THE WILDERNESS BETWEEN US by Penny Haw #RBRT

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com  Available on pre-order; publishes on July 31st.
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In A Nutshell - Drama set on a hike in a remote region of South Africa.  Features psychological abuse and eating disorders.

A close-knit group of friends set off on a hike in the remote, mountainous Tsitsikamma region of South Africa.  Three couples, one father and his daughter.  

From the beginning there are problems; one person falls ill, and another takes no notice of the rangers' weather warnings, leaving them stranded in various locations.

This interesting and highly readable drama centres around Clare, the daughter, who has anorexia, and Faye, the wife of Derek, whose own insecurities manifest themselves in the psychological abuse he bestows on Faye; he uses a version of the 'gaslighting' technique, lying to her about things she has said and done in order to make her doubt her own emotional stability.  Although I understood the situation, I did find it frustrating that she was such a complete doormat and appeared never to have stood up for herself about anything in her entire married life.

Clare's story was most compelling; how the anorexia began, the reasons behind it, the way in which it took hold and the repercussions.  Clare's self-awareness made her likable, and I thought the whole subject was dealt with sensitively and intelligently, while still making for a good story in which I was totally engrossed. 

I liked that this was set in South Africa, not a part of the world I know much about, and I enjoyed the occasional South African/Afrikaans word, even when I wasn't sure what it meant.  I thought there could have been more of a sense of desperation, fear and hunger, considering the precarious situation everyone was in, but the intricate emotional dynamics kind of made up for this, from a reader's point of view.  I particularly liked Faye's feeling of connection with her environment, near the end.

I had a few issues with some of the content (such as a few instances of the word 'convince' that should have been 'persuade' - it's one of my pet peeves!), but nothing major.  I enjoyed this book; it's a thoroughly good read - and the cover is gorgeous!