Tournament of Books discussion

Space to discuss the 2026 TOB contender The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy.

Anyone else finished this one yet? I really liked it. Still mulling it over since I zoomed through the last 100 pages, which had a lot packed into it.

What did people think of the storyline jumping around in time? I feel like there will be a lot to discuss during the TOB. The relationships, the ending, some of the plot choices. Looking forward to March just to talk about this book more!

Bretnie wrote: "Anyone else finished this one yet? I really liked it. Still mulling it over since I zoomed through the last 100 pages, which had a lot packed into it.

What did people think of the storyline jumpi..."

Yes, I liked it and gave it my zombie vote. I liked that the characters felt real and how they didn't always get along and real differences yet kept their friendship alive. And Flournoy's writing was very good.

Yes, I had a similar experience with this one. Such realistic and nuanced characters/relationships!

The ending situation is deeply terrifying, and sadly, not far off in our future. Books like this help provide a warning at least, and I'm grateful for that.

I’m reading this now, and REALLY liking it. The characters and their dialogue just feel so real, and I’m liking Flournoy’s clever take on recent history, the book just feels so smart. I get this little shiver of pleasure when I read really clever lines, great prose, that good banter and can deeply feel what an author is saying, and that’s happening on almost every page with this book. I loved The Turner House, and I might love this even more.

Elizabeth wrote: "I’m reading this now, and REALLY liking it. The characters and their dialogue just feel so real, and I’m liking Flournoy’s clever take on recent history, the book just feels so smart. I get this li..."

I've been on the fence about this one, but you've convinced me! I also enjoyed The Turner House.

Really enjoyed the writing and the majority of the characters here. I did not enjoy the structure of bouncing timelines back and forth. Not really sure why the author made that choice.

Just finished it last night. Overall I liked it. I didn't like the end, I felt like it was tacked on from another book.

I was feeling "A Visit from the Goon Squad" through most of the book, but that final part of the book definitely seemed similar to the last few chapters of Goon Squad, whereas the rest seemed more structurally similar than thematically similar.

I don't disagree with Audra, though - about 80% of the book was vignettes from the lives of these four women, and then in the last 20% we get a different vibe altogether. I'm not sure if it fit.

I really, really liked this one overall. My only complaint is the disjointed timeline -- it made the book feel discombobulated. Definitely one of my favorite reads (so far) for the tournament.

I am still not quite sure what I feel about this book several weeks after reading it. It felt like two different books, but I do see how the last part flows out of the proceeding parts. I was a little annoyed at the time jumping at first, but looking back I feel that it helped to tell a story across many years and people in a fuller way somehow. It was almost like a collection of short stories, with each chapter standing on its own and some I liked better than others. I found the brief references to robots a bit off-putting. I look forward to all the different perspectives in the discussions!

I need help with the ending. (view spoiler)[ When the crowd is running off the bridge, it seems like Nakia escapes. She gets to the bottom of the bridge and is still alive. But we know from an earlier segment (not earlier in time but earlier in the book) that Nakia is killed. I’m confused. Did she die as part of the group of people trying to escape, or did she die from something else entirely that was never explained? (hide spoiler)]

I finished this morning and agree about the ending. I was reading a beautiful story of long term friendship ups and downs, and family heartbreak and hope. Then suddenly I'm in a cautionary tale about today's political situation. One of the long term friends was at the center of the ending tale but otherwise, the two parts did not flow for me.