Where the Lost Wander: A Novel

Ich mochte auch dieses Buch von Amy Harmon sehr und konnte es kaum weglegen. Das Buch war an vielen Stellen auch sehr tragisch. Interessant war, dass eine der Schlüsselszenen und ein großer Wendepunkt der Geschichte bereits im Prolog beschrieben wurde und man das ganze Buch nur darauf gewartet hat, wann diese Szene dann auftaucht und was danach passiert. Auch geschichtlich sehr interessant, es wurden wieder Personen in die Handlung verflochten, die es im wahren Leben gab.

Where the Lost Wander narrates the love story between Naomi May and John Lowry, who lose and find each other while travelling West on the Oregon Trail. I really, really enjoyed this novel, first and foremost, because of its storyline and setting. There are not too many well written and well-paced Western plus Romance stories out there and this one captivated me from the beginning. It offers suspense, love, historical context, nature descriptions and cultural knowledge, without being sentimental. I really like the way the author describes the endless miles West the trek has to cover, the obstacles, the merciless dust, heat, all the obstacles and adversities, and all of this without it becoming too grueling. Even though the sense of vastness and monotony is captured extremely well, the novel or the descriptions never become boring – I think that is quite an achievement and is due to the beautiful language and versatile writing style the author uses. The characters are also wonderful, although I have to admit that Naomi is unfortunately the character I like the least. She is a little too “modern“ for my taste and I find her difficult and very often challenging. Her talent and her outlook on life certainly make her unique, but I really have a hard time feeling for or with her. John Lowry on the other hand is a highly believable and well-constructed character and his complex identity, torn between two cultures, is thankfully also very much at the heart of the narrative and more or less also drives the action. I am certainly no expert on the subject, but I have the impression that the novel is meticulously researched and offers the reader an insight into Pawnee and Shoshoni culture, which I find very appealing. The novel would have been a five star read, if I had liked Naomi better.