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A review by rosseroo
Hold the Dark by William Giraldi
4.0
I suppose if I knew anything about ancient Greek drama, I would be able to make some connections to this dark story set in the Alaskan tundra. It certainly carries the weight, darkness, and bloodiness that I associate with Greek tragedies. Alas, I am not steeped in the classics, and am thus forced to draw comparisons with Cormac McCarthy and the underrated Liam Neeson film, The Grey.
The story begins in the small Alaskan town of Keelut, where three children have been taken by wolves. The mother of one of the missing children implores an aging wolf expert to come help her find the one that killed her little boy. Grieving and aimless in the wake losing his wife to Alzheimer's, the wolf expert comes to town and makes a shocking discovery.
Meanwhile, the father of the boy is making his way back from Iraq (Odyssey reference, right?), discharged from the Army with a Purple Heart. As soon as he arrives, the wolf expert who has been the protagonist is kind of dumped to the background and doesn't reappear for the entire middle of the book. Instead, the father and his boon childhood companion hook up and lots of people start getting killed, with the local sheriff in pursuit.
Mixed in with this rampage is a bunch of heavy mumbo-jumbo involving wolf masks which, again, if I'd read my ancient Greeks, might be more meaningful than hokey.The climax brings the father and wolf expert together in the wilderness, as both seek out the missing mother and there's another twist -- albeit one that's been heavily hinted at, so I suspect most readers will see it coming.
I have to confess that although I liked the writing and appreciated the heavy mood of the story, I'm not quite sure what to make of it all by the end. It's tempting to try and find some way to unlock it as an allegory about modern America, but I'm not convinced that's the right direction. It's the rare kind of book that makes me want to find some interviews with the author to see how he talks about it. Recommended for readers who like dark and bloody stories that only involve human monsters.
The story begins in the small Alaskan town of Keelut, where three children have been taken by wolves. The mother of one of the missing children implores an aging wolf expert to come help her find the one that killed her little boy. Grieving and aimless in the wake losing his wife to Alzheimer's, the wolf expert comes to town and makes a shocking discovery.
Meanwhile, the father of the boy is making his way back from Iraq (Odyssey reference, right?), discharged from the Army with a Purple Heart. As soon as he arrives, the wolf expert who has been the protagonist is kind of dumped to the background and doesn't reappear for the entire middle of the book. Instead, the father and his boon childhood companion hook up and lots of people start getting killed, with the local sheriff in pursuit.
Mixed in with this rampage is a bunch of heavy mumbo-jumbo involving wolf masks which, again, if I'd read my ancient Greeks, might be more meaningful than hokey.The climax brings the father and wolf expert together in the wilderness, as both seek out the missing mother and there's another twist -- albeit one that's been heavily hinted at, so I suspect most readers will see it coming.
I have to confess that although I liked the writing and appreciated the heavy mood of the story, I'm not quite sure what to make of it all by the end. It's tempting to try and find some way to unlock it as an allegory about modern America, but I'm not convinced that's the right direction. It's the rare kind of book that makes me want to find some interviews with the author to see how he talks about it. Recommended for readers who like dark and bloody stories that only involve human monsters.