The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

Posted by Ms A on October 6, 2023 in All, Book Club Fodder, Grab it Now | Leave a comment

This novel is nothing short of a masterpiece. Pouring over it, made me want to read, review and even yearn to write.  Alas, few could write like Lauren Groff.

It’s winter in the early 1600’s, and a young servant girl escapes the unspeakable conditions of a colonial settlement in the Americas into the wild.  This unnamed girl is virtually the only character in The Vaster Wilds and her survival is the only narrative. What she is escaping and why is revealed through fever dreams and flashbacks as she wits her way through the wilderness like a winner of Alone in period costume.

Starvation, fear and pain feature on almost every page as this young girl (wearing nothing but a dead man’s boots and stolen coat) emerges as a true fighter in the harshest of conditions. Sheltering from ice storms in hollowed out logs, roasting baby squirrels in dugouts and braving bee hives to treat her blistered, rotting feet. At times, she wishes for death but “hers was too animal a vitality and she could not.”

If there were underlying themes to this story, I didn’t care. Instead, I was utterly swept up in the pain and adventure with meticulous research and writing too beautiful to describe.

Lauren Groff is an American author of two previous novels (Fates and Furies and Matrix) plus many short stories. I didn’t love Matrix but adored Fates and Furies. The Vaster Wilds however, has taken her writing to another level and if it doesn’t pocket nominations for major literary awards, there is certainly no hope for the rest of us.

And that’s my 2 cents worth.