The Hunter and the Wild Girl

by Pauline Holdstock

A feral girl roams the dense forests of nineteenth-century France, stealing food from remote farmyards and avoiding human contact. Seen on one of her thieving missions in the village of Freyzus, she is chased by suspicious townspeople to the edge of a deep gorge, where she jumps and disappears, vanishing into village legend.

On the other side of the gorge, in an abandoned estate, Peyre Rouff lives out his self-imposed exile. Following a horrific hunting accident, he now focuses all of his attention on intricate taxidermic dioramas, keeping his thoughts from wandering too close to the day he lost everything.

When Peyre encounters the wild girl, they find a link in their mutual estrangement from conventional society. He provides her with her material needs, while she brings light to places Peyre had thought dark forever. The two achieve an easy coexistence. But the careful patterns of the life Peyre has made for himself begin to unravel, and when the wider world learns of the girl's presence at the estate, Peyre is forced to confront not only his choices and their consequences, but society itself.

In The Hunter and the Wild Girl, award-winning author Pauline Holdstock spins a haunting tale affirming the persistence of life, the power of human connection, adn the fundamental urge to be free.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Canada, France

340 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Pauline Holdstock is a Canadian citizen who has lived in Canada for over thirty years. She writes novels, short fiction and essays. Her books have been published in the U.K, the U.S., Brazil, Portugal, Australia and Germany, as well as in Canada, where CBC’s 'The Arts Tonight' has featured her work.

Pauline’s short fiction has appeared in numerous literary magazines.

The Hunter And The Wild Girl, Winner of the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize Prize, is her most recent novel.

Her novel, Beyond Measure, was a finalist for the 2004 Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Canada and Caribbean Region. It won the BC Book Prizes Ethel Wilson Award for Fiction in 2005.

A recent novella, The World of Light Where We Live, was the winner of the Malahat Review 2006 Novella Contest.

Pauline Holdstock also writes non-fiction. Her essays and book reviews have appeared in Canada’s national newspapers and have been broadcast on CBC radio. She was the winner of the Prairie Fire Personal Journalism Prize, 2000.

Pauline has taught at the Victoria School of Writing and at the University of Victoria. She has served on the faculty of the Banff Centre Wired Writing Studio, and the Banff Centre’s Writing with Style program.

Reviews

[Tessa Floreano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift from a curated service my sister used. The book is beautifully presented, from the cover to the end papers, and deckled edges of the paper itself. Holdstock's prose is stunning. The story haunting. Many of the characters will stay with me a long time. The hunter is besieged with grief and the wild girl is an enfant sauvage. The two come together in an unexpected way and weave in and out of each others' life. Interestingly, the author chose not to use punctuation for the dialog--a technique I've never seen before. It was a little odd at first then I got used to it. The author has a tremendous capacity for capturing emotion and setting. I'm so glad I read this book and hope to read more of this author's work.

[LibraryCin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

There is a feral girl stealing from local people in a village in France. They try to catch her, but she gets away and ends up another village over. A farmer(?) there, Peyre, is intrigued by her. Peyre tries to entice her to come, as he’d like to see if he can “tame” her. He sees his son, whom he’s lost a while back, in her.

This started off really slow and I wasn’t interested. Parts I didn’t like and just skimmed through were mostly Peyre’s background (though I eventually got the gist of at least what happened with his son and wife). It was only the last half or 1/3 of the book, which focused more on the girl, where I was a bit more interested in what was happening. The ending was open-ended, so I wasn’t a big fan not really knowing what had happened there.

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow start

[Jennifer Gyuricska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing, a bit of a deliciously creepy story, but I tripped over some of the logic, or lack thereof.

[Erin Moxam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this book a three, in some ways I could give it a four, but not quite. It's beautifully written and an interesting concept and setting, but it's extremely depressing. For me this book was more an exercise in grief than anything else and I can appreciate it for that. Grief is a hell of a thing, and has many faces. This book explores the all consuming monster of it and it's a heavy ride. A heavy in no way uplifting ride. A lot of animals die in this book, one in particular that is an over done plot device and an author of this skill could have done better, frankly. I would have given it a lower rating for sheer depression factor, but I was content with the ending and didn't think I would be. I don't recommend this book, but I do think it has a place. When you're at the bottom of a black well of grief, a book like this can at least remind you that you aren't alone there.

[Annette Summerfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time with all the dead animals..lol. I understand why he was working as a taxidermist but I still had to skip some of the parts of killing these animals. Plus the wild girl bites into the chicken and eating bugs. Don't eat while reading this book.
It is a sad story. As well as haunting. It has a dramatic, gothic feel to it. A girl raised by Wolves. A man having his son's body moved and living alone near his grave. This creates fear and superstition in the little village nearby.
This is set in 19th century, France. It's a story of sorrow and freedom.

[Amberle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how this was written and I really didn't want it to end despite the sad story. The constant theme was about complex grief and how relationships on all levels deal with this. I thought the descriptions of scenes, feelings and reactions were amazing. The writer was inside the minds of the main characters and one could see the change in the language used depending on the character- love this skill. Highly recommend this book. Also love the art on the book cover since I love owls!

[Joanna Hodgson Spivey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. Sensitively crafted characters that I could understand and feel for. Every word was placed so skilfully so as to make it easy to read and to bring to life with imagination.

[Sara Monk · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I have to say I loved the appearance, and the quality of the book; it has beautiful pages, and font.
Now as for the content - I felt that this was a haunting tale. This is a remarkable story of one going through remorse and the confines of their life that they have created for themselves; and of another who is free as a bird from societies expectations and norms. Unknowest to them, that when their paths cross, it will alter their lives forever. This book is a reminder to stop living in the past, and to live in the moment. Although I am not a fan of taxidermy, I was able to look past that aspect and felt that this was a great story. I would recommend this book to everyone. There is lots to learn from this book.

Note: I received this book from goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. This is my true and honest opinion of the book. I am thankful to have had the chance to read it.

[Penny (Literary Hoarders) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Goose Lane for sending us a copy of The Hunter and the Wild Girl. I had anticipated this new novel from Pauline Holdstock ever since reading Into the Heart of the Country. The Hunter and the Wild Girl was a little too quiet and dry for me at this time. I think I picked it up at the wrong time. It's also written using this perfunctory and impersonal voice and I couldn't get past the persistent use throughout describing the "wild girl" simply as "the girl".

[Tricia Dower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written in a fable-like style. While I enjoyed it all, the novel was most alive for me when the wild girl was in the scene. Holdstock does an amazing job of imagining what reality must've been like for a child without language who seemed to have survived in the wild on her own for a very long time. I'm am in awe of the author's talent.

[Jill harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally go for books of this type, but the cover caught my attention and I thought I would give it a try. This book was surprisingly good. Well written, and had my attention throughout. Glad I have it a shot.

[Kb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading about grief and madness is itself grievous and maddening. The book is well-written, but I can't finish it. Despite interesting depictions of village life in France at some undetermined time in the past, the sadness in this book is overwhelming and I need to escape into lighter fare.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting novel. It is referred to as a "fairy tale", and I totally get that. Everything seems so ephemeral and it is hard to tell if you're reading a story as told by somebody there, or a story that was passed down three or four times. Definitely enjoyable.

[Jaclyn]

I'm giving up on this book. It's beautifully designed and there's a lyricism to Holdstock's writing that I think will captivate some readers. It's just not for me.

[Justine Teplycky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my review here: http://www.newstalk1010.com/blog/just...

[Mcintoshgerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Delia]

The story started slow for me, but it built and built until I couldn't put it down. It is a modern fairy tale, full of allusions. Beautifully written.

[Debbie Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a unique tale. The writing is wonderful, vivid and descriptive.