Reviews - The Vaster Wilds

3.5k reviews for:

The Vaster Wilds

Lauren Groff

3.85 AVERAGE

caseymarshall's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was a little different than what I’m used to reading, but I’m a huge survival/wilderness nerd so I was very excited to read this. It definitely delivered in exploring some interesting themes through the girl’s journey in the wilderness: how giving a name creates power, weighing the danger of man vs the danger of nature, and different religious themes. However, I struggled with the pacing and structure of the story. It felt a little all over the place at times, so it was hard for me to become truly invested in the girl’s journey.

chanbing's review against another edition

4.0

unsure completely how I feel about this one, except that by the last page I felt a sense of wonder and dread and finality. I had read Fates & Furies by Groff a few years ago which also gave me one recurring feeling: that maybe I'm just not smart enough to fully enjoy this type of literature.

Lauren Groff is known for her sweeping descriptive writing style that at times leans into overkill and pretention. I often found myself reaching the end of some pages and realizing I had not retained anything I had read, and had to go back and start again. This type of descriptive narration can get really heavy and muddy my brain, yet something in me enjoys the complexity and challenge of getting through it.

Generally speaking the storyline was interesting and there was a fair bit of tension, even if at times it felt repetitive. It did also eventually get a little too preach-y and on-the-nose for me in the endless thoughts of "what is God?" "what is being human?". But, overall, it managed to stir some genuine feelings in me which always marks a successful story to me. I felt at times extreme anxiety, sadness, empathy, disgust, horror, confusion, and a general feeling of existential crisis that lingered the whole time.

This won't be everyone's cup of tea, and I'm still not sure that it's mine, but I'm glad I gave it the chance.

catreads62's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark informative sad tense slow-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

katiemcmenamin's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark slow-paced

suzannetronier's review against another edition

5.0

This was an extraordinary book that will stay with me for some time. A young servant girl in the early 1600s strikes out on her own in the early American wilderness. We know she is escaping her bad circumstances and the story of what happened seeps out slowly over the course of her harrowing trek. This is the best survival story I have ever read and it moves forward at a breathless pace. As I was nearing the end of the book, I began questioning where she was going and how it would end. And then it unfolds in a way that entirely makes sense. We are moving in the mind of this brave, sensitive and deeply intelligent girl caught in her journey and caught in picture of a singular life.

jdrews's review against another edition

4.0

I described this to a colleague as "kind of like The Revenant, but for the girlies." Had a hard time getting into it at first, but found myself completely enthralled.