Notes from the Shelf

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The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff – Nature & Survival
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 256
Rating:  ★★★★★
Buy: Bookshop.org

This post contains spoilers.

Book Summary

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff follows a young servant girl in her quest to survive in the harsh wilderness. This book is shorter but packs a punch. Details of her past are revealed throughout the book as she wanders the wilderness in search of safety. She is from a poor house born to a prostitute, her father unknown, and she’s sent to a colonial settlement as a servant to her mistress. She faces many challenges: she loses her first love to a storm on the ship, loses her best friend to famine, almost loses herself in the fight for survival, but she sets out bravely on her own, away from the men of the fort and into the unknown, the vaster wilds. Despite her hardships, she still clings to hope for a better life for herself with her unwavering dedication to God, although that is also tested and perhaps transcended during her fight for survival.

My Thoughts

This book gripped me from the beginning and wouldn’t let go. It is written with no dialogue and perhaps could be viewed as tedious or slow in some parts, but to think about her past experiences and her current fight for survival moved me in a way few books have. Each time something new was revealed, some new horror she has had to endure, I felt a visceral reaction and just wanted to embrace her and comfort her.

If you want to be scrubbed raw, laid bare and remade, this is the book for you. This book is a call to nature, and how nature always wins, although humans are also a part of nature despite thinking we are separate. I’m not sure why I thought a book about a young girl surviving in the wilderness would have a happy ending, like she would make it to other settlers or be taken in by the Native Americans. However, reading this book gave me more appreciation for the little things, and reminded me how beautiful the world can be despite suffering. 

Final Thoughts

This isn’t a book for everyone, but if you’re drawn to introspective stories and can sit with discomfort, it might be exactly what you need. It challenged me, moved me, and reminded me how small and miraculous it is just to be alive.

If you want to buy The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff, consider purchasing it through Bookshop.org. Supporting this link helps sustain independent bookstores and keeps this blog thriving.

Read Other Historical Fiction Reviews:
November Road
Unsheltered
This Tender Land

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