I received an ARC of this book with thanks to Oneworld Publications via NetGalley.

The New Wilderness is the story of Bea, Agnes, and eighteen others who volunteer to live in the Wilderness State as part of a study to see if humans can co-exist with nature. Living as nomadic hunter-gatherers, this new community wanders through the grand country, trying to adhere to the strict rules laid down by the Rangers, whose job it is to remind them they must Leave No Trace.

I began this book knowing little about it, other than it made the 2020 Booker Prize Shortlist and had been marketed as being somewhere roughly between dystopian and speculative fiction. Whilst there are definitely elements of these two genres, I found this book focused more on the intricacies of relationships and the aspects of human nature. Specifically the relationship between Bea (mother) and Agnes (daughter). How living in such a community alters their relationship as their stay in the Wilderness State lengthens and as Agnes adapts and develops into a young woman in this new environment.

I enjoyed aspects of this book however I found the first half to be quite slow in pace as I was definitely expecting more of the dystopian/speculative element. A handful of characters were quite irritating (as I'm sure I'd be in a Wilderness State), but I found the main set of characters to be well developed and authentic. By the second half I altered my perspective away from dystopia and focused more on what I thought the book was exploring, which was relationships and human interactions. In this headspace I was able to appreciate the narrative to a greater extent.

3.5 stars