A review by kdahlo
The New Wilderness by Diane Cook

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.