The Vaster Wilds
Ratings44
Average rating4.1
A stunningly beautiful fable-esque story in the style of Maggie O'Farrell.
A young servant girl runs in the middle of the night from a starving, disease ridden English colony on the James River in 1600s Virginia. She's running from her mistress, but also from the darkness in her past, and hopefully, towards the safety of French Canada.
Along the way she deals with starvation, injury, disease, animals, other humans, her failing believe in god and the memories of the past.
The girl (named Lamentations, but she admits herself she does not fit this name) is a resourceful and clever and endearing character, and her development, alone as she is in the story and in the wilds is artfully done.
Groff is a true master of the word.
Gobbled it up. Thriller meets historical fiction meets gothic colonial escape meets Cheryl Strayed's Wild meets Mary Oliver??? idk. 4 stars.
I read b/c this book is on multiple Best of 2023 lists and I can see why it's been honored in this way. A poetic story of survival with some beautiful passages about the wonder of the natural world. Thoughtful subtext of colonization and the blindness to the glory of nature the settlers brought to America. The commentary on how much beauty is missed was particularly resonant for me. And I take to heart the final lines: “The wind passed, even as it is passing now, over all the people who find themselves so dulled by the concerns of their own bodies and?? their own hungers that they cannot stop for a moment to feel it's goodness as it brushes against them. And feel it now, so soft, so eternal, this wind against your good and living skin.”??
This story has many beautiful passages and pontifications on life and, overall, I found it to be a highly charged ball of energy that was hard to put down. I could imagine the writing style might be too intensely descriptive for some. Not for me, though, as there was expediency to go with it. Lauren has nailed some of the great truths of life through the 'girl' without appearing heavy handed or retro-fitting today's values to yesterday's world. It is loosely based on the Jamestown colony in Virginia 1609-1611 which is a sad tale that ended badly. If you haven't read it and feel unsure, do yourself a favour and give it a go because it may just be one of the best books you'll ever read.
A girl escapes oppression and sickness to flee into a wilderness of extreme weather, near starvation and humanly and beastly adversaries. Through sheer force of will she battles on against all odds, carving herself a slice of life that's pure survival. It's beautifully written, a highly visceral experience of the harshness of early settler North America, but ultimately I missed something that would elevate it. On the women-alone-against-nature shelf, yet shelved behind: [b:The Wall 586852 The Wall Marlen Haushofer https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435260852l/586852.SY75.jpg 573687] and [b:I Who Have Never Known Men 11996 I Who Have Never Known Men Jacqueline Harpman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636235968l/11996.SY75.jpg 14356].
One of the most beautiful, poignant novels I have ever read. This one will stick with me for a long, long time. I’m so grateful for book clubs/buddy reads because they expose me to the magic of something I never would have had on my radar otherwise. This will be another library loan that I need to hunt down and own. Wonderful message of what it means to truly know and embrace your place in nature. It’s impacted me greatly and I want everyone to read it.
This is a hard one. One one hand, it's beautifully written. On the other hand, I had trouble engaging with the story, and found myself skimming portions. I also had some issues with the ending – it didn't seem consistent with her not letting anything stop her to reach her destination that began the story.