Reviews - The Vaster Wilds

3.57k reviews for:

The Vaster Wilds

Lauren Groff

3.85 AVERAGE

enemaofthestate's review against another edition

4.25

“The hunger inside the god of my people can only be sated by domination. They will dominate until there is nothing left, then they will eat themselves. I am not of them. I will not be.”

hwebb224's review against another edition

3.0

Um. So. You really have to commit yourself to sticking with this book. The writing is incredibly, poetic? This is not light reading. You must pay attention. Not one word is wasted. Plucked from a poorhouse orphanage and raised into servitude, this poor girl has spent her young life as a wealthy English family’s plaything, treated with the same indignity as their pet monkey, even called by its name. Her treatment at the hands of her mistress's son made me want to vomit. The fact that she was like a mama bear to the mistress's daughter was so precious, then when I found out the child had Downs Syndrome, I cried (my son has Downs). When the girl finally runs from the starving sickly Colonial settlement, she believes she has escaped all of that blithe cruelty, but that is just the beginning of her story of unchecked survival. I wouldn't call it historical fiction, but definitely a nod to survival in nature's harshest elements. The story kind of dribbled along so you have to stick with it, but you really do want to see what happens to this girl. At one point, I swore she had been on the run for months then it is revealed it has only been about two weeks, I about fainted. It is both agonizing and mesmerizing. Beautifully written narrative of an awful, hideous situation. Not a fan of the ending, but the story was worth the time. Stick with it.

homeyjenm's review against another edition

2.5

adventurous slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I really wanted to like this book, it came highly recommended to me, I honestly just did not. I found it boring and myself skimming pages just to get it done. While I do find I like the style of her prose I just can not get behind this one.

jess_tholmer's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

tastyg's review against another edition

3.25

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

jennifer_stark's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars. that you can write a whole novel where all that happens is a girl runs through a forest is just !!! bravo. this book grapples with a lot and i was grateful to be taken through this forest.