In Wilderness

Thomas (The Year the Music Changed) writes hauntingly of obsession and survival in this dark, unusual love story set in the 1960s. Ad exec Katherine Reid, after contracting a mysterious and seemingly terminal illness, leaves her old life behind and moves into a mountain cabin with a sleeping bag, a few personal items, and a gun, determined to live what's left of her life in solitude. However, she doesn't count on meeting Danny, a young Vietnam vet and former college student who comes back from his time in combat irreparably damaged, and suffering from what today would be diagnosed as severe post-traumatic stress. Danny, who lives in an abandoned house nearby, rapidly becomes dangerously obsessed with Katherine, who at first is not sure what to make of the young man who appears in her front yard one day. As the two interact, passion quickly flares%E2%80%94but it could have deadly consequences. As the author moves her characters through the seasons of 1966, 1967, and 1968, she offers a deep and unforgettable look into how tragedy and madness can shape lives. Written from the points of view of two suffering people, the story takes on an almost surreal, lyrical quality. Riveting and raw. (Mar.)