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    Wilderness
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    Wilderness
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    Wilderness
    Audiobook10 hours

    Wilderness

    Written by Lance Weller

    Narrated by Richard Poe

    3.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    Thirty years ago, Abel Truman found himself on the wrong side in the Battle of the Wilderness, one of the bloodiest clashes of the American Civil War. Now an old and ailing man, Abel must make one heroic final journey over snowbound mountains. Abel's tortured and ultimately redemptive path leads him to change the lives of those he meets, as he encounters compassion amid brutality and tenderness within loss.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherW. F. Howes Ltd
    Release dateJan 3, 2013
    ISBN9781471226656
    Unavailable
    Wilderness
    Author

    Lance Weller

    Lance Weller has published short fiction in several literary journals. He won Glimmer Train's Short Story Award for New Writers and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. A Washington native, he has hiked and camped extensively in the landscape he describes. He lives in Gig Harbor, WA, with his wife and several dogs.

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    Reviews for Wilderness

    3.5/5

    82 ratings18 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I received this electronic Advanced Reading Copy through NetGalley. The book is released in September 2012.Wilderness is a book you'll be hearing and reading a lot about in the coming months. It's just that sort of book, though in this case the buzz is well-deserved. I confess, I struggled with the first few chapters. It starts slowly, with excessive, almost purple descriptions. It also gave away the ending right away, which left me puzzled--shouldn't I be left wondering who survived?In this case, no. It's not a thriller, it's not just a "Can they escape the bad guys?" kind of book. It's a lot deeper than that. At heart, Wilderness is about the scars we carry with and within ourselves, the things that make us who we are. Abel Truman is physically scarred with his maimed arm and mottled chest, but the wounds within are far worse. This isn't a book that should be read by anyone coping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The scenes of the Battle of the Wilderness are probably among the most beautifully written yet horrible descriptions of war I have ever read. Weller shows the humanity of war and what it does to people on both sides, as well as those caught in the middle. There are also women of strength and character, such as Hypatia the escaped slave, and in the 1899 storyline there is Ellen. Oh, Ellen. Some of her scenes made me want to cry or to grab a weapon as if I could come to her aid. Really, I was stunned by the intense emotional reactions this book caused in me. I read through some of the battle sequences with my jaw actually gaping, and a horrible knot in my stomach. Then when Ellen and her husband were together, I wished I could hug them both.The antagonists aren't quite as nuanced, but they aren't stock characters, either. Everyone in this book has suffered. Everyone has been altered by that suffering. Even the dogs, who Abel loves with fierce intensity, are not immune.The book may have started at a crawl, but once the Civil War scenes began, I was utterly hooked. It's a book about horrible things, but written with eloquence and sensitivity. I will look for Lance Weller's books in the future.
    • 4/5
      Thirty years after the Battle of the Wolderness has left him permanently maimed, Abel Tubman feels he must come to terms with his past before the was. Haunted by the horror of the war and the tragic loss of his wife and child, he finds moments of unexpected kindness which saves his life.
    • 4/5
      A rich, lyrical novel which reminded me a bit of Charles Frazier. Set in 1899 Washington State with flashbacks to the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness, this is a powerful story, well told.
    • 1/5
      It started with great possibilities with the author using wonderful word painting and the backgrounds of the Olympic Peninsula & the Wilderness of Spotsylvania. I didn't even mind the switching between 1864 & 1899. What finally drove me to give the book a low rating was the repetitious detail, as in marching the Confederate army into the Wilderness twice when once would have sufficed with the incorporation of how Abel Truman's friend came by the dead cavalryman's cross. Likewise coming across Willis and the Haida's camp could have been dovetailed with his hike in from the ocean and not starting with him on the outskirts of their camp. It left the book with a very choppy feel to it that I didn't care for.
    • 5/5
      I think this may be the most unusual novel I have read in a long time. This is due, not to the format, style, or subject, not due to many things, but to the dense melancholy beauty of it as a whole. WILDERNESS is an extraordinarily courageous historical novel that links the end of the Civil War in the east with the bleak settling of the Northwest not long after the end of that war. Author, Lance Weller, holds back nothing of the gritty reality of battle, particularly the last battles of that difficult war; and there is not one iota of romanticizing it. What is surprising is that the war period of the book is not even the saddest part of it; for throughout the story the wilderness ,whether in Spotsylvania or the Olympic peninsula, is the wilderness of the human heart. At times, the sadness of this book is almost unbearable but the reader stays with it because it is unbelievably beautifully written and because the desire to know how it ends and what it all amounts to is too great to put it aside. As much as WILDERNESS is not about the wild places of the country, it is no more about the Civil War; and although it seems to be about Man’s capacity for violence, it isn’t about that either. Although there are many scenes of great violence, there are also moments of mercy and grace. It is really about the human heart and about people, especially about those people who come along and, against all reason, help and heal. It seems to be about those with souls and those without souls and the fact that we can’t know who is redeemable and who is not. Thankfully, after all the pain and suffering, there is redemption for those who seek it most through a most unlikely little girl, and although she only appears at the very beginning and the very end of the story, she provides the bookends that hold this masterpiece together.
    • 3/5
      Lance Weller's descriptions throughout this book are outstanding. He almost lost me, though, up front with too much description and, it seemed, no story. But I kept reading, looking for story, and did find one that is mostly heartbreaking.The story I found wasn't quite what the book flap says, although that was probably because I misunderstood parts of it. That is too easy to do in WILDERNESS. I had to read many paragraphs more than once.The subject of WILDERNESS is Abel Truman. Chapters cover Abel as an old man in 1899 and as a Civil War soldier in 1864. The years not described are those between 1864 and 1899, when Abel lives in a shack in the woods with his dog. Those are years we just assume.My feeling is that in 1864, 1899, and the years between Abel is either dealing with or not dealing with the loss of his baby and wife. For me, that is the story.
    • 5/5
      Civil war veteran Abel Truman lives in a shack by the Pacific Ocean in Washington's Olympic Mountain range. Stern, anti-social, and living the life of a hermit, he knows life is winding down for him, and as it does so, he finds himself on an unexpected quest. He endures tremendous trials, as his memories and past hardships are slowly revealed to us.I loved this book! And it's a bit surprising how much I loved it, considering it is strongly narrative, and I am more of a dialogue-driven reader. But I used to live in this area, and I have hiked the Olympic Mountains (well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. I have hiked for a few hours at a time in those mountains). I used to look out at these mountains every day, and they are my favorite place on earth.Combine that with a character like Abel Truman, a gritty old war veteran, a widower, a loner, and you've got me hooked! But Abel isn't completely alone. He shares his little shack and quiet life with a dog that found him years before. This is the second story I've read in the last few months that is about a loner man and his bond with his dog. The last one, The Dog Stars by Peter Heller, became one of my favorite books of 2012, and this book surpasses that one.Abel seems pretty miserable. He is just enduring life rather than living it. And as you get glimpses into his past, you begin to understand why. You come to realize he has a bit of a death wish, and does not fear death at all; that he would, in fact, find death to be a relief.But then circumstances change, and he finds a mission to drive him, which then leads to another mission, and what will then become the defining moment in his life. Moments of the story can get quite emotional. Modest and restrained, this story is told in beautiful prose and descriptive text, and that is quite something said coming from someone who is not a fan of descriptive text!This provocative story starts out being narrated by an elderly woman in a nursing home, looking back on her life and that of her "second father" Abel. But soon after the story becomes solely Abel's story.I would give warning that there is a bit of offensive language and subject matter in this book. Abel was a civil war soldier, and he was a confederate soldier, fighting against freeing the slaves, and he speaks like a racist through much of the story. The "N word" is thrown around a fair bit, along with some other offensive terms. And there is death and rape and other violence. But that isn't the bulk of the story. And you wind up loving this man despite his shortcomings.My final word: This was story of real substance; a series of complex stories interwoven into poetic beauty and tragedy. Abel becomes a very human, flawed and reluctant hero, and you can't help but admire him. A truly beautiful story!
    • 2/5
      This is a debut novel by Lance Weller. I was attracted to it about a year ago when I saw a favorable mention in somebody's Best Books of 2012" The plot summary reminded me a bit of "Cold Mountain", a book that I enjoyed very much, so I thought I'd try it. "The Wilderness" (TW) tells the story of Abel Truman, a survivor of the Civil War and a survivor of Life thereafter. Abel, though born and raised in the north was in North Carolina when war broke out and hence became a Reb, which was OK with Abel. He survived countless battles, and managed to escape serious damage until the Wilderness Battle near Fredricksburg where he suffered a number of wounds. Most of the story flips back and forth between that battle and events in 1899 when Abel and his dog roamed the wilderness near the coastline of the northwest. Most of the story is narrative with very little dialog. The battle scenes are gruesome, but then so are many of the scenes in the wilderness post-Civil War. Abel is a guy who is content with going along. He is not very bright, and he often speaks without thinking, but generally he tries to do the right thing. He encounters some interesting folks but there were no moments nor relationships which particularly moved me. Some of the storyline was a bit confusing, perhaps purposefully unclear, but I didn't really care. I cannot remember the list I found it on and if I did I would probably not pay too much attention to their Best Books of 2013.
    • 4/5
      A harsh, brutal, beautiful story of the Civil War, the Pacific Northwest and the capability of mankind for both great evil and great kindness and bravery. Heartbreaking story, with rich, transporting writing in the style of Jeffrey Lent and Charles Frazier. At times very difficult to read for its brutality, but I was captivated by the story and characters and could not put it down until I reached the end.
    • 3/5
      The Wilderness by Samantha HarveyMy thoughts and comments:This book was a very difficult read for me what with my father-in-law and his father both succumbing to Alzheimer's Disease or dying of complications of the disease. It brought back a great many difficult memories and as my beloved father-in-law just passed a year and a half ago some of those are still very raw.This is the 2nd or 3rd Orange book of the month that I have read that has been written in a past tense and present tense back & forth manner. I do like this style of writing and I will say that this book was well written. However, I found it difficult to engage with any of the characters other than perhaps the protagonist's mother and her gentleman friend, whose parts were rather small.So I liked the style of the book but I can't say that I liked the book because of the personal issues that I had to deal with while reading it. Someone who has not had to live with this disease would, I am sure, have a whole different take on the book. I gave it 3 stars.
    • 3/5
      Jake narrates this book, and through this narration we see and experience his descent into Alzheimer's disease. First he is forgetful and sometimes confused. He retires from his job as an architect. He gets lost walking his dog. he overfeeds his dog. He forgets where his wife, mother, daughter and son are. And then he forgets who he is.I listened to this, and enjoyed Sean Barrett's narration. I did often find myself confused--which, I think, is the point? I suspect Harvey was attempting to showcase that confusion, and on audio it certainly worked for me. I did find this a little too long (10:45:00) for me, it was slow and repetitive. But then Jake find time very confusing at the end of the book also. So an interesting experiment, perhaps a little too well done.It's also sad and painful--first as Jake realizes there is a problem, then as he begins to forget there is a problem, then as he desperately tries to cling to his memories of his family and Elena and his dog. And then he looses those too.
    • 3/5
      Chopping down trees The Wilderness is a novel about Alzheimer's and like Lisa Genova's 'Still Alice', told from the perspective of the sufferer. As well as being similar in subject matter, they are both similar in the fact that they are both first novels. And they are both good.I was more impressed however with "Still Alice". I felt that by bringing in the themes of Jewishness and Jewish identity, the loss of a child and the effects of adulatory, that Harvey distracted from what was the meanderings and loss of memory due to Alzheimer's and what was the result of selective memory due to perceived guilt.Nevertheless "The Wilderness" is worth reading, and the last chapters in particular evoke what must be the black void that progressively over the doomed Alzheimer's brain.I recommend this book for anyone who has friend or family suffering from this sad disease, or any student of cognition or memoryS
    • 4/5
      Memories, truths, confusion?It is difficult to review and grade this book, as I can see that it is cleverly constructed and perfectly illustrates the gradual demise and sense of confusion as Jake loses himself to dementia. On the other hand, it was very slow and I heaved a sigh of relief when I finally got to the end.I was listening to an unabridged audiobook, somewhat tediously read, in a rather monotone drone. However, the fact that it was audio, and therefore much harder to backtrack when I got lost, actually added to the whole confused air of the novel. When Jake was trying to recall the word for something, if I couldn't find the word immediately, the narrator continued without me, leaving me feeling as if I was suffering the same loss. Some of Jake's memories are facts, some, we learn towards the end, are false memories.In his time he had been a capable architect, he had a son, Henry, now in the prison that he, himself had designed. His wife, Helen, has died and there is a daughter, Alice. He is currently married to his childhood friend, Eleanor, who "has waited 30 years for him, only to find he is lost" (quoted from memory as I do not have a written version.)There are some clever themes that keep reappearing, the colour yellow, the sound of a gun shot and various references to cherry trees, cherries and falling blossom. Unfortunately my admiration for clever writing is not sufficient when I find a book too long and drawn out and am considering abandoning it as I stubbornly keep listening.More fool me!Other books I have read with a theme of Atzheimer's:Still Alice by Lisa Genova (5 stars)Memory Cage by Ruth Eastham (5 stars)
    • 4/5
      For Jacob Jameson, life has become strange and confusing. His brain is failing him, his ability to recognise his loved ones is slipping away from him, and his memories constantly reshape and rearrange themselves within his consciousness. Jacob has Alzheimer’s disease.This was a touching, enthralling story, and yet it wasn’t really a story at all. It avoided the possible dangers of tangling itself into dreadful knots, or maintaining a clinical distance. I felt like I shouldn’t be able to read a book in which no character remains the same from one chapter to the next, but I was carried along by the vignettes of Jake’s life, in which more questions seem to be raised than are ever answered. This book is probably a difficult read for people who need all of the threads to be neatly tied up at the end of a story.I don’t know an awful lot about this disease. I have only ever experienced in the context of watching the slow disassembly of elderly relatives’ personalities in a constant spiral of circular conversation and repeating my own name to remind them who I am. Until I read this book, I had never really grasped the devastating extent of this confusion and amnesia. Scary, but immensely thought-provoking.
    • 5/5
      The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey is a book mainly about a man named Jacob. All the other characters are family, friends or business associates of Jacob. Sadly, Jacob is living the rest of his days on earth with Alzheimer's Disease. In my eyes, Samantha Harvey's book is all about memory. Before Jake lost the ability to remember his everyday life he worked as an architect. His own hands designed the prison in which his son lives out his days as a prisoner. Oddly, Henry and Jacob are both prisoners.Alzheimer's Disease is catastrophic. Henry might walk out of prison someday and experience freedom again. However, the cells of Jake's brain are dying. Cells that will not grow again. The death of his brain Leaves Jake unfamiliar with any coherent sequence of events. To remember three small words is a gargantuan task. To think whether his wife is dead or alive is also hard to recall."He spends his time getting up to look for his dog, then, after some wandering, sits, forgetting what it was he had got up to do. "Samantha Harvey's ability to write about the mind of a man sliding away from him like some person sliding down a hill on slippery ice is magnificent. I feel it had to be no easy task to look at the world through the eyes of a person with Alzheimer's Disease. On the cover of the book is a cup and saucer and a wilderness. Both ofthese items are so disconnected. Everyday Jake's thoughts about his wives, lover, son, mother are broken in to tiny pieces like the tiles of a mosaic. Only his mosaic will never form a work of art. His mosaic is always going to make him feel stressed, numb, lost or like he has done something wrong.The book is not an easy book to read. After all, it is about a broken mind. Still, the characters are interesting: Henry, Alice, Sara, Eleanor, etc. I would have liked to know more about Henry before he became incarcerated. It was fascinating reading about Sara's Jewish traditions and what it was like to live with a husband who was not Jewish. These are the scraps of fabric that make up Jake's identity.With all that Samantha Harvey has put in the book, she does not leave out the caretaker. I am sure the caretaker's life is beyond extraordinary during the days of caring for an Alzheimer's patient. All of the people involved in true stories are ordinary heroes dealing with the unknown. The only known factor being memory is what shapes us.
    • 4/5
      Jake is in his 60s, and has Alzheimer's. The Wilderness is told from Jake's point of view, allowing the reader to experience the devastating progression of his disease. At first, Jake has trouble finding the right word to describe an object. It's a mild inconvenience, but he can still hold it together in public -- for example, at his retirement party. Slowly, he begins to lose his short-term memory, putting objects away in the wrong places and forgetting what he is about to do, or what he has just done. However, his memories of the distant past are still clear, and he clings to those stories and images as a drowning man would cling to a lifeline. Jake married a woman named Helen, and together they left London for "the wilderness" of Lincolnshire, Jake's boyhood home. They had two children, and lived near Jake's mother Sara and her second husband, an eccentric man named Rook. Life was not always easy for Jake and Helen: his career fell slightly short of his dreams, and creating a family was not as easy as they'd hoped. Sometimes they were there for each other; at other times they each found solace in someone else. The story of Jake's past is interspersed with moments from the present, in a kind of mishmash intended to reflect the wilderness his brain has become. As Jake's condition deteriorates there are more and more gaps in his short- and long-term memory. There was one scene in which some especially emotional events take place, and at the end it's revealed that this was all a dream, embodying many of Jake's regrets and wishes. The Wilderness is a sad story, and very well-written, but also quite difficult to read. I found myself taking it slowly, trying to ease the pain. I can't say this was an enjoyable book, but it was definitely worthy of its 2009 Orange Prize nomination.
    • 3/5
      This story is about Jake who is steadily deteriorating from Alzheimers. Rather like a puzzle, we weave in and out of Jake's thoughts, dreams and daydreams as he tries to determine real memory from mis-remembering. Strong female characters feature in this story - from his mother Sara, to his wife Helen, his lover Joy and the woman who cares for him in his illness, a friend from childhood, Eleanor. I have not yet been acquainted with Alzheimers personally thought I have picked up fragments here and there from the press and also through personal accounts from friends who are caring for afflicted relatives. And it is a real affliction - a torment I believe - which is why the book is so very difficult to read!! The author has captured the torment beautifully...as a reader we struggle to know what is "real" and what is "fiction" - a clever conceit if you will. So whilst not my preferred choice for the Booker, I can admire the writing, the characterisiation and the concept. For a first novel I think this is a triumph and such a shame that it wasn't shortlisted.
    • 1/5
      There is a scene early in this novel in which a man's mother gives him an old Bible as a gift. "'It belonged to my parents,' she said. 'Why don't you have it now, now that you're married to a religious woman?'" the mother asks. "'It's my gift to you both, maybe a wedding gift since you just ran away and married in secret.'"This is a typically bald moment. Big things come spurting out here without any warning. "He nodded, a little underwhelmed by the gift...""'Helen will like it,' he said eventually, deciding to find in his mother's gesture some attempt ar friendship with his wife.'"'I doubt it, the cover is human skin,' she said."Here are two questions Samantha Topol might ask herself. First, would Ian McEwan, for example, write this kind of scene? If she thinks the answer is Yes, or Possibly, or Why not?, then I suggest she might consider she doesn't have much feeling for novel writing. If the answer is No, then she might ask herself, Why not? The answer there might lead into all kinds of questions about how events are staged and framed in novels, how novelists lead into difficult subjects, how they let events resonate before and after they occur, how they let their characters ruminate and mull and ponder, and not just lurch from one revelation to the next.Some people really do experience life this way, and I feel Topol is one. That's a question of character, not writing. But this is a novel, and these moments are too naked, too coarse, too unmodulated, too full of clichés and unreflective stereotypes. At the moment I am reading Vila-Matas. He is far from a perfect novelist!--but he would never write scenes like the ones in this book.