The Wilderness: A Novel
An era-defining novel about five Black women over the course of their twenty-year friendship, as they move through the dizzying and sometimes precarious period between young adulthood and midlife—in the much-anticipated second book from National Book Award finalist Angela Flournoy.
BUY THE BOOK
Join a book club that is reading The Wilderness: A Novel!
Community Reviews
I gave this book a go after recommended by a friend. This was a literal ember and didn’t really grab me like I would hope. I got the premise that this was a journey of 5 friends stories, but o couldn’t get into it. I finished the book, but I guess I was hoping for more with the ending, something to wrap it up or provide closure, but it never came.
I saw someone say that this book is written as if you are looking through a kalidoscope at these characters lives over time, and I think this the perfect description. I listen to this book on audio, which made it feel disjointed at times, but overall I was able to follow along. I do feel like we never got a full picture of any of the characters, least of all Monique, Danielle, and January, and the book could have benefitted from being 100-150 pages longer. There were moments in the story and through the writing that I felt like the writer perfectly captured thoughts I've had or moments I've experienced and it felt good to be seen. I'd rate this book a solid 3.5 star, but I feel like once I get a physical copy and reread it could be a solid 4 star read.
