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leasttorque 's review for:
The Vaster Wilds
by Lauren Groff
Heavy handed messages, in some cases spelled out literally, historical setting and events and commentary heavily ripped from the pages of Taylor’s excellent book American Colonies* (which I just read), often over-the-top and pretentious prose, a gobsmackingly pure Mary Sue protagonist with fantastic luck and amazing stamina (and oh so smart!), and yet I give four stars? ***
Well, by the last part of the book I was swept up enough to almost, almost glide by the prose and ham fistedness without making sour faces. And I absolutely loved the way it ended**. And the overall way it played out theme-wise in the end. And, perhaps most of all, I loved seeing parts of Taylor’s book as the basis for a novel. And, yeah, some of the writing was great.
But the ride was as rough as that Atlantic crossing. For much of the book I felt like it was The Revenant meets Clan Of The Cave Bear meets Pollyanna but I got used to it more so than getting over it.
Oh, by the way. Worms (mentioned in the last pages) didn’t come to North America until Columbus, and only spread around much later. But perhaps Lamentations didn’t know that.
*Not being well read on early colonization of North America, perhaps there are many books out there with the same information and thematic thrust of Taylor. But wow they were so alike it was eerie.
**Speaking of the ending, the Google AI gets it sooooo wrong.
***Well, too much still bothers me so pulling a star. Sigh.
Well, by the last part of the book I was swept up enough to almost, almost glide by the prose and ham fistedness without making sour faces. And I absolutely loved the way it ended**. And the overall way it played out theme-wise in the end. And, perhaps most of all, I loved seeing parts of Taylor’s book as the basis for a novel. And, yeah, some of the writing was great.
But the ride was as rough as that Atlantic crossing. For much of the book I felt like it was The Revenant meets Clan Of The Cave Bear meets Pollyanna but I got used to it more so than getting over it.
Oh, by the way. Worms (mentioned in the last pages) didn’t come to North America until Columbus, and only spread around much later. But perhaps Lamentations didn’t know that.
*Not being well read on early colonization of North America, perhaps there are many books out there with the same information and thematic thrust of Taylor. But wow they were so alike it was eerie.
**Speaking of the ending, the Google AI gets it sooooo wrong.
***Well, too much still bothers me so pulling a star. Sigh.