The Wilderness

Paperback Published on: 19/02/2026
Price: £10.99
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Synopsis

'A stunning composition of human fragility and intensity' - Guardian

It's Jake's birthday. He has lost his wife, his son is in prison and he is about to lose his past.

Jake has Alzheimer's. As the disease takes hold of him, the key events of his life shift, and what until recently seemed solid fact melts into surreal imaginings.

Is his daughter alive or long dead? And why exactly is his son in prison?

There was a cherry tree once, and a yellow dress, but what do they mean? Is there anything he'll be able to salvage from the wreckage?

From the first sentence to the last, The Wilderness holds us in its grip. This is writing of extraordinary power and beauty.

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Vintage Publishing
  • ISBN: 9780099526537
  • Number of pages: 336
  • Dimensions: 198 x 130 x 23 mm
  • Weight: 236g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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The Wilderness
A bit depressing really.
A story of a person suffering with alzheimers does't fill me with happiness and this was the case with The Wilderness. Samantha Harvey depicts the life of ... READ MORE
Georgina Bickerstaffe
The Wilderness
The Wilderness
This beautifully written novel tells the story of Jake, an architect in his early sixties who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Because he can’t remember p... READ MORE
Anja de Jager
The Wilderness
Sad but compulsive
The Wilderness is a story about Jake Jameson, a widower grasping for memories while sinking into the despairing and devastating condition, Alzheimer's Dise... READ MORE
Stella Anderson
The Wilderness
So sad, but true
Jake and Sara were living on the bleak peat moors of Lincolnshire, with their two children, Henry and Alice. This was where where Jake had grown-up, but it... READ MORE
Anne Watkinson
The Wilderness
Beautiful and moving
This is a beautifully written and moving picture of a man suffering from Alzheimer’s. Fragmentary, moving backwards and forwards in time through memories a... READ MORE
Helen Nash