
The Wilderness
(2009)A novel by
Samantha Harvey
AwardsThe Booker Prize (nominee)
Orange Prize for Fiction (nominee)
Jake Jameson is a sixty-five-year-old architect who is on the cusp of retirement. One evening he's sitting alone in the office, staring down at an architectural drawing. He can't quite figure out what he's supposed to do with it. Suddenly he remembers a word, one for which he has been searching for days to recall: entropy - for him the singular most interesting theory that exists, a theory that says everything loses, rather than gains, order.
This idea underlies this riveting tale of a man whose memories are slowly eroding. As Alzheimer's begins to wear away his sense of identity, Jake builds stories around his life that inform his feelings of blame and responsibility - only to have the stories disintegrate faster than he can capture them. As the plot keeps shifting and the facts unravel, little mysteries start to form: for example, what was the problem with the missing letter 'e' ? What was behind the mythologies that his Jewish mother told him as a child? Where is his daughter, Alice? What happened to her? Eventually we realize that even Jake's clearest memories may not be true. He is the flawed witness to his own past, the ultimate unreliable narrator. Yet in the end we are left with a clear and moving portrait not only of a sympathetic man but also of a heartrending disease as seen from the inside out.
Arrestingly understated and wise, THE WILDERNESS is a memorable first novel from an extraordinarily gifted new writer.
This idea underlies this riveting tale of a man whose memories are slowly eroding. As Alzheimer's begins to wear away his sense of identity, Jake builds stories around his life that inform his feelings of blame and responsibility - only to have the stories disintegrate faster than he can capture them. As the plot keeps shifting and the facts unravel, little mysteries start to form: for example, what was the problem with the missing letter 'e' ? What was behind the mythologies that his Jewish mother told him as a child? Where is his daughter, Alice? What happened to her? Eventually we realize that even Jake's clearest memories may not be true. He is the flawed witness to his own past, the ultimate unreliable narrator. Yet in the end we are left with a clear and moving portrait not only of a sympathetic man but also of a heartrending disease as seen from the inside out.
Arrestingly understated and wise, THE WILDERNESS is a memorable first novel from an extraordinarily gifted new writer.
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Used availability for Samantha Harvey's The Wilderness
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
February 2009 : Hardback
| Title: The Wilderness: A Novel Author(s): Samantha Harvey ISBN: 0-385-52763-2 / 978-0-385-52763-7 (USA edition) Publisher: Nan A. Talese Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
February 2009 : Hardback
| Title: The Wilderness Author(s): Samantha Harvey ISBN: 0-224-08607-3 / 978-0-224-08607-3 (UK edition) Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
Paperback Editions
February 2010 : Paperback
| Title: The Wilderness Author(s): Samantha Harvey ISBN: 0-09-952653-0 / 978-0-09-952653-7 (UK edition) Publisher: Vintage Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
April 2009 : Paperback
| Title: The Wilderness Author(s): Samantha Harvey ISBN: 0-224-08968-4 / 978-0-224-08968-5 (UK edition) Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
Other Editions
February 2009 : Kindle edition
| Title: The Wilderness: A Novel Author(s): Samantha Harvey Publisher: Nan A. Talese Availability: Amazon More details... |
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