The Vaster Wilds
2023 novel by Lauren Groff
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Vaster Wilds is a historical novel by Lauren Groff, published by Riverhead Books on September 12, 2023. It is the second installment in a planned "triptych" of novels that includes Matrix (2021).[1]
| |
| Author | Lauren Groff |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | January LaVoy |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Set in | Virginia in 1610 |
| Publisher | Riverhead Books |
Publication date | September 12, 2023 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback), e-book, audiobook |
| Pages | 272 |
| Awards | The Florida Book Award for General Fiction |
| ISBN | 978-0-593-41840-6 |
Premise
Set in colonial Virginia, Groff's fifth novel, The Vaster Wilds, is about a servant girl who "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."[2]
Reception
The Guardian described the novel as "a hymn of endurance" with "biblical, incantatory" prose.[3] The Vaster Wilds received other positive reviews in the Los Angeles Times,[4] The Boston Globe, [5] and The New York Times Book Review.[6] Literary critic Maureen Corrigan was more critical of the book's plot and pacing, noting that "without a destination in view, all that running starts to seem kind of aimless."[7]
The novel won the gold prize for General Fiction at the Florida Book Award[8] and was named by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of 2023.[9]
