The Wilderwomen: A Novel

· Macmillan Audio · Narrated by Anna Caputo
3.3
3 reviews
Audiobook
10 hr 31 min
Unabridged
Eligible
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About this audiobook

"Narrator Anna Caputo draws listeners into Lang's novel immediately, suggesting that this story has more depth than the plot at first might lead one to believe."- AudioFile

"Exquisitely drawn characters imbue Lang’s unconventional plot with verisimilitude and heart, inspiring readers to ponder whether the world is stranger and more beautiful than it appears. Effervescent, ethereal, and suffused with wonder." — Kirkus (starred review)

"Lang’s melancholy, atmospheric writing sets the perfect tone as the Wilder sisters unravel the mystery. The result is a cozy supernatural outing perfect for an autumn night." —Publisher's Weekly


Ohioana Book Award finalist Ruth Emmie Lang returns with a new cast of ordinary characters with extraordinary abilities in The Wilderwomen.


Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning.

Zadie’s estranged younger sister, Finn, can’t see into the future, but she has an uncannily good memory, so good that she remembers not only her own memories, but the echoes of memories other people have left behind. On the afternoon of her graduation party, Finn is seized by an “echo” more powerful than anything she’s experienced before: a woman singing a song she recognizes, a song about a bird...

When Finn wakes up alone in an aviary with no idea of how she got there, she realizes who the memory belongs to: Nora.

Now, it’s up to Finn to convince her sister that not only is their mom still out there, but that she wants to be found. Against Zadie’s better judgement, she and Finn hit the highway, using Finn’s echoes to retrace Nora’s footsteps and uncover the answer to the question that has been haunting them for years: Why did she leave?

But the more time Finn spends in their mother’s past, the harder it is for her to return to the present, to return to herself. As Zadie feels her sister start to slip away, she will have to decide what lengths she is willing to go to find their mother, knowing that if she chooses wrong, she could lose them both for good.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Ratings and reviews

3.3
3 reviews
Darcia Helle
February 5, 2023
The audio edition of Wilderwomen is extremely well done. Anna Caputo, our narrator, does an excellent job of conveying the personalities and moods of the characters. I felt like the story was more about the slow journey than the characters or any specific plot. I got a heavy allegory vibe, though I’m not sure whether there was an underlying moral to the story. The magical realism was too mystical and undefined, at least for my preference. We have two sisters searching for their mother, and here’s what I can tell you about their characters: Finn, the younger sister, was the star for me. Her personality was like a sparkler on a dark night. I was drawn to her. Zadie, the older sister, had a heavy weight to her that acted like a barrier. Nora’s character wasn’t well developed at all, so I didn’t get a good sense of her. Then we got to the end, the place where this entire journey led, and I was disappointed. The ending is too quick and way too neat. Nora’s situation is left open to interpretation, and I like my endings to… well, end. I wanted a clear explanation. So I read reviews, thinking maybe I missed something along the way, which I didn’t. Some reviewers have given Nora’s situation a commonly used trigger warning. I don’t agree with it because the entire vibe of her story is something else, and that explanation just doesn’t fit with the way things happened or ended. But maybe they’re right and I’m wrong. You’ll have to read the book and let me know. *Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free download!*
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About the author

Ruth Emmie Lang was born in Glasgow, Scotland and has the red hair to prove it. When she was four years old, she immigrated to Ohio where she has lived ever since. She has since lost her Scottish accent, but still has the hair. Ruth lives with her husband and son on two wooded acres in the Cleveland area. Her first novel, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, was a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award.

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