The Vaster Wilds: A Novel
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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
“Half historic, half horror, half breathless thriller, half wilderness survival story, The Vaster Wilds is a narrative in regards to the lengths to which we are going to go to remain alive.”—NPR employees decide
“Lauren Groff simply reinvented the journey novel.”—Los Angeles Occasions
“Superb…environment come alive in prose that lives and breathes upon the web page.” —Boston Globe
A taut and electrifying novel from celebrated bestselling creator Lauren Groff, about one spirited woman alone within the wilderness, attempting to outlive
A servant woman escapes from a colonial settlement within the wilderness. She carries nothing along with her however her wits, a number of possessions, and the spark of god that burns sizzling inside her. What she finds on this terra incognita is past the boundaries of her creativeness and can bend her perception in all the pieces that her personal civilization has taught her.
Lauren Groff’s new novel is without delay an exhilarating journey story and a penetrating fable about looking for a brand new way of life in a world succumbing to the churn of colonialism. The Vaster Wilds is a piece of uncooked and prophetic energy that tells the story of America in miniature, via one woman at a hinge level in historical past, to ask how—and if—we are able to adapt rapidly sufficient to save lots of ourselves.
From the Writer
![[A] thrilling historical adventure, says Time about VASTER WILDS](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media-library-service-media/782b4d36-cae0-47e5-ae2d-7ea2a62d9845.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg)
Writer : Riverhead Books (October 1, 2024)
Language : English
Paperback : 272 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593418409
ISBN-13 : 978-0593418406
Merchandise Weight : 7.2 ounces
Dimensions : 5.15 x 0.71 x 8.01 inches
Clients say
Clients reward the writing type as pretty and poetic. They discover the narrative type significant and introspective, tempered with metaphysical acuity and philosophy. The e-book is described as stunning and an beautiful meditation on the great thing about the world. Readers recognize the character improvement and spirited characters. Nonetheless, some really feel the content material is just too miserable and bleak. Opinions are combined on the narrative high quality – some discover it poignant and lyrical, whereas others say it is like “Florida” though the language is of the day.
AI-generated from the textual content of buyer evaluations
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Original price was: $18.00.$13.50Current price is: $13.50.
Amazon Customer –
Beautifully Written
I was amazed by :Lauren Groff new novel. It is so beautifully written. Her descriptions are chilly and the story line unique. Make sure you ware warm clothes when you read this book!
Jon Shemitz –
An engaging page-turner with some rough edges
I could not put this book down, and that’s always good. Groff has an eye for landscape and a taste for lurid plotting that reminds me strongly of Cormac McCarthy – but without his vocabulary and precision. One example that really stood out to me is her repeated use of “hovel” to mean any rudimentary shelter, even a crevice behind a waterfall. Oxford Languages defines hovel as “a small, squalid, unpleasant, or simply constructed dwelling” and I think “constructed” is a key part, here; using “hovel” as a synonym for “poor shelter” felt sloppy.
Suzanne –
Beautiful prose – Ending left me in a strange place.
I’m a nature loved and very much enjoyed the focus on this wilderness survival novel. The main character was well developed as was the sparse supporting “cast”. The novel is spinkled with flashbacks that gradually reveal the back story. I would have rated this book higher but the ending didn’t sit well. A theme that was prevalent throughout the novel was jettisoned in the last pages in an odd way.
Nyx –
Freedom in nature
I first fell in love with Lauren Groffâs writing with her 2006 Atlantic short story âL. DeBard and Aliette.â It has stuck with me since I first read it in graduate school, yet for some reason I havenât actually read any of her novels until The Vaster Wilds (Matrix has been on my to-read list for ages!)The Vaster Wilds is quite a self-contained story, following a girl (simply known as âgirl,â but by numerous other names throughout her life, such as Lamentations.) Through contextual clues, we find that the girl has fled the famine and disease-stricken Jamestown settlement after she has committed a crime. The girlâs strong-willed drive for survival is the spark the ignites her journey and keeps her fire burning through adversity in the wilderness.Through starvation, disease, injuries, harsh weather, and much more, the girlâs ingenuity keeps her alive. Perhaps it is obvious to say, but the girlâs flight through the harsh wilderness is also very much a journey through her own mind and memories. She was purchased as a type of âpetâ for her former mistress; a person forced to be an object or play thing. A person forced to journey across an ocean and care for a young child. A person forced to witness and endure terrible hardship. The harsh reality of the girlâs life in âcivilizationâ was perhaps far more trying than anything the untamed wilderness hurls her way. For in civilization she was bound, yet in the wilderness she is free.Lauren Groffâs writing style is unique, poetic, and beautiful. Perfect and poignant in her phrasing. I watched the movie Beau Is Afraid around the same time I was finishing this novel, and I canât help but draw similarities in the abstract journeys both physical and emotional, both bizarre and beautiful.
TeaLover –
Lauren’s books are soul-lifting discoveries
Lauren’s books have a magical quality that transcends mere words. They are like sunrises, illuminating the hidden corners of our hearts. With each page turned, we embark on a journeyâa pilgrimage of emotions, a quest for understanding, and a celebration of the human spirit.Her stories are not just narratives; they are whispers from the universe, echoing through time and space. They touch upon the profound and the ordinary, weaving tapestries of hope, love, and resilience. Lauren’s characters become our companions, their struggles mirroring our own, their victories igniting our souls.In the quiet moments, when the world fades away, we find solace in her prose. Lauren’s books are more than ink on paper; they are vessels of wonder, carrying us to places we’ve never been and revealing truths we’ve always known.
Barb –
death in poetry
This poet sucked me in from the beginningâI was all hers regarding the natural world, the evil in men, etc., but I didnât really expect her (spoiler here) to die in the end. How did anyone survive?
Baroke –
Not an easy read but so worth it
Lauren Groff is as much a mystic as a writer. At times she seems to be channeling every thing on the planet, from the ants to the clouds in the sky, and you wonder how she can see and feel it all and express it in words.This book is about a girl trying to survive in the woods but it is also about god, the universe, and the simultaneous glory and brutality of both nature and humankind. It’s a primal scream and an exquisite meditation on the beauty of the world. It’s a horror story and a love story. It’s as much about the vastness of the human experience as the vastness of the wilds.Does that sound like a lot, especially crammed into 250 pages? It is. I struggled at times to get through it but in the end was so glad I did. It’s a book that leaves you feeling unsettled and expanded. Read it.
Alice –
Tedious and needs editing
I have read nearly all of Lauren Groffâs books including short stories, but I found this one absolutely tedious and a total chore to read. By the end I could not wait for the whole slog to be over. What a disappointment! This would have been fine as a short story, but as a book, shame on the editor. Nothing interesting or amazing or insightful. Lovely prose of course, but that alone is only words for the sake of words. So disappointing. Read anything else by the author.
mindy watson –
If you’re like me and love survival themed novels with a historical setting, this is the next novel for you. I read all day and into the evening until it was done. It was both historically accurate and also captured the struggle to survive in the wilderness with the the most deliciously brutal descriptions. I bought a hard copy to keep in my collection of favourite books of all time.
Gill Bustamante –
This was quite a book. Beautifully written and better than poetry – brutal but addictive and I could not put it down…
MICA5983 –
Too long when people have read ROBINSON CRUSOE? LAZARILLO de TORMS , PILGRIM4S PROGRESS and books that are called : road movies, this VAST WILDS is not very original and depressing . She writes well on the whole , but , her sentences are too long and she seems to enjoy wallowing in her own prose . So it’s boring and the end is depressing .I did not enjoy it at all
Snapdragon –
The plot of this book is simple: into a fledgling colony of North America comes a small dusky skinned servant girl from England. When starvation and illness destroy most life in the fort where she now lives, the girl escapes and makes her way through the strange new wilderness, surviving starvation, injury and illness to set up a simple home for herself. There is almost no conversation: it is a book written entirely as narrative – this happened, that happened etc. Apart from the dangerous physical things that happen, the girl observes and thinks, and a voice sometimes leads or challenges her thoughts. She is strong, resourceful, dedicated to staying alive and wins our respect. There are flashbacks to life in England which are vivid in their evocation of Tudor life. Thereâs the backstory of a Jesuit priest madly and raggedly surviving in the New World. Towards the end thereâs the story of what really happened in the girlâs final hours at the fort. These are stories of venality, filth, cruelty mixed in with song, dance and learning.The wonder and majesty of the novel is in the picture it presents of a halcyon world before Europeans took over and in the girlâs changing apprehension of god, the natural world and the place of humanity in it. This is a bland way to describe it. Lauren Groff is a superb writer with a luminous, poetic, heartfelt gift for driving home fundamental truths of our existence that we often stand outside of as we go to the supermarket etc. It feels very timely, given the coming welter of climate change depredations and the ever-changing social and political upheavals. A superb book, that makes us long for a pristine world whose inhabitants have a humble appreciation of their tiny place in the great chain of being.
Catmandu –
This gruelling story of a servant girlâs flight through early colonial America has its faults. The heroine is too saintly. The other characters are one-dimensional. There is too much preaching to the choir about colonialism and male violence. But it won me over. After skimming the early pages I became gripped by the heroineâs day-to-day struggles. The close-up descriptions of the natural world, in its beauty and harshness, are dazzling. In the end, the story of one personâs survival becomes a meditation on our relationship with the natural world and what it means to be human.