The WildernessThe Wilderness
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
The Turner House
Commonwealth
AmericanahGood to know
It's about adulthood.
By the numbers
- 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
More by Angela Flournoy
If you like this, read next
Explore the best-of lists
All 47 best-of lists →

New booksTop 25 · 485 ranked

Books of the 2020sTop 25 · 562 ranked

Fantasy booksTop 25 · 504 ranked

Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 ranked

Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 ranked

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 ranked

Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 ranked

Science fiction booksTop 25 · 333 rankedQuick 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.