Reviews - Wolf in White Van

1.39k reviews for:

7.28.20 update: rating changed to 2.5/5. This book was ok/alright/meh.

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Edit 5/14/17: New rating- (3/5). This book just hasn't stuck with me the way that I expect 4/5 books to.

Wolf in White Van is an incredibly intriguing and engrossing read. Our main character, Sean, is the creator of a mail-in role-playing game called Trace Italian. Due to an accident as a teenager, Sean has a severe facial disfigurement, causing him to lead a very reclusive life. Wolf in White Van follows Sean's life both before and after the accident, as well as Trace Italian and its effects outside of the game.

One of the most interesting parts of the novel is that it doesn't follow a chronological timeline. The story is broken up, told in bits and pieces to allow information to be revealed just at the right moment to keep your curiosity alive. Wolf in White Van is very mysterious and it keeps you wanting to read to piece together Sean's story. My personal favorite parts of the book are the ones that focus on Trace Italian. This game that he has created is just so incredibly vast and interesting and I really enjoyed finding out more about it and how far people had gotten into the world. Honestly, it just really made me want to play a game like this. Might have to search and try to find one.

However, there are definitely reasons why I gave this book 8.5 instead of any higher. To be honest, I was between a 9 and an 8.5, so I went for the 8.5 due to my tendency to lower ratings eventually. I tend to consider star ratings throughout the reading of a book, and for the first half, I was solidly in the 10 and 9.5 range. I could tell that this book was a slow-burning one and I was really enjoying the way that things were developing. However, it hit a point where I was no longer quite as invested. I was still really enjoying it, but that curiosity and drive to finish it were no longer there. The other reason was character motivation. I got to the end of the novel and felt that some of Sean's choices just didn't make sense to me. For those who have read the book:

Spoiler

I really didn't understand Sean's choice to shoot himself. There didn't seem to be any real explanation for this decision, or really any reason given for him to have done it, so I felt that the decision didn't make sense

. Perhaps this was purposeful and Darnielle meant for the motivation to be ambiguous, but I just really didn't like that about it and felt like it was important enough to be included.

Overall, despite a few shortcomings, I thought that Wolf in White Van was a really engrossing read.

jessplayin's review against another edition

3.0

Wolf in White Van is all about escapism and regret. John Darnielle tells the story of Sean, a young man who in a tragic accident disfigured himself and while recuperating comes up with the game Trace Italian. Trace Italian is a text based mail adventure game that forces its player to try to get to the center of a base surrounded by fortified triangular walls. The Trace is a metaphor for life and the unattainable "center" that we can never truly reach. The book kind of drills this point in so much that at times I was screaming "okay, I get it", but overall it flows really well and fit my mood. This book isn't highly quotable and can come across as pretentious at times, but it's really not that bad or good. It's middle ground. It's a dark young adult book and if you like the Mountain Goats or want something out of the norm it might be for you.

bookguyeric's review against another edition

4.0

A disturbing book. I like disturbing books. You find out early on that the protagonist, Sean, has done something to himself. You kind of know what he did, but you don’t really know why.

The most disturbing thing is that, maybe there isn’t really a “why.” Just the juices and chemicals of adolescence and young adulthood pumping through his brain and prompting dissociative states and “what ifs” that result in disastrous conduct.

There’s an old underground comic by Robert Crumb. Mr. Natural. On the cover, Mr. Natural’s friend/foil Flakey Foont peers over a fence at Mr. Natural, an aged but childlike guru who’s riding a scooter happily down the street. “Mr. Natural, what does it all mean?” yells Flakey. Mr. Natural replies with a grin, “Don’t mean shee-it!” and speeds happily along.

Aside from the existential dread and despair permeating the book, I also liked the nerdy references to Conan, Gor, and Doc Savage. Stuff that surrounded me too when I was a kid. Of those three, I didn’t ever read the Gor books by John Norman. A friend of mine did, and from his descriptions, they sounded pretty awful. Kind of like Edgar Rice Burroughs for people with no moral compass. But these references made me feel a weird connection to Sean, although his reaction to those things was much more bizarre than my own.

sammyisobsessed24's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars. This book is by no means perfect, nor for everyone, but at its center, it is beautiful and heartfelt in a way that struck a cord within me. I think many people can connect with the stream-of-conscious style and imaginative way the main character, Sean, speaks and remembers moments from his life. But if you dislike books that don't have a lot happening and if the stream-of-consciousness narration is not your thing, then I'd advise you to skip this one. Indeed, if you dislike Darnielle's style of lyricism within his Indi band, The Mountain Goats, I don't think this is for you.

But if you, like me, are a big fan of the band and Darnielle's colorful turn of phrase and strange and sad lyrics in songs that often tell intriguing stories, give this one a shot. There's a lot here that's really good, and it's a quick but dense read.

Sean is a game designer who is very badly disfigured from an accident in his teenage years. As a result of his disfigurement, he lives a very isolated and secluded life. He is the creator of a mail-in RPG game called Trace Italian, where players send in their turn, and he mails them back the result for said turn, from where it continues on and on. The game was once one of his greatest passions, one he largely created in his mind while recovering from his injuries in the hospital. It kept him sane lying in bed, something to focus on instead of the intense pain.

The story is told in a nonlinear fashion that slowly winds toward the night of the accident. This is a story of loneliness, escapism, and mental illness. It is often painful and exquisite in its rawness, and there are many lines I feel will settle somewhere in the recesses of my heart.

There are aspects of the story I wish were told differently or expanded upon. I do not feel I came to know Sean as a character the way I hoped I would - I thought I would understand him at least a bit more than I do, though I am not sure he truly understands himself. But I'm glad I read this story. It is simple in its execution but touches on some weighty and relevant themes.

gabrielrobartes's review against another edition

5.0

Crudely, we're in the world of Vernon God Little, River's Edge and the Arcade Fire's The Suburbs. But far better, far more daring. This is a book of reverberations and beats any other novel I've read this year.