4 stars.

This book is a weird mixture between Gone Girl and Wild. Though the narrator is a lot more sympathetic than Amy (not that hard, really), as Cheryl Strayed, the main character is also deeply wounded and decides to go away to “find herself”. This is some sort of personal trauma narrative, so it has to do with healing your soul.

This is a novel in which the action is very much interior, rather than a lot of things happening. The story focuses in Elyria, a woman whose life is going nowhere. We follow her through her journey to New Zealand and through her past (she narrates her life in flashbacks). We get to meet her family, husband, friends, and so on… She has a pretty normal life, all in all. There’s nothing very extravagant about her, really. She’s a normal woman with normal problems. That makes very relatable, even if her life is very unlike my own. I mean, I’m not married or anything (I don’t plan to do so for the time being). So I can hardly leave my husband to go to New Zealand. But still, I can relate. I have an imagination (Anne Shirley is one of my favorite characters ever, okay?).

One of the things I really liked about this novel is how it gives a real good view of what it is like to be truly depressed. I’ve only read a few accounts that feel accurate. It’s way too easy to fall into clichés and the like when writing depression. It is very realistically written, so I cannot avoid help wondering whether the author has gone through depression herself. And it is also written beautifully, and I truly enjoyed. It is gorgeous, truthful, heartbreaking and wonderful. I loved reading it, really. The action always leaves you wondering what is going to happen next, so even if the book is very sad at points.

I also really liked the fact that Elyria didn’t quite get better by the end of the book, but to be going that way. There’s no magical remedy or person who changes everything. It’s only Elyria and her thoughts, her life. There’s something inside her that can make her feel better. Her whole idea behind her trip to New Zealand is to find herself. I don’t think she manages to do so, but hey… it was only for a few days. And you can’t really do it in a few weeks. So yes, she goes back home, but she doesn’t return to her old life. She is changed and everything is bound to be different. Not necessarily better, but different.

I liked this book a lot, but I know that it might not be in everyone’s alley. It’s very introspective and slow, but it is wonderful. It is one of those books that makes you think about everything, so I’d recommend it. But do not hope for lots of action. That’s not here. If you want inner development, this is your book.