I must say that Lauren Groff's writing is astonishing. In The Vaster Wilds (#1,169), she has outdone herself. The girl who is the protagonist here slowly reveals herself as she escapes the rickety palisade of the fort of the starving Englishmen of Jamestown in 1609. Outside are the Indians lying in wait in a vast unknown wilderness. What could be so powerfully wrong that it drives her to chance her life on such a perilous undertaking?
Lamentation Callat's tale is harrowing and horrifying. She endures the privations of the wild and eludes those who follow her. Just as you think she might prevail, another obstacle is placed in her path until, at the end, she succumbs. Surely that will come as no surprise to the reader. I was disappointed, though, that Ms. Groff could not allow the girl to die until she had beaten every last bit of hope and faith from her, dooming her to die a lost soul. It's certainly a nihilistic view of life. Not a read for the faint of heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment