Wanderers by Chuck Wendig — Spoiler-Free Review

WANDERERS
by Chuck Wendig

Del Ray
July 9, 2019

From Goodreads:

Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other “shepherds” who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.

For on their journey, they will discover an America convulsed with terror and violence, where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it. As the rest of society collapses all around them–and an ultraviolent militia threatens to exterminate them–the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart–or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.

There are many words that come to mind when I think about describing Wanderers. Thoughtful. Prophetic. Disturbing. Entertaining. Funny. Heartfelt. Relevant. Amazing. And that’s just the tip of this epidemic iceberg. If I had to boil it down to a single word to describe Wanderers: Important.

From the opening chapter, this book left me wanting more. More action, more confrontation, and more answers! Every time a question was answered, two more took its place.

The sleepwalkers are driven down the road by a cast of characters I won’t soon forget. Oddly enough, considering they become known as shepherds, they’re all black sheep of their respective flocks. Such personality in each one, and real enough that you can feel the joy when something good comes their way, or the dragging disappointment when they make a decision that you, the reader, don’t agree with. And there are plenty of bad decisions being made!

At 782 pages, it’s a long story! (If it’s ever made for the screen, it better be a Netflix series and not a 2 hour movie.) But the story doesn’t lose you. It doesn’t go off in tangents of whimsy. Believe it or not, it’s very streamlined. I tried to look at it and see what could have been cut, and the answer is nothing. Everything Mr. Wendig left in this book was crucial to telling the story. He didn’t even spend time leading into the “walkers”. You start reading, and in the back of your mind, you’re thinking, “I wonder how long it’ll be before we actually see a—Oh, there’s one.”

I’m not sure how I feel about the ending. I read it around the same time as a certain Bionic Bookworm, and I know she hated the ending. I pretty sure I don’t hate it. But I do have questions. And I don’t just mean the normal kind of questions where the author would say, “I’m leaving that up to your imagination!” Before giggling and running away to hide in a forrest (unless you’re inside somewhere, in which case they would have to hide behind a couch or a vending machine, but still giggling.) My questions are more like, HOW? Many things are explained, scientific reasons given that are convincing enough for lamen like me. And then there are a few things left completely unexplained. Small things, to be fair. Small but nagging. 

But why do I call this book important?

Wanderers tackles a wide gamut of cultural issues that are all extremely relevant, even more so in the wake of the current Coronavirus situation. In addition to that, racism, religion, sexism, politics, technology dependance, violence, and society as a whole. I wouldn’t say there’s a deep dive on any one of these issues, but they’re all there. At the very least, a book like this has the potential to start a dialogue that could turn into something bigger. It’s not going to solve racism, but maybe it makes a few people think twice. Maybe someone puts a little more kindness into their day and it spreads as far and as wide as any virus. 

This is easily my favourite book of the year so far. Warning: it’s going to stick with you. It’s a book hangover waiting to happen. And it’s the kind of book that made me worry that the more great books I read, the harder it’s going to be to find books that are great. Don’t wait. Start now, especially because it’s going to take a while!

Fun fact about this post: I first discovered Chuck Wendig on his blog where he doles out writing advice, long-ass posts about apples, and macro photography on Monday, and does it all while being absolutely hilarious. www.terribleminds.com