderness, trying to survive
A servant girl escapes from a colonial settlement in the wilderness. She carries nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of god that burns hot within her. What she finds in this terra incognita is beyond the limits of her imagination and will bend her belief in everything that her own civilization has taught her. Lauren Groff's new novel is at once a thrilling adventure story and a penetrating fable about trying to find a new way of living in a world succumbing to the churn of colonialism. The Vaster Wilds is a work of raw and prophetic power that tells the story of America in miniature, through one girl at a hinge point in history, to ask how--and if--we can adapt quickly enough to save ourselves.
"Glorious...surroundings come alive in prose that lives and breathes upon the page." --Boston Globe
A taut and electrifying novel from celebrated bestselling author Lauren Groff, about one spirited girl alone in the wilderness, trying to survive
A servant girl escapes from a colonial settlement in the wilderness. She carries nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of god that burns hot within her. What she finds in this terra incognita is beyond the limits of her imagination and will bend her belief in everything that her own civilization has taught her. Lauren Groff's new novel is at once a thrilling adventure story and a penetrating fable about trying to find a new way of living in a world succumbing to the churn of colonialism. The Vaster Wilds is a work of raw and prophetic power that tells the story of America in miniature, through one girl at a hinge point in history, to ask how--and if--we can adapt quickly enough to save ourselves.
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Community Reviews
Excellent descriptive on the run where every piss taken and berry eaten is cataloged. Young girl runs away from a colony facing starvation. Into the woods she runs, and runs, and runs. The sentences are delectable as the content is horrifying. Sometimes scary, at times unbelievable (she knows how to stab a fish, fix a canoe…) bit I couldn’t put it down.
Ms Groff is clearly a gifted and poetic writer, but I found the narrative arc of this novel too flat and unrelenting. No 'warm and fuzzies' to leven this story. Not a book for those looking for an uplifting read.
slow start then I devoured it to know what happens. Super sad but a great read and wonderful writing.
Wow! What a book! Different from any other I have read! Will probably recommend this one until it gets chosen, lol
For me, Groff's prose is really what carried this story. It's a twist on the "man vs. nature" story, asking us to consider nature as an ally instead. By setting it on Turtle Island just as European settlers are moving in, the book offers a conspicuous and sometimes ham-handed commentary on colonialism. The protagonist's moments of rapture and reflection, as she begins to develop a personal relationship with the land and to shed her mindset of "dominion," can be transcendent. But the only conflict throughout story — girl vs. death — feels ill-defined, particularly at the beginning. In those sections, it was purely the enjoyment of Groff's gorgeous style that kept me moving forward.
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