I am a Catriona Ward loyalist; I will read anything she writes without question or spoilers. All of her work is amazing, but I think Nowhere Burning is the best thing she has written to date.
In my opinion, it is best to experience this novel with absolutely no knowledge of the plot.
Nowhere Burning is a sprawling, intelligent, brutal novel. The novel switches between timelines and characters, and the links are not immediately clear.
Imprisoned by a family member, Riley and her young brother Oliver lead a grueling existence. However, when Riley is visited by a child wearing green, she is made aware of a place of potential escape; an infamous ranch named Nowhere.
In another strand, we follow two filmmakers, Marc and Kimble, who are making a documentary about Nowhere. We also have an aging actor, Leaf Winham, who enlists an architect named Adam to make questionable adjustments to Leaf’s property.
This novel is compelling from page one. At the start, I was reminded of Emma Donohue’s Room (one of my all-time favorite novels), but then it turned into something completely different. Every character is so well-drawn, but I especially fell in love with Riley. Her fearlessness and love for her young brother made for so endearing.
But the best part about this book is how everything unfolds. Ward’s use of ambiguous timelines blew my mind. I was constantly making guesses about where things were headed, and was wrong at every turn (which pleased me immensely!). This is why I am not a writer, and Ward is an absolute master.
I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook, expertly performed by Christopher Ragland and Katherine Fenton. Ragland was especially captivating, but both elevated this already exciting book to new heights. I would highly recommend listening if you are able.
I am already planning to revisit Nowhere Burning soon, so I can look for details I’ve missed. Incredible work from Ward.
California Reading 