These Silent Woods

 

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

Fiction

2021 Minotaur

Finished on June 17, 2023

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that's exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he's got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her—and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.

The only people who know they exist are a mysterious local hermit named Scotland, and Cooper's old friend, Jake, who visits each winter to bring them food and supplies. But this year, Jake doesn't show up, setting off an irreversible chain of events that reveals just how precarious their situation really is. Suddenly, the boundaries of their safe haven have blurred—and when a stranger wanders into their woods, Finch’s growing obsession with her could put them all in danger. After a shocking disappearance threatens to upend the only life Finch has ever known, Cooper is forced to decide whether to keep hiding—or finally face the sins of his past.

Vividly atmospheric and masterfully tense, These Silent Woods is a poignant story of survival, sacrifice, and how far a father will go when faced with losing it all.

I loved this book! These Silent Woods is another popular book that, thankfully, lives up to all the hype. Had we not been traveling, I could have read it in one sitting; it's that compelling. As it was, I spent an afternoon curled up with the book unable to stop reading except for the occasional glance up from the page to gaze at the beautiful mountains surrounding our campsite. In some ways, being near those majestic mountains, in a small campground with no power or water, helped immerse me in Cooper and Finch's world. I was mesmerized by their story, anxious and concerned that someone might recognize them, potentially shattering the life Cooper had so carefully built to keep them together. 

I'm a big fan of young protagonists, and eight-year-old Finch stole my heart. She's intelligent and wise beyond her years. Finch and Cooper's sole neighbor, Scotland, also tugged at my heartstrings. Kimi Cunningham Grant is a masterful writer, creating vivid characters that I won't soon forget. 

As I read, I was reminded of Peter Heller's marvelous novel, The Dog Stars.  Grant's novel is not a post-apocalyptic tale, but both involve survival and solitary lives, and the characters and taut pacing are similar to those of Heller's. Coincidentally, the author includes Heller in her list of literary influences (Anthony Doerr, Leif Enger, Marilynne Robinson, Ann Patchett, Peter Heller). I'm looking forward to reading her earlier book, Fallen Mountains, and eagerly await the release of her new novel (Wilderness) in 2024.

These Silent Woods is one to read again. Highly recommend!

Note: Grant includes a "Recommend Reading" list at the back of her novel, and since she included a couple of my favorites (The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley and Where the Crawdads Sing), I quickly added two of her recs (The Bear by Andrew Krivak and Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Graff) to my TBR list. Have you read either of these?