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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Brilliant.
Although it discusses serious topics, Wolf in White Van is a brilliantly written book full of beautiful descriptions. It's a book about rash decisions and the consequences that follow. It's about growing up and the time you spent inside your own head while doing so. It explores regions we all have wandered in at some point in our lives, but goes farther.
"My parents would have asked the younger me, what do you want to be safe from? After the accident nobody would ask. That was, to put it harshly, the best thing about the rifle blast that destroyed most of my face."
Wolf in White Van is a character study if you will. After finishing it, I felt like there is more depth in there than I thought. I feel that if I read this again, now knowing where it's headed I will reveal even more layers of the labyrinth that is the protagonists mind.
It was one of those kind of books, that really impressed me with their writing style and left me with a bit more than a engaging story. It left me something to think about, be it for just a few minutes or even days. I love those kinds.
Listened to the audiobook, narrated by John Darnielle, which is the only way to fly.
Maybe it's because I haven't slept in like 48 hours (packing up the apartment), but holy shit this was an amazing listen.
I don't think this is what happened, but it feels like John Darnielle read Preacher, saw the character Arseface, and thought "what's the real story here, and how can I put it in Southern California, and also make it about difficult-to-articulate sadness?"
Yowza.
*****
12/18/2016 UPDATE
Re-listened to prep for the next meeting of the TATM book club. Definitely holds up to multiple readings. There's a lot here.
Maybe it's because I haven't slept in like 48 hours (packing up the apartment), but holy shit this was an amazing listen.
I don't think this is what happened, but it feels like John Darnielle read Preacher, saw the character Arseface, and thought "what's the real story here, and how can I put it in Southern California, and also make it about difficult-to-articulate sadness?"
Yowza.
*****
12/18/2016 UPDATE
Re-listened to prep for the next meeting of the TATM book club. Definitely holds up to multiple readings. There's a lot here.
Wolf in White Van "gets" teenagers in a way that is both refreshing and horrifying--a psychological novel that brings the reader into the feelings that lead to--and stem from--violence.
When we meet Sean he seems like a guy who is coping well with a facial deformity, just back from winning a judgment in a trial connected to a play-by-mail game he runs called Trace Italian. The game seems like an innocuous thing: travel through a post-apocalyptic midwest, find a fort in the middle of Kansas, burrow down through the layers to find safety in humanity--or what's left of it.
But the game leads to a terrible tragedy--one person dead, another scarred for life--of which Sean is acquitted, but still feels remorse. (The other notable player, the reader learns immolated his character within the game before it was too late.)
As the plot unwinds, we draw closer and closer to the truth behind Sean's disfigurement. What drove the violence that left him forever despoiled? Was it fantasy? Was it love? Was it rock music? Was it role-playing Dungeons & Dragons-style game? Was it Satan? Was it a Wolf in a White Van?
These questions aren't answered in the book. The ending is a quick, bloody rush--which left me re-reading the final chapters twice to view the clues Darnielle had placed for me. Frankly, the whole book deserves a re-read.
When we meet Sean he seems like a guy who is coping well with a facial deformity, just back from winning a judgment in a trial connected to a play-by-mail game he runs called Trace Italian. The game seems like an innocuous thing: travel through a post-apocalyptic midwest, find a fort in the middle of Kansas, burrow down through the layers to find safety in humanity--or what's left of it.
But the game leads to a terrible tragedy--one person dead, another scarred for life--of which Sean is acquitted, but still feels remorse. (The other notable player, the reader learns immolated his character within the game before it was too late.)
As the plot unwinds, we draw closer and closer to the truth behind Sean's disfigurement. What drove the violence that left him forever despoiled? Was it fantasy? Was it love? Was it rock music? Was it role-playing Dungeons & Dragons-style game? Was it Satan? Was it a Wolf in a White Van?
These questions aren't answered in the book. The ending is a quick, bloody rush--which left me re-reading the final chapters twice to view the clues Darnielle had placed for me. Frankly, the whole book deserves a re-read.
This is the second book I’ve read by Darnielle and I’m coming away with a similar feeling to the first: this book is full of interesting ideas but the way the author structures his stories, it feels like there is no plot. No tension at all. We’re peeling back the layers of something that already happened and turned out fine, and the mystery of the exact details isn’t compelling enough to stand on its own.
So I was desperate for a good audiobook (something to do while both hands are occupied feeding my daughter a bottle). I searched and searched, and finally a book jumped out at me. The description had phrases like "game of strategy," "text-based roleplaying game played through the mail," and "unfolds in reverse." HECK YES! Sounds like my kind of book.
Only then did I glance at the author's name. That's funny, this author has the same name as the lead singer/songwriter of The Mountain Goats, one of my all-time favorite bands. So I pull up wikipedia and wouldn't you know, I guess I just don't pay enough attention. >-< I then really wanted the book to be good and whew, I wasn't disappointed.
This is a dark and moody book, mysterious and poetic. I'm glad I listened to the audiobook (to hear the author read his own words) because I'm guessing it made it easier to follow along with those descriptive, internal passages. This is not one of those feel-good books that uses nerd culture for charm. Instead, it's a deep and unsettling pause, a look at something broken. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is drawn in by the plot summary and/or reviews.
Only then did I glance at the author's name. That's funny, this author has the same name as the lead singer/songwriter of The Mountain Goats, one of my all-time favorite bands. So I pull up wikipedia and wouldn't you know, I guess I just don't pay enough attention. >-< I then really wanted the book to be good and whew, I wasn't disappointed.
This is a dark and moody book, mysterious and poetic. I'm glad I listened to the audiobook (to hear the author read his own words) because I'm guessing it made it easier to follow along with those descriptive, internal passages. This is not one of those feel-good books that uses nerd culture for charm. Instead, it's a deep and unsettling pause, a look at something broken. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is drawn in by the plot summary and/or reviews.
Not totally sure what the point of this book was. It’s well written and started off relatively interesting but I felt like it got a bit repetitive as it went on and didn’t shed much more light on anything, and not much really happened.
Up until reading this book, there were parts of myself I thought that nobody on earth had ever been able to see or describe. Shame on me for not having faith in Darnielle to put it into words.
I obviously am not in the same predicament that Sean finds himself in, nor do I see the world in the same way that he (sometimes) does, but there are moments in Wolf that remind me of the darkest, most lonely times I ever had as a teenager. This is an incredible exercise in empathy. So, so good.
I obviously am not in the same predicament that Sean finds himself in, nor do I see the world in the same way that he (sometimes) does, but there are moments in Wolf that remind me of the darkest, most lonely times I ever had as a teenager. This is an incredible exercise in empathy. So, so good.
I loved this book, while it simultaneously broke my heart. I didn't want it to end because I loved the writing, but also because I knew the end was going to be sad. Keep going, though; you'll care about Sean too much not to.
I was really interested in reading this because Darnielle is probably the greatest song writer that ever lived. While I was happy with how he transitioned from a lyricist to an author, I just couldn't stand the story itself. I look forward to reading his future books at least.