The Vaster Wilds: A Novel

Description:

About this item:

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023


NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, TIME, ESQUIRE, VOGUE, LA TIMES, SLATE, HARPER'S BAZAAR and others

“Part historical, part horror, part breathless thriller, part wilderness survival tale, The Vaster Wilds is a story about the lengths to which we will go to stay alive."—NPR staff pick

“Lauren Groff just reinvented the adventure novel."—Los Angeles Times

Glorious…surroundings come alive in prose that lives and breathes upon the page." —Boston Globe


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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for The Vaster Wilds:

“I know of few other writers whose sentences are so beautiful and so propulsive. The girl embodies a furious onward motion, as does the prose.”
—New York Times Book Review
 
“[A] thrilling historical adventure. . .the existential themes at the heart of Lauren Groff’s fifth novel—the rawness of life, the precious inner-workings of nature, the drive to continue on in the face of challenges—are as timely as they come.”
TIME, "Top 10 Books of 2023"

"Part historical, part horror, part breathless thriller, part wilderness survival tale, The Vaster Wilds is a story about the lengths to which we will go to stay alive."—NPR

“Holds tension and sows mystery on every page.”—Vulture

“Groff’s seventh novel begins with a high-octane escape. . . .Though the white-knuckled tale of this young woman. . .Groff enlivens the dark crevices of colonial history. But the ambitions of The Vaster Wilds are loftier than this—in fact, they’re downright cosmic. . . .The result is an ecstatic transformation—one that’s a haunting and holy experience to read and behold.”Esquire, "The 20 Best Books of 2023"

“Transcendent. Mesmerizing. Dazzling. Incandescent. Audacious….All of those descriptors are accurate and none of them are sufficient to describe just how spectacular [Groff’s] new book is.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Lauren Groff just reinvented the adventure novel… Groff’s world is Darwinian, but she doesn’t chronicle the survival of the fittest; she convinces us instead that even the unluckiest among us can find a way to the blessings of peace, quiet and freedom.”
Los Angeles Times, "13 Best Novels of 2023"
 
“Glorious…Groff imagines a natural world where humans adapt to its contours rather than conquer them… We don’t need a hero’s tale of domination and plunder to fix the environment. We need more stories of how becoming part of the natural systems that surround us may help us survive.
The Vaster Wilds is a terrific addition to a developing canon of our continued existence.”—The Boston Globe

“Lilting, whispered…poetic.”
Wall Street Journal

Groff’s fiction is usually identified as ecological and feminist, which it certainly is, but it is theological too…Nature is Groff’s muse as well as her deity. Her prose, always alive and sensuous, is hit by an extra electrical charge…Groff has written the gospel.”—The Atlantic

"A rollicking adventure story, quick-paced and snappy and frequently funny…impossible to put down...This book is exquisitely attuned to the experience of being a human body within nature...Stark, vicious, and transcendent, The Vaster Wildsis the best book I’ve read all year. It’s a triumph.—Vox

“Magnificent…a cosmic adventure story in which the state of the main character’s soul is just as important as the fate of her body.” —Slate, "Top 10 Books of the Year"

“Groff’s depictions of the untrammeled natural world, in all its beauty and brutality, are gorgeously rendered, as is the psychological portrait of her indefatigable protagonist, whose light blazes and then dims as her fortunes change… [I] found myself transfixed, and awestruck by the end.”
Literary Hub
 
“Groff skillfully weaves the girl’s past into her forward flight... As she travels farther and farther from the fort, Groff draws the reader ever closer to naming the reason for her flight. It’s a stunning revelation, followed by an even more stunning ending. Full of wonder and heartbreak,
The Vaster Wilds is a dazzling journey.”—Tampa Bay Times
 
“Groff creates a thrilling journey.”—
Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Mesmerizing. . .a stupendous imagining of early colonial America, and about the resilience of one young girl to survive despite all odds.”Town & Country

"Engrossing. . . The Vaster Wilds explores themes that are mainstays of Groff's work: faith, nature, what it means to be a woman in the world— and the ingenuity it takes to survive there."San Francisco Chronicle

“Breathtaking… It is impossible to overstate how spellbindingly she renders the grim reality of wilderness survival… It is not a story for the faint of heart, but it is also not without its softness, its triumphs, its aching moments of benediction and sheer beauty.”
—Chapter 16
 
“Suspenseful and sweeping.”
Southern Living

"Part-adventure, part-fable, classic Groff."
—The Millions

“[A] page-turner with a built-in engine. . .once you slip into its rich rhythms, it’s an engrossing and rewarding journey.”
Vogue, "Best Books of the Year"
 
“Illustrate[s] a fluid, almost cyclical understanding of history, and faith’s sticky place within it.” ­—Elle

"[An] absorbing, visceral study of survival." Vanity Fair

“Groff’s portrayal of the wilderness is not only raw and violent but also filled with moments of profound beauty and realization. As the girl navigates the forest, her journey becomes an allegory for the broader themes of environmental stewardship, the illusion of escaping the past, and female vulnerability in a male-dominated society. . .The contrast in these narratives showcases Groff’s versatility as a writer, her skill in creating intense, emotionally charged stories that challenge readers, and her insight into the historical and cultural forces shaping women’s lives.”Scientific Inquirer

“Extraordinary. . .Groff builds and maintains suspense on multiple levels, while offering an unflinching portrayal of her heroine’s desperation and will to survive. This is a triumph.” ­—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
 
“Groff's seventh book, a captivating survival story, starts off running. . . .this wholly enveloping book has. . . deep examinations of faith, dominion, and human nature; Groff's seemingly joyfully related, seamless period prose; and the time-collapsing sense of reading a text channeled directly from the mind of a long-ago-living, breathing woman facing extraordinary circumstances.”—Booklist, Starred Review & "Best of 2023"
 
“Groff’s imaginative journey into a distant time and place is powered by a thrumming engine. . . Immersion in the girl’s experience provides a virtual vacation from civilization. . . The writing is inspired, the imaginative power near mystic.”—
­Kirkus Reviews
 
“Combines visceral detail and magisterial sweep. . . Lauren Groff's fifth novel, set in Virginia in the early 17th century, is a classic study of solitude and survival that stars a teenage girl fleeing starvation—and the scene of a crime.” —
Shelf Awareness

About the Author

Lauren Groff is a three-time National Book Award finalist and the New York Times bestselling author of the novels The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, Fates and Furies, Matrix, and The Vaster Wilds, and the short story collections Delicate Edible Birds and Florida. She has won the Story Prize and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and has been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Groff ’s work regularly appears in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and elsewhere.

Review:

4.2 out of 5

83.08% of customers are satisfied

5.0 out of 5 stars Freedom in nature

N. · September 28, 2023

I first fell in love with Lauren Groff’s writing with her 2006 Atlantic short story “L. DeBard and Aliette.” It has stuck with me since I first read it in graduate school, yet for some reason I haven’t actually read any of her novels until The Vaster Wilds (Matrix has been on my to-read list for ages!)The Vaster Wilds is quite a self-contained story, following a girl (simply known as “girl,” but by numerous other names throughout her life, such as Lamentations.) Through contextual clues, we find that the girl has fled the famine and disease-stricken Jamestown settlement after she has committed a crime. The girl’s strong-willed drive for survival is the spark the ignites her journey and keeps her fire burning through adversity in the wilderness.Through starvation, disease, injuries, harsh weather, and much more, the girl’s ingenuity keeps her alive. Perhaps it is obvious to say, but the girl’s flight through the harsh wilderness is also very much a journey through her own mind and memories. She was purchased as a type of “pet” for her former mistress; a person forced to be an object or play thing. A person forced to journey across an ocean and care for a young child. A person forced to witness and endure terrible hardship. The harsh reality of the girl’s life in “civilization” was perhaps far more trying than anything the untamed wilderness hurls her way. For in civilization she was bound, yet in the wilderness she is free.Lauren Groff’s writing style is unique, poetic, and beautiful. Perfect and poignant in her phrasing. I watched the movie Beau Is Afraid around the same time I was finishing this novel, and I can’t help but draw similarities in the abstract journeys both physical and emotional, both bizarre and beautiful.

4.0 out of 5 stars An engaging page-turner with some rough edges

J.S. · March 9, 2024

I could not put this book down, and that's always good. Groff has an eye for landscape and a taste for lurid plotting that reminds me strongly of Cormac McCarthy - but without his vocabulary and precision. One example that really stood out to me is her repeated use of "hovel" to mean any rudimentary shelter, even a crevice behind a waterfall. Oxford Languages defines hovel as "a small, squalid, unpleasant, or simply constructed dwelling" and I think "constructed" is a key part, here; using "hovel" as a synonym for "poor shelter" felt sloppy.

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful story of a life

C.M. · August 13, 2024

I picked this book as I enjoyed the matrix and had heard of a collection of short stories, but this book came up. I'm not generally a fan of fiction but found this book to be a captivating read. A girl's struggle to survive enemies of man and wilderness and find appreciation for all that is good in the world nonetheless.

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful prose - Ending left me in a strange place.

S. · August 22, 2024

I'm a nature loved and very much enjoyed the focus on this wilderness survival novel. The main character was well developed as was the sparse supporting "cast". The novel is spinkled with flashbacks that gradually reveal the back story. I would have rated this book higher but the ending didn't sit well. A theme that was prevalent throughout the novel was jettisoned in the last pages in an odd way.

5.0 out of 5 stars A journey for body and soul

C.A.M. · August 12, 2024

Wow! What an immersive and fantastically discussable book!Beautiful and poetic language draw you into the experience of the protagonist and release you on a journey of determination and self-preservation. Told with precision and visceral eloquence, you will not soon forget your time in The Vaster Wilds.

4.0 out of 5 stars vast

R.W. · February 26, 2024

A survival spiritual travelogue of Jamestown era America - a girl of obscure origins finds a vaster life in the cosmos

5.0 out of 5 stars Lauren's books are soul-lifting discoveries

T. · April 6, 2024

Lauren's books have a magical quality that transcends mere words. They are like sunrises, illuminating the hidden corners of our hearts. With each page turned, we embark on a journey—a pilgrimage of emotions, a quest for understanding, and a celebration of the human spirit.Her stories are not just narratives; they are whispers from the universe, echoing through time and space. They touch upon the profound and the ordinary, weaving tapestries of hope, love, and resilience. Lauren's characters become our companions, their struggles mirroring our own, their victories igniting our souls.In the quiet moments, when the world fades away, we find solace in her prose. Lauren's books are more than ink on paper; they are vessels of wonder, carrying us to places we've never been and revealing truths we've always known.

2.0 out of 5 stars not my kind of book

A.W. · July 13, 2024

I just didn’t enjoy this book. It was a book club pick and wasn’t the type of book I’d choose. It was a bit repetitive and felt long. I didn’t love the third person narrative and though I wanted to root for the girl I just couldn’t. Her resilience was admirable, but the whole book made me tired.

The best book I've read in a long, long time!

m.w. · November 29, 2023

If you're like me and love survival themed novels with a historical setting, this is the next novel for you. I read all day and into the evening until it was done. It was both historically accurate and also captured the struggle to survive in the wilderness with the the most deliciously brutal descriptions. I bought a hard copy to keep in my collection of favourite books of all time.

Wow!

G.B. · September 24, 2024

This was quite a book. Beautifully written and better than poetry - brutal but addictive and I could not put it down...

A boring novel

M. · February 1, 2024

Too long when people have read ROBINSON CRUSOE? LAZARILLO de TORMS , PILGRIM4S PROGRESS and books that are called : road movies, this VAST WILDS is not very original and depressing . She writes well on the whole , but , her sentences are too long and she seems to enjoy wallowing in her own prose . So it's boring and the end is depressing .I did not enjoy it at all

Profound

S. · January 26, 2024

The plot of this book is simple: into a fledgling colony of North America comes a small dusky skinned servant girl from England. When starvation and illness destroy most life in the fort where she now lives, the girl escapes and makes her way through the strange new wilderness, surviving starvation, injury and illness to set up a simple home for herself. There is almost no conversation: it is a book written entirely as narrative - this happened, that happened etc. Apart from the dangerous physical things that happen, the girl observes and thinks, and a voice sometimes leads or challenges her thoughts. She is strong, resourceful, dedicated to staying alive and wins our respect. There are flashbacks to life in England which are vivid in their evocation of Tudor life. There’s the backstory of a Jesuit priest madly and raggedly surviving in the New World. Towards the end there’s the story of what really happened in the girl’s final hours at the fort. These are stories of venality, filth, cruelty mixed in with song, dance and learning.The wonder and majesty of the novel is in the picture it presents of a halcyon world before Europeans took over and in the girl’s changing apprehension of god, the natural world and the place of humanity in it. This is a bland way to describe it. Lauren Groff is a superb writer with a luminous, poetic, heartfelt gift for driving home fundamental truths of our existence that we often stand outside of as we go to the supermarket etc. It feels very timely, given the coming welter of climate change depredations and the ever-changing social and political upheavals. A superb book, that makes us long for a pristine world whose inhabitants have a humble appreciation of their tiny place in the great chain of being.

Won me over

C. · October 2, 2023

This gruelling story of a servant girl’s flight through early colonial America has its faults. The heroine is too saintly. The other characters are one-dimensional. There is too much preaching to the choir about colonialism and male violence. But it won me over. After skimming the early pages I became gripped by the heroine’s day-to-day struggles. The close-up descriptions of the natural world, in its beauty and harshness, are dazzling. In the end, the story of one person’s survival becomes a meditation on our relationship with the natural world and what it means to be human.

The Vaster Wilds: A Novel

4.1

BHD9100

Quantity:

|

Order today to get by

Free delivery on orders over BHD 20

Return and refund policies

Product origin: United States

Electrical items shipped from the US are by default considered to be 120v, unless stated otherwise in the product description. Contact Bolo support for voltage information of specific products. A step-up transformer is required to convert from 120v to 240v. All heating electrical items of 120v will be automatically cancelled.

All product information listed on the site are from 3rd party sources, including images and reviews. bolo.bh is not liable for any claims or promotions mentioned on the product description or images with textual content. For detailed product information, please contact the manufacturer or Bolo support by logging into your account. Unless stated otherwise during checkout, all import taxes and duty are included in the price mentioned on the product page. bolo.bh follows the rules and regulations of sale in Bahrain and will cancel items in an order that are illegal for sale in Bahrain. We take all the necessary steps to ensure only products for sale in Bahrain are displayed. Product stock and delivery estimate may change with the seller even after placing the order. All items are shipped by air and items marked “Dangerous Goods (DG)” by the IATA will be cancelled from orders. We strive to process your order as soon as it is finalized.

More from this brand

Similar items from “Genre Fiction”