This was an interesting journey, basically a real world fantasy. The protagonist suffers a strange illness that forces her to stay on the move and never return to a place she's already been. So she travels the world, meeting people and experiencing life in short bursts. There was a good mix of somewhat ordinary and extraordinary. The characters were well developed, especially considering how briefly some are involved.

I feel like there was so much potential in the premise, but it got lost for me. The constant descriptions of how much blood there was all the time really me out of the story. The timeline of this is also blurry, although I know some of that is on purpose. It felt like the setting didn't know when it was, or how the people in it should be acting. She felt very one dimensional to me, and was way way way too mature for a 9 year old that suddenly spurting blood and then had to run away forever to keep from dying.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Magical Realism, General Fiction, Women's Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Fantasy
Spice Level: Medium (The scenes on the page are not overly detailed.)
Language: A few f-bombs

Stepping into A SHORT WALK THROUGH A WIDE WORD is interesting because so much of it is concrete, but there are elements that supersede reality. I'm not sure about the title since the main character is constantly walking and walking and walking.

Aubry, our main character, finds a puzzle ball, and that's the moment her life changes.
She is swept away with a challenge—she cannot stay still for more than a few days, otherwise, the sickness threatens her.

Decades pass in this book.
I never knew how old Audrey was at any given moment unless specified—though, I'll say when her age changed, the reader is given a heads up. She went so many places, and they blurred within her mind. The story takes place in a combination of flashbacks told to people on her journey and happening in the moment. Sometimes, I felt disconnected to the story, and I think this is why.

Whenever I grew comfortable in a place with Aubry, that was a signal things were about to change. And this is true until the end. Nearing the end of the story, I still felt like I was gathering new information and places.

Here's my question: Is traveling to see the world critical for happiness? Or is building relationships the value of life?
I know what the book indicated, but I'm not sure that I was onboard with the message. It will be interesting to see what others think.

This is an interesting and thought-provoking read, and I recommend it.

Happy reading!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avid Reader Press, and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy of A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke in exchange for an honest review!

This novel follows Audry, a woman with a mysterious illness that forces her to travel at all times, through the course of her life-- the inception of her illness, her world travels, prominent people she meets through the years, mysterious libraries, and through to her final days.

A Short Walk Through a Wide World was all at once beautifully written, bittersweet, and incredibly frustrating. The first third of the novel was slow, following Aubry as she recited her story to a family on a riverboat. The story definitely picked up after that, but I often found myself trying to identify the plot as I read. If you aren't a fan of highly literary books with little conflict, this may not be the book for you. But at the end of the day, the prose that Westerbeke concocts makes this literary novel well worth the read in my opinion.

I unfortunately did not finish this book because it wasn’t for me, not necessarily from a lack of quality. I could tell from the type of story it is, the length would be a challenge for me. Part way through things began to lag.

(3.5⭐️) The premise of this book drew me in immediately (along with it being compared to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which I loved), but I didn’t like this as much as I thought I would.

This book starts off with a bang and jumps right into the story. It held my attention for a while, but as the story progressed, I started enjoying it a little less. A huge chunk of this book is storytelling within the story, which I usually like, but I didn’t always like the execution here. It jumped around a lot, I found it really hard to keep track of the timeline and age of Aubry, and I often just kept reading in the hopes I’d figure it out along the way. I didn’t quite connect to the characters the way I hoped I would, and overall was left wanting more. However, I did really like all the descriptions of the different landscapes and places that Aubry had travelled. There were certain stories that lasted longer than others, and I loved seeing the connections between characters in those moments.

I may just not be the right person for this book; I can see a lot of people liking it!

This book is a story about stories. It’s calmly narrated at a walking pace that helps us keep pace with the main character, Aubry. She is wise beyond her years as a child and this wisdom only continues to grow with her.
I was initially confused for a while as to what the point of the story was, until maybe halfway through when I realised it was a tale about life, sacrifice, love and learning to value what’s around us.
There is an air of mystery regarding Aubry’s illness and the secret libraries that appear to her, and I feel this mystery never really gets solved in the end properly which I didn’t love.
But overall it was a pleasant journey to follow and intrigued me enough to keep reading.

1.5/5 Stars

TL;DR - A super interesting premise, and not much else. Long, meandering, and ultimately leading to nowhere. No plot, no vibes, no explanations.

Big thanks to Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for providing the ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review!

***Trigger Warnings for: illness, a lot of blood, vomiting, seizures, animal abuse, medical gaslighting, sex between a minor and an adult, dubious consent, violence, mentions of suicidal ideation, mentions of infanticide, and mentions of suicide.***

‘A Short Walk Through a Wide World’ by Douglas Westerbeke is a historical magical realism novel following the far-reaching wanderings of Aubrey Tourvel, who at nine years old, contracts a mysterious illness that makes it impossible for her to stay anywhere for more than a few days. We follow her across the world many times over, and into places that aren’t quite earthly at all.

Not a whole lot to say about this one, other than the premise is really interesting, but the book itself is a boring, overdrawn slog.

The prose is average, if a little young, but there is an issue with head-hopping I found annoying. At first, I thought the book was written in 3rd person omniscient, but the instances of hearing other people’s thoughts aren’t consistent across the whole book, so it’s definitely head-hopping. It is an ARC, so maybe this has been cleaned up since I downloaded the file, but it really took away from my enjoyment as-is.

The pacing is slow, the timeline jumps all over the place in a way that adds nothing to the narrative, and there’s very little action or tension. The bits in the library are interesting, the puzzle ball is interesting, her relationship with her illness is interesting, but those parts are so few and far between that they hardly make up for 400+ pages of basically nothing. I can’t even handwave and say this book is more about the message than the plot, because there’s no message. There’s a few little bits and pieces of pseudo-philosophy, and some trite lines that are supposed to be deep, but it’s all so shallow and bland that it might as well not exist.

And then all of the magical realism/fantastical elements are just…never explained. Not even elaborated on, even a little. By the end (which is very underwhelming, by the way), I understood nothing, and I’m left wondering what the point of this book was, because, again, there’s no strong message to be found anywhere. I was promised a ‘spellbinding and inspiring story about discovering meaning in a life that seems otherwise impossible’, but what I got was an overlong travel blog that ate hours of my life I’ll never get back.

Lastly, this book definitely has a vibe of exoticism that I found uncomfortable. I can’t really put my finger on it, but I can say that overall, this book smacks of “a white man wrote this” in terms of depictions of BIPOC characters. It’s not egregious, but it’s definitely there, and it personally gave me the ick.

Final Thoughts:

Boring. Worse than mediocre but better than garbage, and utterly pointless. Will not be buying a physical copy.

Westerbeke has written a book with such beautiful imagery, scenery and setting that could make wanderlust course through the fiercest of homebodies. I really enjoyed reading about small communities throughout the world. Aubry was a complex and strong main character. I enjoyed reading her through the joy and despair of her long, long journey.
All this being said, I think I have more questions after finishing the book that I did at the start. The world-building was excellent, but I am left with almost no answers as to why Aubry had this affliction, what role Qalima played in it, how the sub-terranean library was involved, and more. There were 400 pages of beautiful storytelling, but very little payout for the mystery surrounding her need to travel. I think for folks who don't mind those unanswered questions, this will be an outstanding read.

Likened to the Invisible Life of Addie Larue and Life of Pi, I was intrigued. I like stories that explore the what ifs that fiction with a touch of magic allows: what if you no one remembered you? what if you aged so slowly you lived a long time? what if, as in this novel, you can't stay put? Every few days, if you stay in the same place, you get violently ill? How do you live, survive, thrive? What does it do to you to live like this, and starting as a nine year old? So that's the basic premise. An unknown illness forcing young Aubry from late 1800s France to explore the world throughout her lifetime. Her adventures are a mixture of overall female toughness/persistence/strength and magical underground libraries connecting distant parts of the earth. I flew through this book, eager to see the next adventure. I do wish it was more adventure and less magic, but that is personal taste. If you like these kinds of stories and are okay with the magical elements, I recommend reading this. Can't wait for this to come to my library so I can start getting people reading it.

While a fun premise, this book unfortunately didn’t click with me. It revolves around a mysterious illness that forces the protagonist to constantly travel the earth. It started when she found a strange puzzle ball. This illness and puzzle ball are never really explained and the ending felt unsatisfying. Sections of the book also started to feel repetitive and drag a bit.
Overall I think this book had good potential but fell a little short.

This one had its highs and lows- it was an interesting premise that drew me to it immediately! A young girl has a sickness that doesn’t allow her to stay in one place more than a few days, thus throwing her into the world. I loved reading about her travels, the cultures and the side characters that Aubry meets along her journey.. but what it lacked was an actual journey. I still have no idea what the plot is. The ending was .. mediocre and the story had no direction. There were many insightful quotes scattered throughout, but I am truly at a loss as to what I just read. As someone who LOVES traveling, I was able to push through and find some points incredibly interesting.. but the execution was off for me.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

I had high hopes for this title as it was described as being similar to Addie La Rue but I found it to feel disjointed and was never able to connect with or care about the main character.

This book was a journey (pun intended). While it drew me in as a reader, it lost me towards the end. More consistent pacing would have made a world of difference.

A Short Walk in a Wide World is an enchanting fantasy adventure story with elements of magical realism. Aubry embarks on an involuntary journey of self-discovery filled with a desire and a need to belong and to connect with others. On her journeys she finds wonderments as well as perilous situations, while encountering kindness and also occasional cruelty. Hers is a life in exile from her home and family.

At the start of Aubry’s story, we see how she adjusts (or fails to adjust) to her new circumstances. Then things start to slow down. However, I was vested enough (and determined enough) to finish this novel. I’m glad I did. While the ending at first-read seems rather open-ended, it actually takes Aubry’s story full-circle. Using the search function on my Kindle, I was fascinated to discover connections that weren’t obvious from a straight-forward reading, particularly connections to events and people from earlier in the story.

In A Short Walk in a Wide World, Douglas Westerbeke has crafted an elaborate, detailed world with engaging characters. Aubry’s growth, changes, and self-awareness from age 9 to that of an “old woman” is believably portrayed as she searches for a place she can call home. With its unique blend of fantasy and magical realism, this thought-provoking novel may not be to everyone’s taste. Nonetheless, it is well-worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Set in Paris, 1885, this is sure to delight any period reader. This kept me up, and truly entertained. Period readers will delight, but anyone that loves fantasy, or otherwise "magical" types of books where it's not necessarily high fantasy, but it isn't reality-driven either, will still enjoy.

Amazing tale! Page turning
Griping as this magical yet unusual story unfolds . From streets of Paris to many places along the way through the journey .
It makes you think it’s deep it’s meaningful
It’s a read I enjoyed so much
Forsure Addie vibes !!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Okay, I really loved this one. It was fascinating, unlike any other story out there. It gave me Ten Thousand Doors of January vibes, which was one of my favorite reads of last year. It's a very character driven story with a looping plot that follows a woman through time and space and the fascinating life she leads after finding a magical puzzle ball and interacting with a strange well.

I honestly can't think of what else to say about this book....I don't know how to describe it without spoiling and honestly I'm not even sure I could spoil it if I tried. It's just a story you have to experience, because that's what it is - an experience. You'll find yourself getting lost, asking questions, discovering things about yourself you never even thought of before.

This book is magical - unique, captivating, enchanting, and magical.

This was a delightful, page-turning adventure. It was a great amalgamation of world traveler, mysterious magic, and pure library fantasy setting. Following Aubrey through her exploits, almost always in how she related the stories to others she meets along the way, kept the story progressing not quite always linearly but certainly in a way that keeps the reader engaged. This is absolutely a book you’ll stay awake too long reading.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.