A Short Walk Through a Wide World

By Douglas Westerbeke

Book Overview

"Imagine The Life of Pi, The Alchemist, and The Midnight Library rolled into one fantastical fable." --The New York Times Book Review * "An epic adventure...rich with all the possibilities the world can hold." --People

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A dazzlingly epic debut that charts the incredible, adventurous life of one woman as she journeys the globe trying to outrun a mysterious curse that will destroy her if she stops moving.

Paris, 1885: Aubry Tourvel, a spoiled and stubborn nine-year-old girl, comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school. She tosses it over the fence, only to find it in her backpack that evening. Days later, at the family dinner table, she starts to bleed to death.

When medical treatment only makes her worse, she flees to the outskirts of the city, where she realizes that it is this very act of movement that keeps her alive. So begins her lifelong journey on the run from her condition, which won't allow her to stay anywhere for longer than a few days--nor return to a place where she's already been.

From the scorched dunes of the Calanshio Sand Sea to the snow-packed peaks of the Himalayas; from a bottomless well in a Parisian courtyard, to the shelves of an infinite underground library, we follow Aubry as she learns what it takes to survive and ultimately, to truly live. But the longer Aubry wanders and the more desperate she is to share her life with others, the clearer it becomes that the world she travels through may not be quite the same as everyone else's...

Fiercely independent and hopeful, yet full of longing, Aubry Tourvel is an unforgettable character fighting her way through a world of wonders to find a place she can call home. A spellbinding and inspiring story about discovering meaning in a life that seems otherwise impossible, A Short Walk Through a Wide World reminds us that it's not the destination, but rather the journey--no matter how long it lasts--that makes us who we are.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1668026066
• ISBN13: 9781668026069
• Release Date: April 2024
• Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Mixed Feelings

I wanted to love this. I really did. 🙌 Kudos to a librarian publishing their first book. I do enjoy suspended reality, but many times in this book I found myself thinking "really, like for REAL?" 🤨 If you're interested in this book, please read both positive and negative reviews of this book before taking my word for it. Avoid spoilers when doing so. Pay attention especially to trigger warnings - there are many. *********MILD SPOILERS BELOW********* What I liked (and what fell short, for me): 💜 some passages were very well written and philosophical and while this book did traverse the world it wasn't overly pertentious or only enjoyable for people who are of a certain education level or have well travelled experiences of their own. There are some entire sentences in other languages that would require more effort than I wanted to afford to looking them up but you will get the jist. (unfortunately the rest was just building to "the next wildly suspended reality event" and that made it boring and difficult to trudge through) 💜 Sort of a happy ending for the MC (but none of the magical realism was fully explained. sometimes I appreciate authors leaving things like that open ended but the two recurring elements of magical realism deserved some knowing rather than deduction or a best guess on the reader's part) 💜 Interesting slew of side characters (though underdeveloped, sometimes flat when it seemed like they were intended to be quirky. also, I just can't get behind a 15 or 16 year old having relations with someone double their age. ick.) 🤷‍♀️ Fascinating concept and some semblance of trying to get to a big 'AHA' (again, no big reveal, time hopping didn't add depth to the plot or character in ways other books have made this style work well) 🤦‍♀️ Aubrey is an amazing woman who develops survival skills with tenacity, both practical and relational (BUT also with a heaping load of LUCK. For the time in which this book took place I can't suspend reality enough to believe she didn't encounter more dangers, especially as a woman on her own in remote parts of the world. but the altruistic thought that the world is mostly kind and humanity is inherently good willed is something we all want to believe. perhaps if the magical realism had been explained these instances of her learning entire languages in a matter of a month would have helped explain whether it was luck or fortuitousness on the MCs part) 🫤 All in all, it was almost a DNF shelver, but the last third did pick up some and left me wanting to get the answers I felt I deserved for making it through the first 2/3. I would give this author another chance. Great concept, perhaps poor editing was the result of something that could have been really magical. Or perhaps the author had notions he would not compromise, which I also understand, but he should seriously reconsider his next go round).

Fast Paced Adventure!

This venturesome book is full of remarkable, extensive events! I just got it yesterday and can't put it down! It's an excellent summer read!