The Wilderness by Sarah Duguid - #BookReview

 

Isabella, the elder of the two girls, rows the boat. At her feet slumps a brown canvas rucksack containing several half-litre bottles of water, four chocolate bars, two homemade cheese sandwiches wrapped in foil and a Thermos flask filled with instant soup: they needed at least one thing that was hot. The rowing is hard work. Noticing her sister is losing strength, Sasha opens a chocolate bar, breaks it for them to share, but Isabella can't let go of the oars, so instead Sasha feeds it to her in little chunks.

"Is that better?" she asks when the chocolate is finished.

"A little," replies Isabella.

***

When Anna and David receive a phone call late one evening, their lives are upturned. Within minutes, they are travelling to the west coast of Scotland, preparing to care for two young sisters, tragically and suddenly orphaned.

It's a beautiful place, the heather is in bloom, the birds wheel above the waves, the deer graze peacefully in the distance. But the large granite house is no longer a home for the girls, and Anna knows she can never take the place of their mother. Then David invites his friend to stay, to 'ease them through' and Anna finds herself increasingly isolated, with everything she - and the girls - once knew of life discarded and overruled by a man of whom she is deeply suspicious.

***

This highly evocative novel is narrated from the perspective of the main character, Anna. She is an interesting character, a childless woman used to living in the city and suddenly finds herself living in the middle of nowhere, trying to raise two bereaved teenage girls following the death of their parents.

Her descriptions of her situation, her emotions and her environment are tangible, and I could feel her sense of isolation. Not only is she miles away from her own family and friends but her husband also withdraws as Anna observes him come increasingly under the influence of Brendan, an old friend who has imposed himself upon them.

This is a book that sucks the reader into its splendid prose. It is elegantly written in a tight and lyrical manner, and the author has used her words carefully in creating a scenario which, to Anna, feels claustrophobic and intense. For her charges, Sasha and Isabella, the rugged landscape is the norm but in Brendan's presence it becomes feral and dangerous.

This is a remarkably accomplished novel which I found to be thought provoking. It is a powerful, slim volume which has much to say about grief, love and how we might react when the life we know is completely upended. I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978 1472229885

Publisher: Tinder Press

Formats: e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages: 256 (hardback)

About the Author:

Sarah Duguid grew up on a farm in North Lincolnshire and now lives in London. The Wilderness is her second novel.

(Thank you to Tinder Press for gifting me with this book.)