In Wilderness

In Wilderness {Book Review}

In Wilderness is what I would dub a dark story set in Georgia’s Appalachian mountains during the 1960’s. It is intense and is the tale of two lost people, each on their own path dealing with struggles and complex issues.

They develop a very strange and obsessive relationship. I found it to be a disturbing read. The plot description of the story pulled me in, but with all the explicit scenes and profanity, this book was not for me. It should be read by mature readers.

On the flip side, I found the writing to be vividly descriptive. The two main characters are Danny and Katherine. While they certainly were quite odd, they are characters that you won’t soon forget.

 

Book Description:

For readers of Amanda Coplin and Chris Bohjalian, In Wilderness is a suspenseful and literary love story—a daring and original novel about our fierce need for companionship and our enduring will to survive.

In the winter of 1966, Katherine Reid moves to an isolated cabin deep in Georgia’s Appalachian Mountains. There, with little more than a sleeping bag, a tin plate, and a loaded gun, she plans to spend her time in peaceful solitude. But one day, Katherine realizes the woods are not empty, and she is not alone. Someone else is near, observing  her every move.

Twenty-year-old Vietnam veteran Danny lives not far from Katherine’s cabin, in a once-grand mansion he has dubbed “Gatsby’s house.” Haunted by war and enclosed by walls of moldering books, he becomes fixated on Katherine. What starts as cautious observation grows to obsession. When these two souls collide, the passion that ignites between them is all-consuming—and increasingly dangerous.

Suffused with a stunning sense of character and atmosphere, Diane Thomas’s intimate voice creates an unforgettable depiction of the transformative power of love, how we grieve and hope, and the perilous ways in which we heed and test our hearts.