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Cover of The Wilderness by Angela FlournoyThe Wilderness
New · Fiction, LGBT

The Wilderness

by Angela Flournoy
2025 · 304 pages · Fiction
Critics' pick
≈ 8 hours to read · about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day

What it's about

A novel of careers, marriage, motherhood and big-city lives in New York and Los Angeles, and of the wilderness of adulthood: overwhelming, mysterious, and full of freedom and consequences.

Why it's worth reading

It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

You'll love it if you liked

Good to know

It's about adulthood.

By the numbers

58.0Must-Read Score
  • Readers14 out of 100 · counts 42%
  • Critics25 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
  • Bestseller4 out of 100 · counts 14%
  • Buzz72 out of 100 · counts 10%

Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.

Where it ranks

Why it made the list

Shortlisted
NBCC Award (Fiction) finalist (2025)

How we rank

Already read it? Upload your Goodreads or StoryGraph history and get the 50 best books you haven't read, tuned to your taste.Get my 50

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Quick answers

Is The Wilderness worth reading?

Yes. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. It ranks #2,707 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 58.0 (the best book we found scores 99).

What is The Wilderness about?

A novel of careers, marriage, motherhood and big-city lives in New York and Los Angeles, and of the wilderness of adulthood: overwhelming, mysterious, and full of freedom and consequences.

How long does it take to read The Wilderness?

About 8 hours (304 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.

What should I read after The Wilderness?

If you liked it, try The Turner House by Angela Flournoy, Commonwealth by Ann Patchett or Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.