Reviews

The New Wilderness by Diane Cook

jenhurst's review

2.0

I honestly just didn’t really get the point of this book.
The cover looks like a women’s fiction book, not a scifi to start with. But it’s barely a scifi? Basically, a mom and daughter leave the city because the pollution is making her daughter sick. They agree to live in the new wilderness and survive off the land as an experiment with 20 other people. They have nurses come and check on them regularly and the people learn survival skills. The concept was very far fetched, the city was spoken of vaguely and I felt like the world building was really lacking. We didn’t get enough explanations and I think it hurt the book a lot. A good scifi is supposed to have things well explained and grounded in science, but this was more vague like it wanted to be magical realism or something. I just don’t know what this book wanted to be.

mary2129's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense

4.0

kdahlo's review

4.0

I read this rapidly and really enjoyed it. It's science fiction crossing over as prestige fiction, which is a sweet spot I generally enjoy. This book reminded me a bit of "Future Home of the Living God", which I read last year. Thematically there's a strong connection as both address the challenges of parenthood using an apocalyptic setting. This book has two perspective characters, and one of the things I most appreciated was how different their perceptions were, in really important but believable ways. I think it takes a keen observer of human nature to notice blindspots - it's easier in fiction to make them over-obvious or somehow impossibly subtle (like by having characters lie or omit important things constantly). Here was just right, the different perceptions of reality revealing themselves really nicely. Brutal, beautiful and engaging book.

alicebme's review

5.0

I have never read a book about being a mother and a daughter that felt this true before. So many moments in this book were a kick to the gut. Being a mother is a kick to the gut. Being a daughter too. Damn. I guess you could read this book as a metaphor or as a literal story, and both reading experiences would ring true.

rachellax's review

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

cantkeepmehere's review

2.0

Really wanted to love this book! The idea of it fascinated me and love dystopian books; however none of the characters were likeable. Couldn’t stand the use of fragmented sentences - came off over dramatic or served no purpose when used. Waited for something exciting to happen. Didn’t happen.

rpow14's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

missmagan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

mhull510's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

2.0

robertrivasplata's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Starts off with kind of a “NPR people in the Wilderness”, or maybe “New York novel in the Wilderness” vibe. Imagine all the novels where people are just so bored to be with one another at another glittering party, except here they're deep in the backcountry & someone's just died in a flash flood, or from eating a bad mushroom, or in a rockslide (well, they assumed he died, eventually). There's also a healthy dose of Lord of the Flies style tribal politics. The New Wilderness is a book where I'm always wondering if the characters' interactions are supposed to be odd because they're all mentally ill or a little brain-damaged, or if it's supposed to be a relatable representation of what anyone would be like given the circumstances, or maybe something else I'm not picking up on. Anyhow, The New Wilderness is in large part about the American idea of “Wilderness” as a place & a natural environment untouched & unaffected by humans. Implicit in The New Wilderness is the idea that wilderness without human impact has never been a reality. The wild landscapes of the Americas were greatly shaped by the Indigenous people who lived in them, & the empty wildernesses the 19th & 20th century conservationists were trying to preserve or re-create had been only recently depopulated. A thing I felt could have used more explanation was winter difficulties: how they stayed warm enough at night, how they moved through or over snow, etc. I like how we get to know the various characters better through Agnes's eyes in the middle part of the book, & but I wish that continued into that last part of the book as well. I'm glad Cook never really spells out anything about the “Study” & also left the Rangers to be menacingly mysterious. In that way it reminds me a little bit of The Employees, or even TV's Severance. Not sure why Cook decided to bring back the 70s-style overcrowded & generally unlivable city trope, with its related overpopulation hobbyhorse.