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.

An extraordinary debut novel by a young writer of remarkable gifts

About the Author
Samantha Harvey is the author of the novels The Wilderness, All is Song, Dear Thief and The Western Wind and a work of non-fiction, The Shapeless Unease: A Year of Not Sleeping. Her work has been longlisted for the Booker Prize, and shortlisted for the James Tait Black Award, the Women's Prize, the Guardian First Book Award and the Walter Scott Prize. The Wilderness was awarded the Betty Trask Prize. She is a tutor on the MA course in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.

Reviews
Brave and intelligent...a mesmerising work * Independent *
A stunning composition of human fragility and intensity * Guardian *
An extraordinary dramatisation of a mind in the process of disintegration ... Brilliant - read it now, before it scoops up all the prizes * The Times *
Touches a resounding chord of melancholy. The author, whose debut this is, is very talented * Evening Standard *
This is a finely written ode to memory, identity and love * Financial Times *


Awards
Winner of Betty Trask Award 2009. Short-listed for Guardian First Book Award 2009 and Orange Prize for Fiction 2009.



Book Information
ISBN 9780099526537
Author Samantha Harvey
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Vintage
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 210g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 18mm