A review by jnestwd
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Well, I can honestly say I've never read anything quite like The Vaster Wilds.

Lauren Groff is kinda like Cormac McCarthy meets Ottessa Moshfegh in the best kind of way.

The novel tells the story of an unnamed girl who escapes the small settlement she was brought to as the servant of her mistress. She takes off into the wild, running and running and running until she can't run anymore. Running from the starvation that has claimed the lives of so many of the residents. Running from the cruelty of the minister. Running from the grief of having lost the only other human she truly loved and cared for.

With nothing but the stolen clothes on her back, looted boots on her feet and her mistress's precious leather gloves to protect her hands from the bitter cold, she runs and runs.

This book is strangely compelling. I could not put it down, despite the relatively small cast of characters and change in scenes.

What made this story so engaging is Groff's incredible ability to develop a scene and draw you into the picture. I wanted to know how the girl survived, what she'd eat next, where she'd end up the next day.

And in the end, despite the horrors of the real world around us, I felt strangely peaceful in understanding that nature will always reclaim her space and what has been will come again.

We will return to nature as we came.

A bit existential, yes, but I was surprised to find that this is exactly what I needed at this time in my life.