Welcome to Litsy!

I listened to this one over audio. I‘m still not sure how I feel about this one. On one hand I found it interesting to hear about the early colonial days in America from the perspective of a woman. Her ability to survive in the wild after escaping the settlement was interesting. Some parts I found compelling but other parts felt a bit repetitive. There was something that was off for me, not sure what. It was also my first Groff book. #bookspin

Oh boy, this one I did not like at all. I‘ve read a few Lauren Groff books and enjoyed what I read. I just did not care for this one. Sorry Lauren.

#authoramonth - Finished in February

Making slow headway in February on many challenges, though I did enjoy the tagged book for #AuthorAMonth and downloaded a couple more Groffs to my ever-growing ebook backlog. She sure writes a lovely sentence, tho the book was brutal in parts.
Fav of the month: prob Rachel Incident?
I DNF'd my #bookspin (American Mermaid)
+ finished another of @vivastory #AuldLangSpine picks which was also fun (The Art Thief)
A good month!

What a day to finish this one! “Big” (ish lol) snowstorm here in 🗽

Groff‘s words kept me so engaged for a story that in other‘s hands I think I‘d find pretty tepid. This one requires a strong stomach though: lots of blunt talk about biology (let‘s leave it at that) & relationships with animals when you are in survival mode. Set in Colonial America, also grapples with spirituality, sexuality, & classism. #AuthorAMonth

Hmmmmmmm 🤔

Plot was propulsive enough in the beginning, but eventually became repetitive. Also, there are some wonderful nature descriptions, but there were times when the prose felt forced, like Groff was trying too hard to be literary.

I always silently scoff at myself when I write a critique, like I could do any better. 😜 That‘s why I am a reader, not a writer.

Groff is an auto-read for me. Love her work. However, I did not love this one. Maybe it‘s because I read it immediately after North Woods. Maybe because this book is grueling and depressing. Groff gets in a lot of great points about a woman‘s place in the 1700‘s, about men and their greed and folly, about nature. But the ongoing visuals of a young girl trying to survive in the wild was relentless. The writing itself was spectacular.

I really loved this book. In particular, I liked that no creature or perspective is to small or undeserving. Just a very different and interesting read. 👍

This book was absolutely phenomenal! Lauren Groff has a way of writing that is just so beautiful and descriptive. Matrix is still my favorite book by her of all time - this didn't top that in my opinion - but it's still one of the best books I've read this year! 💕📚 #catsoflitsy #rumpel

Wonderful book. Set in 1700‘s , one can identify with this girls struggle through her life , she is fleeing oppression, she has her hopes and dreams. There is immersion in the world at ground level, sensing it , finding home, finding meaning in the soil the stones. Everything is alive…the girl, the trees, the birds, the pulsing earth. I love Lauren Geoff‘s writing.

I‘m going to take a break from Litsy for awhile.

I have a tenuous relationship with Lauren Groff‘s work. I found Fates and Furies to be pretentious and unbelievable, but I loved Matrix. The Vaster Wilds falls somewhere in between. I enjoyed the writing and the story of a girl struggling to survive in the wilderness of colonial America. I didn‘t find anything new or eye-opening thematically. It reminded me of The Island of the Blue Dolphins, which I loved as a child. I will try Groff‘s next work.

Reading at the soccer fields. ⚽️

Read an ARC of this couple weeks ago and it is still sitting with me. I know Groff‘s writing isn‘t for everyone, but this one is just something. It‘s a survival story, but also a study of the depths to which humans will sink when faced with horrific circumstances. This is a very, very dark book.