This was an incredibly unique and amazing read. I didn't want to put this down and I was immediately drawn into this intriguing story. I really enjoyed this style of writing, although I feel like some people might not. If you love unusual fantasies this is the book for you.

100% agree with the similarities and vibe of Addie LaRue. A little long winded and fantastical however this was entertaining and enjoyable

What an unusual story; I genuinely found it hard to put down. Douglas has managed to weave a series of enthralling mini stories throughout what is an intriguing main thread.
This book kept me entertained till the last page and I can’t wait for his next novel

I think this book was intriguing and had a similar vibe to Addie and an unusual plot line to match. I think the style is perhaps a little too wistful for my own preferences and struggled to grasp the overall message from the book. I did like the story and how her unique challenges were represented and how it affected her relationships with other people.

This sounded like such an intriguing, but potentially complicated, storyline and I was looking forward to getting started, if a bit wary.

I believe this is Douglas' first novel and what a first novel it is! So ambitious, so layered, so complex but well crafted - it bodes well for his future work.

There is no hanging about! This is right there, the first few pages, blood, mayhem and chaos. You're right in there and you never leave it, even after you've finished it stays with you.

Aubry is our main character. We meet her at at different ages - from a child of 9 up to an old lady of undetermined age. In fact, we first meet her as an adult in her 30s (she's not 100% sure), and she tells us her story through her conversations with others, which I really liked, so we didn't get the incessant flashbacks and forwards that complicate the reading. This flows naturally and is seamless because of how he has told the story. Aubry is a fascinating creation to follow on this journey.

In my experience, I find that male authors can have difficulty writing a believable female protagonist (and vice versa), but Douglas has achieved this in spades. Aubry is fantastically written and has so many layers to her. Douglas has really got to the crux of her as a person and has made a believable, relatable (in some sense) and gorgeous woman.

I know there is more to it than this, and it's all wrapped up in a fantasy land, but it does breach some interesting topics: the fear of the unknown, the fear of catching an illness, pain, blood, unbearable illness, the feeling of never belonging, never being able to rest, being used, loneliness, failed romantic, platonic, and familial relationships.

Amazon says it's for fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Midnight Library, and Life of Pi. I have only read one of those - The Midnight Library - but even with that, I can see the comparisons. It is definitely of itself, it's original and exciting, but you can definitely see some familiar fantastical elements.

I love Douglas' exploration of the world. I know it's not always in the most positive of circumstances, but because Aubry has to go on this round-the-world trip, we are taken along with her. It's a harsh environment at times, confusing also, but he depicts such beauty in the mountainous ranges, deserts, sparkling oceans, busy tropical market squares, quiet coastlines; It's like we're travelling within the book.

It is odd, there's no escaping that. It's weird and confusing and almost ties you up in a loop. But I really enjoyed it. It took me a little while to feel comfortable in it because it needs such a stretch of the imagination, but once I was in it, I zoomed through. It's really unique, clever, detailed, and a real pleasure to read. If you like fantasy/sci-fi books, but also books with deeper meanings, then I would definitely recommend this. I finished it in two days but even after finishing it, I am still thinking about it and I have soooooo many questions. A really promising debut.

The comparisons to Addie LaRue and other transient female characters are well placed - this fits well into this niche, as it has a fantastic international feel, a pathos for the life that Aubry could have had and moves at a reasonable pace for how much is packed in.

Aubry at a young age finds a puzzle ball. Some time later her and her sister prpeare to make sacrifices in order to better the world or somebody in it. Aubrey's sacrifice is to be the puzzle ball but she cannot bring herself to part with it. The consequence appear to be that she develops an illness that prevents her staying in any one place for more than 3 - 4 days. Thus begins her nomadic life of travelling across continents, never visitng the same place twice, meeting a variety of people with whom she journeys on.

What the book never explains is why? how?

For me it is an epic fail of repetition. I went here and 3 days later I had to leave there to travel here. I went by train boat plane but I had to keep going. I had given up before I was more than a third of the way through the book. I struggled onto the end but I admit that my concentration on the narrative decreased in direct proportion to the amount of book that I had read.

It was not well constructed, it was poorly told and I would not suggest anyone else should waste the hours necessary to plough through it

I was fascinated by the character of Aubry and enchanted by her journeys and some of the people she met. Her strange affliction and the challenges she faced gave a dreamlike quality to the novel, bordering on the nightmarish at times. A good read for lovers of fantasy and intrigue, but some of the encounters did seem somewhat repetitious and long winded.

Amazing concept novel.
Dramatic opening scene which really grabs attention, and then a beautiful, lyrical meander through the past and present of the brilliant heroine, intertwined with her travels around the world.
I loved the vignettes of each character she met and how they changed her perspective, seeing her age through the different phases of her travels. I loved how strong she was as a lead character, but also open and vulnerable - a nicely balanced persona.
Like others, I was hungrily devouring this waiting for an explanation of the "condition" driving the narrative, and have to admit I found myself disappointed - I felt I either missed something or there was some ambiguity that left me less than satisfied.
However I feel when I look back I will appreciate the overall story rather than this final detail. Overall, a gorgeous, intriguing and highly readable novel - recommended. Thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for the opportunity to read.

I’m finding it difficult to gather my thoughts on this book. I’m willing to suspend belief and dapple in magical, mystical even Sci-fi genres and am often pleasantly surprised. This book however brought me on a roller coaster.
9 yr old Aubrey finds a magical puzzle ball and then refuses to sacrifice it a well. She then develops a strange illness that causes to to constantly move from place to place around the world. What follows is a summary of those travels with visits to strange libraries along the way.
I really feel there was a message somewhere in the middle of all this but I just couldn’t grab hold of it. The stories meandered at times and I found it difficult to hold my attention to it but then it would bounce back and the ending left me feeling glad I had stuck with it.

A solid 3.5 ⭐️ but not quite the 4.

Thanks to Netgallry.co.uk and the publishers for this digital ARC.

Wow, I think even starting this with some kind of expectation, it will blow that apart. It's history, it's love, it's travel, it's memoir... And a bit of mystical thrown in. I think it covers so many genres woven together beautifully that it will tick a lot of boxes for a lot of readers, just head in with your mind open to surprises along the way. A beautiful piece of writing, thanks to netgalley, the author and publisher for my arc.

As someone who struggles herself with itchy feet syndrome I thought this sounded like the perfect book for me. After an incident at a magical/cursed well Aubry Tourvel falls horrendously ill, only feeling better once she has traveled with her parents to see a doctor some ways away. This quickly leads to the discovery that she can only stay in one location for about 3-4 days before the symptoms set in and she has to move on again. I really enjoyed all the many fantastical adventures and stories Aubrey collects over the years, and also the bittersweet nature of her illness. She experiences so much but at the same time longs for some stability and can never maintain relationships. It's almost a case of the grass is always greener, we may crave some break from the monotony of every day life, but you can only have that if you also have the opportunity to experience such monotony.

Things I disliked were that at times the story was not linear and it was confusing to know when it was, or in what order events took place. Also a fair bit of magical realism which left some things less explained than I would have liked.

A Short Walk Through A Wide World is truly a mesmerizing and adventure-filled novel with themes of courage, survival, hope, tenacity. I found it thought provoking and found myself thinking about what I would do and how I would handle the circumstances if I was in Aubry's predicament. The storyline is very intriguing and I liked how well the author described the places Aubry traveled to.

I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy magical realism!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage for the e-arc i exchange for an honest opinion.

This is an incredible achievement for a first novel. It is extraordinarily unique in its scope. The story is told in the present tense which adds to the sense of immediacy and a shared bewilderment of unfolding events. Our heroine is afflicted with an illness which literally sends her around the world, and it’s a world which is recognisable to few of the rest of us. She seems to navigate mountains and deserts by finding doors to other realms containing endless libraries, and meeting threats and challenges on the way. We share her sadness and her pain at having to leave everything behind as her illness impels her forward. What an incredible read this was. It verged on magic realism, and has no easy answers to why and what is happening in a book full of interesting and likeable characters. I really enjoyed the journey.

Not long before the turn of the 20th century, Aubry Tourvel, a nine year old stubborn little girl in Paris picks up a wooden puzzle ball, the discovery of which starts off an incredible journey of a lifetime filled with adventure but also filled with longing for what she will miss out on. This is because not long after holding this ball for the first time, Aubry succumbs to a mysterious illness, which is only ever temporarily cured if she moves on from the place where she is and she can never revisit somewhere she has been before. Her name becomes known all over the world and Aubry sees marvellous things few would get to see but she can never truly call a place home. Is this life worth living? Is it worse or better than “an average” life or just different?

This book was likened to The invisible life of Addie LaRue, which is a book I adore and there are certainly similarities. A girl experiencing her life like no one else, wandering the world, and never belonging, and in this book the relationship is not with the darkness but a mysterious illness, who sometimes does speak to Aubry like Luc does to Addie (although not as often).

The book is full of adventure and magical places and for the first half of it I was immersed and gripped but I have to say, I found it a little repetitive in the second half. The author has wonderful imagination conjuring up different locations, with detailed descriptions and it is certainly an escapist read.

Thank you @netgalley and @jonathancapebooks for the gifted copy. This book is available in digital format from 4 July 2024 in the UK.

Wow! What a book!
It’s like no other.
It’s a different world.
What an inventive, imaginative, descriptive, action packed book.
Kudos to Douglas Westerbeke.

Aubry Tourvel, Is a wonder - 9 years old and so spirited.
I loved travelling her unique world with her and the companions she found along the way..
The writing is wonderful and pulls you in - an amazing debut novel and I look forward to reading more from Douglas Westerbeke.

This is one of the most original stories I have read in years. At first intriguing but a bit confusing, but very soon compelling and unputdownable. This is a remarkable and epic tale of one extraordinary woman’s life and the people she meets as she constantly journeys on, never back, round and round the ‘wide world’.

3.7* stars. A bit overly precise,but I’m a physics teacher; can’t help myself! 😄 But being serious, I felt it only just missed being a 4 for me, so 3.5 didn’t do it justice.
The opening chapter does what I like -it drew me straight in to the story, and questions already start to build up in my head. Then takes you back to how it all started so you have good context.
Aubry Tourel at the age of nine, becomes unable to stay in one location for more than a few days. She develops life-threatening- and agonising symptoms if she doesn’t up and leave.
This is the story of her wanderings through the world.
The prose is very good, descriptive, often lyrical, without being overly fussy. The writer has a LOT of different scenarios to bring to life and does so well.
There are comparisons with Addie La Rue, as stated in the book description, but unlike Addie who is always forgotten, Aubry becomes quite famous for her wanderings.
Some reviews did not like the lack of character development in the secondary characters, but I felt it appropriate; for Aubry, most of these people are in her life for 2-3 days, so the feeling of transience worked well for me. Characters she spends more time with or makes a strong connection to get a bit more fleshing out, but Aubry still has to inevitably leave them behind.
Some reviewers felt that Aubrey’s character did not develop, but again, I don’t agree with this. She has to become more resourceful, and I think she learns a lot about human nature as she necessarily develops the ability to ‘read’ people fairly quickly. She goes from being a selfish headstrong child to a…….well, I’ll let you find that out.
As a magical realism book, there is of course an element of mysticism to events; the ‘who, why, how….?’, etc is not really explained to my satisfaction(did I mention the pedantic physics teacher thing?), and this is one of the things that frustrated me about the story. The other is that it was a wee bit on the long side.
I liked the ending scenario.

I absolutely wanted to give this book 5 stars… I’m rounding it up to 4.5!

I could definitely see why it’s being compared to The Midnight Library etc. but this is a book unlike no other. It gave me Siddhartha vibes whilst also being almost childlike in its magical realism. The only reason it lost half a star is because about 3/4 of the way through it seemed to stagnate for a few chapters. This didn’t detract from my enjoyment reading it but a book has to be perfect for me to award the full 5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.