I was wondering what to read next and so I went to Libby clicked audiobooks and began to scroll through the choices. I came upon Lauren Groff, a writer I have been meaning to read for some time. Her latest novel The Vaster Wilds (2023) was available right away. I clicked borrow and I am so glad I did.
The Vaster Wilds is a beautifully written haunting and atmospheric novel that includes powerful scenes of nature and the elements. And Lauren Groff has a fascinating story to tell about a teenage servant girl (we never learn her name) who arrives in Colonial America with her mistress, her mistress' husband, and their four year old daughter.
The time is the 1600's and the servant girl and the family she works for are living in a settlement in Jamestown, VA and the situation there is grim. The settlers are starving and then something happens which requires the servant girl to flee. We learn at the end of the book why she needed to run away and the reason is shocking.
As to where the young girl is headed she doesn't really know. But she has heard about another settlement run by the French. Maybe she could meet a young man there and they could eventually move to France where their lives would be much easier and happier. That is her dream at the beginning of the book.
But the deeper into the wilderness she goes the more The Vaster Wilds becomes a story about survival, finding shelter, searching for food and hiding from dangerous animals and people. And as the girl makes her way through the wilderness she reflects on her short life which has not been easy. She has a deep puritan faith when her journey begins but she starts to question what she has been taught as she experiences the terror but also the wonder of the natural world.
The Vaster Wilds is one of the best books I have read this year and Lauren Groff is an excellent writer. She has expertly woven a young girl surviving the elements into a marvelous coming of age story. And in terms of a lone character confronting nature this novel reminded me a bit of Jack London's The Call of The Wild or To Build A Fire. I highly recommend The Vaster Wilds and please check out the audio version narrated wonderfully by January LaVoy which definitely adds to this brilliant book.
Thank you, Kathy. That will be my next Libby pick as soon as I finish Cradles of the Reich.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like The Vaster Wilds. What so impressed me was the writing. It's a level of writing you don't see much in books. Lauren Groff is such a major talent.
ReplyDeleteThe survival elements in this one definitely appeal to me, as does the time period. Don't know why this book got taken off my TBR list. Thanks for reminding me about it. :D
ReplyDeleteThe survival elements, how to survive in the wilderness of the 1600's is very well done. The pilgrims who came over in the 1600's many didn't make it, disease, starvation. But once here not easy to return to Europe.
DeleteI think this sounds amazing from an author I haven't read before!
ReplyDeleteIt's the first time I am reading Lauren Groff. She has been nominated for 3 National Book Awards but until you read so someone you never know. I was so impressed by the story and the writing in this novel.
DeleteI would like to read a novel by Lauren Groff. Maybe this would be a good choice. Or Matrix?
ReplyDeleteI want to read Matrix too. The Vaster Wilds is 272 pages and I read it in audio and I think that's a must because the narrator January LaVoy dies such a good job.
DeleteI know Lauren Groff more for short stories than for novels, but I had this one around the house for a while but never got around to reading it. It seemed to be a little on the "hard work" side, as I recall, but from what you say hear about it, maybe I was just in the wrong mood for it at that moment. Makes me wonder what I missed by passing it on without reading it.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time reading Lauren Groff and I was impressed.
DeleteIt's not a very long book and I would advise if you want to give it a go to read it in audio because the narrator reading The Vaster Wilds does a great job.
Nicely reviewed and I'm glad you liked it so much. I guess I passed it by but perhaps I should go back to it or Matrix. I've only read one Groff book (an audio) and it was Fates and Furies which is doozy ... and a bit harsh .. but maybe provocative. Vaster Wilds sounds like sheer survival ... and I'm curious now how it ends.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan and I might try Matrix because it fits in with my medieval challenge. I do recommend Vaster Wilds in audio.
ReplyDeleteVery intriguing premise, and I do love a good survival story. And with good writing...it's going on the list. I just finished a Libby book, and the wait list for all my holds means I can read something else...maybe I'll see if I can access this through Libby myself. Thanks for a wonderful review.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane and I got the Vaster Wilds through Libby and I feel it is worth your while. Lauren Groff has talent. I am thinking next of trying The Matrix
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