The Vaster Wilds: A Novel

A taut and electrifying novel from celebrated bestselling author Lauren Groff, about one spirited girl alone in the wilderness, trying to survive

 

A servant girl escapes from a colonial settlement in the wilderness. She carries nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of god that burns hot within her. What she finds in this terra incognita is beyond the limits of her imagination and will bend her belief in everything that her own civilization has taught her.

 

Lauren Groff's new novel is at once a thrilling adventure story and a penetrating fable about trying to find a new way of living in a world succumbing to the churn of colonialism. The Vaster Wilds is a work of raw and prophetic power that tells the story of America in miniature, through one girl at a hinge point in history, to ask how--and if--we can adapt quickly enough to save ourselves.

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272 pages

Average rating: 5.9

21 RATINGS

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2 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

lnthurman
Nov 03, 2023
7/10 stars
For me, Groff's prose is really what carried this story. It's a twist on the "man vs. nature" story, asking us to consider nature as an ally instead. By setting it on Turtle Island just as European settlers are moving in, the book offers a conspicuous and sometimes ham-handed commentary on colonialism. The protagonist's moments of rapture and reflection, as she begins to develop a personal relationship with the land and to shed her mindset of "dominion," can be transcendent. But the only conflict throughout story — girl vs. death — feels ill-defined, particularly at the beginning. In those sections, it was purely the enjoyment of Groff's gorgeous style that kept me moving forward.
Janet H
Oct 21, 2023
4/10 stars
This was a SMH book of the week. I kept waiting for something to happen, it never did. Not sure what the point was.

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