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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
sad
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Colonisation
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Sexual assault
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
It's a hard book; I suspect it will stay with me for a while.
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In The Vaster Wilds we follow a woman who goes on the lam for a crime she's committed... in colonial-era Virginia. Scenes from her odyssey--including some told from the points of view of the few people she encounters--are interspersed with scenes from her past, from her childhood as an orphan in (one presumes) London to the famine in which the Jamestown settlement has found itself of late. This is a story about the journey--physical and mental--survival in the wilderness (in late winter) by someone so ill-equipped that she never knows where she is wandering. I suspect this book is a retelling of a well known story--it certainly has the feel of a parable--but I can't bring it to mind.
The thing about Lauren Groff's work is that she picks a premise that is interesting but not gimmicky and constructs a convincing, compelling story, not too sentimental, not full of high-falutin literary devices to appeal to the snobby readers. And her prose is absolutely beautiful.
The thing about Lauren Groff's work is that she picks a premise that is interesting but not gimmicky and constructs a convincing, compelling story, not too sentimental, not full of high-falutin literary devices to appeal to the snobby readers. And her prose is absolutely beautiful.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was incredibly beautifully written - so beautifully written that I keep having to slow down to re-read sections. The poetic writing contrasted with the sometimes gross and mostly bleak nature of the story. I’m not mad I read it, but I don’t really know how I feel about it actually even now that I’ve finished it.
I had a hard time putting this book down. The story was compelling and the descriptions of the 'New World' were poetical and delightful. This book makes me want to make changes in my own life; to slow down, practice being present and soaking in the beauty of the world around me. I appreciated the ending, I won't say anymore than that.
Maybe 4.5? I fell in and out of the world while reading this, but I love the depiction of a female adventurer and explorer and the way Groff shows the power and devastation and beauty of nature.
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
