My editor occasionally sends me advance reading copies so that I might write a blurb, should I feel so moved. Diane Thomas's IN WILDERNESS is one of the best yet -- it kept me awake into the wee hours and stayed in my thoughts long after the last page. It reminded me of novels by two of my favorite writers -- Laurie R. King's FOLLY and Barbara Kingsolver's PRODIGAL SUMMER -- though it's very much its own beautifully written and hauntingly memorable story. I highly recommend this book.
I don't want to give away too much -- all I really want to say is I think most of you who read my blog would love this book. It would be a terrific choice for a book club that likes discussion -- there are lots of interesting points to ponder and choices to debate.
It won't be released till March 3 but this would be a good time to pre-order, on line or at your local bookseller -- or to ask your library to pre-order for its collection.
All of this below is from the publisher's site -- check out the amazing blurbs -- including mine. I think we'll be hearing a lot about this novel in days to come.
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.
Advance praise for In Wilderness
"A harrowing exploration of desire and obsession, In Wilderness sends two people into a physical and psychological wilderness that becomes stranger and more terrifying the deeper they go."--Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train
"Not my usual thing, which makes me say it all the louder: I love, love, love this book--the fearless and unflinching story of two extraordinary, vivid people alone in a vast pristine wilderness, told with genuine suspense and a wonderfully empowering ending. In Wilderness is altogether spectacular."--Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Personal
"Unforgettable: a mad, haunting, dreamlike story of love, obsession, and wildness . . . Diane Thomas mixes elegant prose with raw emotion."--William Landay, New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob
"In Wilderness is an often harrowing story of a love affair between two damaged people, but it is also a paean to the healing powers of nature. Diane Thomas has written an extraordinary novel filled with both darkness and light."--Ron Rash, PEN/Faulkner Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Serena and The Cove
"Diane Thomas writes like a woman in a fever dream, clashing two wasted, achingly lonely souls together to create sparks that become an all-consuming wildfire. The desolate inner landscapes of Danny and Katherine stand in stark opposition to the beauty of the natural world Thomas so expertly evokes, and I found myself riveted as they stumbled in their broken way toward connection and their own humanity. Heartbreaking, bold, relentless, and intensely erotic, In Wilderness is the work of a true original."--Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Someone Else's Love Story
“The story—the writing—stands out as some of the most original and dynamic work I’ve ever read. In Wilderness is an intensely powerful cat-and-mouse love story as gorgeous and brutal as its Appalachian mountain setting. I devoured every word.”—Carla Buckley, author of The Deepest Secret
“Utterly compelling . . . Thomas brings a Zen-like sensibility to her descriptions of the natural world and to the simple everyday matters of living. The two main characters are delineated with a similar keen precision, and the dark obsession ignited by their inevitable collision builds relentlessly to a breathtaking climax.”—Vicki Lane, author of Under the Skin
“Hypnotic . . . One reads and watches the two principal characters moving toward a climax that is impossible to resist—for the characters themselves, or for the reader. This is a story about many things: fate, nature, illness, and the power of healing. The best novels put us under a particular spell. This is a fine novel and the spell is a deep one.”—Joseph Monninger, author of Eternal on the Water
“Incantatory, dreamlike, simultaneously harsh and beautiful, In Wilderness is a striking portrait of both physical and psychological healing. In part a return to the garden of Eden, and in part an exploration of our darkest fears, this astonishing novel radiates power from beginning to end.”—Frank Huyler, author of The Laws of Invisible Things and Right of Thirst
“Diane Thomas’s In Wilderness is a mesmerizing literary ballet, a dazzling dance of language revealing a story of fear and fragility, madness and passion, and hauntingly performed by two of the most memorable characters to appear in recent American literature. This is a great, great read.”—Terry Kay, author of To Dance with the White Dog and The Book of Marie
