It is the early 1900s and Charlotte Bridger Drummond is a thoroughly modern woman. The sole provider for her five young boys, Charlotte is a fierce...
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Dec 17, 2009
Zab
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It's all about the prose, not the plot, with Molly Gloss, so if you're in the market for gorgeous sentences about the small towns and forests of the Pacific Northwest, definitely pick this book up.
This is not to say that things don't happen in the novel; the feisty yet pragmatic late-nineteenth-century pulp-novel-writing feminist protagonist leaves her brood of children and goes back to nature - way, WAY back - in the company of some creatures that I imagined as a cross between a Sas More...
This is not to say that things don't happen in the novel; the feisty yet pragmatic late-nineteenth-century pulp-novel-writing feminist protagonist leaves her brood of children and goes back to nature - way, WAY back - in the company of some creatures that I imagined as a cross between a Sas More...
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Dec 17, 2009
Bee
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Probably my favorite book of the last couple years, Wild Life simultaneously explores pioneer life, the conflicting draws of creativity and family, the history of trashy fantasy novels, the nature of evil, and a magical and enduring Pacific Northwest legend. All wrapped into a whalloping adventure with an engaging and fast-paced plot. Spectacle with depth. LOVED it.
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Jul 23, 2007
Cynthia
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I walked around inside this book for days. It's written as the diary of a woman - pioneer feminist raised on the Columbia River in Washington, mother of 5, novel-writer, adventurer, tough-minded poet-tongued - set in 1902 when the Douglas fir were as big around at the base as our houses are now. You may not like historical novels or diary forms or stuff about the Pacific Northwest - never mind what you don't like. You'll be amazed at this book. I liked Jump-Off Creek, also by Gloss, but I lo
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Oct 18, 2011
melissabee
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this is one of my top ten favorite books i own, and that's saying alot, as i have an obscene amount of books. i bought this at the gift shop in nepenthe (in big sur) on my way out to a 5-day solo backpacking trip in the ventana wilderness. that, and the fact that i have taken training in search and rescue, tracking, and wilderness survival made this book the perfect choice to take along on my own little adventure.
the setting is 1905, in the pacific northwest. the protagonist is charlot More...
the setting is 1905, in the pacific northwest. the protagonist is charlot More...
Apr 07, 2010
Melinda
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This is the title that the King County library system has chosen as their official selection for the popular "If All Of Seattle Read the Same Book" program. I think that two of the main reasons they selected this book are that Washington is celebrating its 150th year of being a state, and Molly Gloss lives in nearby Portland.
This is a scattered and laborious tale of man-hating Charlotte who is raising 5 boys in the Pacific Northwest at the turn of the (last) century. Charlotte is More...
This is a scattered and laborious tale of man-hating Charlotte who is raising 5 boys in the Pacific Northwest at the turn of the (last) century. Charlotte is More...
Jun 18, 2009
Mary-Beth
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 09, 2011
Danielle
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So I've just finished reading Wild Life by Molly Gloss and am feeling a little ambivalent about it. On the one hand it is a well written and thought-provoking story with a wonderfully independent heroine (I like smart female characters who show a little moxie), but on the other I thought I would never finish the book (and it is quite short--about 250 pages). It is the latest reading choice of the Slaves of Golconda, and I was very excited about the story. One of the reasons I enjoy readalongs
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Jul 14, 2009
Kylin
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This is a beautiful novel about a feminist pioneer in the Pacific Northwest. Charlotte, a single mother who supports five children by writing pulp fiction, goes on a rescue mission to find out what happened to her housekeeper's granddaughter. The young girl has disappeared from a logging camp and there are rumors of Sasquatch stealing the child. Filled with stories within stories and deep strains of compassion, bravery, and adventure, this is a must-read for fans of Pacific Northwest literature.
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Apr 02, 2008
Faith
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I liked this a lot-- it was terribly funny, with a switch near the end. The heroine is a feminist writer and single parent of 4 or 5 young boys around the turn of the last century.
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Dec 17, 2009
Jody
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I liked this book at first, but then I lost interest about halfway through and ended up just scanning the rest of it.
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Aug 02, 2011
Carol
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This was a hard book to rate. Gloss (a prof at my Alma Mater)starts out with her usual independent, I-can-do it spirited woman who has been widowed with several children (5 this time)living in the 'out-back' doing it her way with her mouth, okay! I can chuckle all the way through that, never mind I have no idea what it would be like to not have a spouse at my side. But in Wild Life, Gloss really gets carried away with the denizons of the forest. Hmmm! a tad out of my chuckle line. The most
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Feb 13, 2011
Cynthia
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A grand adventure story about a woman writer in the 19th century who must care for her children alone. She one day joins a search party that is hoping to find a missing child. But our heroine becomes lost in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. The novel details her journey as she seeks a way out of the forest. What she discovers there will alternately frighten, entice and amaze you. It is a book full of details about nature, creatures known and unknown, the industry of logging and a woman's
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Jul 10, 2010
Ann-Marie
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Years ago I enjoyed this writer’s novel The Jump-Off Creek, which also brings to life the story of an unconventional woman living on the northwestern frontier. This book, however, is both quirkier and richer. I'm not sure at what point I fell in love with it, but it was well after the point by which I usually know whether I'm going to love something, and it came as a delightful surprise. The free-thinking main character, Charlotte Bridger Drummond, supports her five boys by writing adventure sto
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Jan 17, 2010
LynnB
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This was a great story. It begins with a modern note between two women telling about a bundle of papers that had been found in a drawer. These were from the girls' very feminist, author-grandmother and included her diary notes, quotes, news clippings, descriptions of other people, tall tales and some of her partially written stories.
The papers begin in 1905. The locations in the story are small logging towns on the wet Washington side of the Columbia River. Charlotte Drummond wa More...
The papers begin in 1905. The locations in the story are small logging towns on the wet Washington side of the Columbia River. Charlotte Drummond wa More...
Nov 06, 2009
Felicity
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This was a strange book, but very good. Part of what it does, quite deliberately I believe, is change course several times. I knew about the fantastic element in the book before buying it -- that, along with having read some of Molly's other gorgeous writing, pretty much sold it to me -- but I think the publisher would have served the book better by giving it a cover that didn't code it so unambiguously as Western historical fiction. Its ambiguities are part of its loveliness, and should be cele
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Jun 28, 2008
Cason
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 29, 2009
Jennifer
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I could appreciate this piece of historical fiction, but I didn't enjoy it. In it, an early-twentieth century feminist who feels stuck in her life as a single mother of five kids gets lost in the forest (and in turn loses her civilized self and all the trappings of modern domesticity. She also meets some wild bigfoot-like beasties). I thought the description of the Pacific Northwest wilderness was breathtaking, but I had trouble with the beasties. It was just not my thing.
Nov 09, 2009
Jesse
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It seemed to me that the first half of the book was mired in description of country life. Which was enjoyable, but not riveting. About halfway through, this inverts - suddenly I was reading a pageturner, but the descriptions grew sparse, abstract. Personally, I found the second half easier to to read and it carried me through to the end very quickly -- but I suspect it would have been a better book if it didn't have to do so.
May 21, 2011
Nancy
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If Wendell Berry was a woman writer. Love the heroine, strong woman raising 5 boys alone in 1905, Oregon logging area. She joins a search party for a child who has disappeared in the wilderness of Oregon and Washington. She gets lost and is rescued by a band of elusive, quasi-human beasts - Sasquatch. Philisophical discussion about animal vs. human. I am moving to the Oregon wilderness - oh wait, it's gone.
May 02, 2011
Kyra
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Absolutely the best most engrossing book I have read in aeons. And only partially because it describes the area of Oregon I live in. This is a tight wonderful intelligent addictive read about a smart competent turn-of-the-century independent woman. Layers and nuances and lots and lots of rain. I loved it and want to buy it so I can re-read it in five years. Yum.
May 28, 2009
Teresa
rated it:
Having started with "Hearts of Horses", I've been devouring every Molly Gloss novel I come across. "Wild Life" is no disappointment.
Logging plays a huge roll in this book, set in the Pacific NW (actually on and near the Columbia River, on the Washington side). Set in the first decade of the 1900's, Gloss provides a realistic view of how difficult even getting to town, or a neighbor's, could be. Throw in a little fantasy, a fistful of peril, and a working mother an More...
Logging plays a huge roll in this book, set in the Pacific NW (actually on and near the Columbia River, on the Washington side). Set in the first decade of the 1900's, Gloss provides a realistic view of how difficult even getting to town, or a neighbor's, could be. Throw in a little fantasy, a fistful of peril, and a working mother an More...
Jul 09, 2010
I was utterly surprised by this book. If anyone other than my friend Annie had recommended it to me, I would’ve nodded politely and made a mental note to avoid it, because it’s a historical novel featuring a crew of hospitable Sasquatches, and it would be well suited for reading in a women’s studies class. And yet I loved it.
Aug 11, 2011
Marty
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I liked this book a lot. The tone and the language of the characters were appropriate for early 20th century characters, the storyline was interesting. I was surprised that she had the man-apes show up so late in the book. The first half of the novel seemed to drag on a bit as a result. Overall, I'd recommend it as a good weekend read.
Jan 16, 2011
eva
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at least through the first half of this book, the main character struck me as refreshingly original, but it took me a while to put my finger on why. i don't come across a lot of adult female protagonists that are allowed to be so realistically, fallibly ornery. i liked that her independence, confidence, severity, and stoicism were shown in both good and bad lights, and i liked that we got occasional glimpses of her awareness of her own shortcomings, without turning into a maudlin pile of self-re
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Nov 08, 2010
Barb
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 01, 2010
Lindsey
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If I'd picked this up at a bookstore and read the synopsis, I never would have given it a chance; it sounded crazy. But it was recommended to me by someone who has given good recommendations in the past and I'm glad I did; it was actually really good.
Jul 29, 2011
This very imaginative novel is set in 1905. Our heroine enters the lumber areas of the Pacific Northwest to help find a lost child. She is lost herself and is taken in by a band of human/apes. The insights from her adventure are fascinating.
Dec 06, 2009
Caty
rated it:
some fine writing, descriptions of place and interior life of a complicated woman in family and work, logging camps and wilds of the northwest early 20th century, fantastic descriptions of the Cascade forests...and of wild nature, but fragmented passages and changing voice were a bit hard for me to follow, still a good read
Jan 24, 2008
Rachel
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I loved this book. Having lived in Seattle and Portland, I loved the descriptions of the Pacific Northwest in frontier days. The main character Charlotte Drummond is a science fiction writer trying to raise five boys by herself. She's gutsy and funny, but as we see as the novel unfolds, maybe a little bit self-centered. The reader is introduced to her through her journal, do its a very personal read, but then the author gives us Charlotte's views of the people around her in the form of short par
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Jun 02, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
Interesting read if you enjoy historic fiction. I don't enjoy flowerly description and use of "big words" so much. Maybe I'm a lazy reader, but the novel was interesting enough to keep me reading.
