Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - The Vaster Wilds

Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

61 reviews

pretty_pathetic's review

dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I’m a sucker for this kind of literary writing. There is no plot, to the point it almost feels like this should have been a short story.

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epanama's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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oatmilktea's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The Vaster Wilds is a well-written story about survival and death and questioning one's faith as well as place in a cruel and beautiful world. It was a sensory, visceral experience, sometimes a little too graphic for what I can stomach but granted, I'm a little squeamish (definitely check the content warnings!).

I preferred the second half to the first, since the second has most of the character development and insight into what happened at the fort. This book might have worked without some of the parts about sheer survival and travel, but I'd still recommend it to anyone who enjoys a truly gritty and unfiltered tale exploring some of the bigger questions in life.

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_verena_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

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justnei's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I loved this book. It is graphic and explores difficult topics and giving the reader no comfort while doing so. Our protagonist has no name (referred to mostly as "the girl" or "she") and is largely a cog in the machine of colonialism, servitude, patriarchy, religion, etc. She is spit up and chewed out in the New World with no one to care for her, but despite her losses and traumas, she still has so much life in her. The author's writing was so immersive (for good and for bad - bowel movement descriptions were vivid) and I think a Goodreads review by switterbug describes the experience best - " This is a novel to read slowly but with fervor" (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5588893776). There is so much going on in every sentence and paragraph and page that I undoubtedly missed so much. I'm not sure I could ever reread this one, but I think this is a book where doing so would reveal new layers.

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kourtjohnstone's review

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adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was my first Groff book and I was highly anticipating to read it after seeing it on many peoples top lists of 2023. A book about a strong female protagonist in the wild? Sign me up!

This story is about a young servant girl who is escaping a colonial settlement in America. We hear first hand about her experience traversing the through the wilderness, trying to survive with very few resources and next to no food.

Pros: The female’s will to survive & the nature writing
Cons: The prose had me rereading sentences over and over, which did have me feeling disconnected from the story.

In all, I did read this while hiking through the woods for 8 days, and I was invested in how the story was going to end. However, I don’t think I’ll read another by this author because the writing style just pulled me out of the story too many times. I am glad I read it and I think many nature lovers will enjoy this survivalist story.

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sophiamcd's review

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Beautifully written and to my own surprise, I found the ending quite satisfying. The very slow pace made the writing start to feel a bit repetitive, and I found some of the historical references to be unnecessary eater eggs (which I personally just find distracting). But overall a fascinating reflection on the human-nature relationship, and the meaning of an individual life! Good if you're in a contemplative mood.

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