The Wilderness [Paperback]

first off I'd like to say that it amazes me that there aren't more reviews of Karen Novak's works...She's a fantastic writer and has put out some wonderful novels...Being that there's only three other reviews on this book I doubt anybody's going to read it..but here we go

The Wilderness...

An elderly man is found dead and naked near where Leslie and her family (reunited with her steadfast husband Greg after the events of Innocence) reside. Leslie, ex cop, ex private investigator, just can't seem to let this man's mysterious death go without sticking her nose into it....that triggers her particular brand of lunacy to kick in leading her to the body of a girl in a river, killed and forgotten many many years ago...during this, she's contacted by an author who is doing her own investigation into the past events of the town where Leslie lives...what they uncover are brutal crimes that date back over a hundred years..

that's the basic premise of the book...normally I've loved everything Novak has written, especially Five Mile House which I felt is one of the best contemporary 'ghost stories' I've ever read..but something just didn't grab me with this book.

I found it a little hard to follow. Yes, I know...'complex plot' is something that alot of people like to kick around. I like a nice rich tapestry of mystery as much as anybody, but what makes it hard to follow is multifaceted.

There's Leslie's 'visions' for one. I don't have a problem with that usually. In fact, it's Leslie's crazy obsessions to the point of forsaking her family that makes me love to HATE her more often than not. (beleive me, she does irreparable damage to her family this time out)

But I think it's really the way the book is written that makes it a bit tough to digest. There's alot of vivid imagery and allegory, similies, metaphors involved in Leslie's talking head scenes. (as an aside, alot of the book is first person narrative..not as much dialogue with the other characters as i would have liked). It's almost to the point where it seems to be overly flowery just for the sake of being so at times. Couple that with Leslie's lunacy and it's a little hard to chew on sometimes.

There's a return of a previously established character that I find to be a bottom feeder. I didn't care for how things went down with that either.

At the end of the day, there IS a good story in here. I don't have to agree with the main character's decisions or even like her more than I hate her to enjoy the book. It's very difficult to put into words why I didn't enjoy this as much as her previous novels.

The Wilderness's plot has been described in the editorial reviews above. The plot is complex, and mystery fans will not be disappointed. However, this book is not just for mystery fans--it's a complex psychological meditation on our ability as a society to see evil.

When someone hires a private investigator to find the thing that is missing, he or she is, in essence, asking for help in seeing the thing that cannot be seen. Sometimes, that thing is standing out in the open; it is the client who won't see. And it is that type of willful not seeing that is a theme that runs through Novak's books. Because the first thing that Novak questions is whether it is voluntary blindness or a trick of the eye that keeps us as human beings stuck in darkness.

Novak's characters illuminate their own blind spots for us the readers while they remain unable to bring them into autofocus. As with all of us who choose to remain conscious in a world where we might better long for the sweet release of oblivion, Novak's characters circle around

their own blind spots as a person might do who is trying to see her own spine by looking over her shoulder. You know it's there and visible to others, but you have to accept that it's part of who you are and forever out of sight.

Karen Novak has created a nuanced and hauntingly stylized universe for her tour-de-force heroine, Leslie Stone. In "The Wilderness," Novak weaves a stunningly disturbing tale filled with suspense, mystique and spectres of evils past. If you are looking for a book that will devour you as much as you devour it, "The Wilderness" will not leave you disappointed. Clearly, the woman who left the one star review for this amazing book has all of her taste in her mouth.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews  3.5 out of 5 stars