 |
| The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff |
Book title:
The Vaster Wilds
Author:
Lauren Groff
Genre:
Historical fiction
Published: September
12, 2023
256 pages
My rating:
5/5
“She had chosen to flee, and in so choosing, she had left behind her everything she had, her roof, her home, her country, her language, the only family she had ever known, the child Bess, who had been born into her care when she was herself a small child of four years or so, her innocence, her understanding who she was, her dreams of who she might one day be if only she could survive this starving time.”
Virginia, 1600s. In the last days of winter, a servant girl escapes from a famished and disease-ridden colonial settlement of Jamestown into the wilderness. Carrying only her wits and a few possessions, she attempts to travel north to the safety of another colony. But in the vast wilderness around her, threats loom behind every tree: hostile men, hungry animals, and the forest itself.
What an amazing read! The Vaster Wilds is Lauren Groff’s historical fiction. The writing is lyrical and poetic, and the (mostly nameless) main character is a determined and strong female lead.
It took me some time to orient myself to the narrative, and I was especially confused about the main character’s age. She was called “a girl” throughout the novel, and it was only toward the latter half of the book when it was revealed that she was at least sixteen years old, possibly seventeen or eighteen. At first, I had expected her to be a few years younger, but it makes sense that she was called a girl considering her status as a servant.
Throughout the book, we learn her backstory as a servant and a companion to her mistress’s disabled daughter, as well as her short-lived love affair with a Dutch sailor during the voyage across the Atlantic and experiences in the colony. Her life has been a series of hardships, and her escape doesn’t make her life easier. The book is full of visceral and at times disturbing descriptions of starvation, sexual abuse, and human cruelty.
The Vaster Wilds is a dark and depressing read, and I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re not a fan of dystopian-esque literature, or if you’re squeamish about descriptions of excrement and eating practically anything edible. I also wouldn’t recommend this book if you want more plot and action – the main storyline of the girl’s escape and running away doesn’t have much development and was a little repetitive. But if you love historical fiction with lyrical prose, definitely read this book! I gave it full five stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment