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A review by clarafoster
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
4.5
*I was kindly given an eARC from #NetGalley for review*
This is a beautiful book. It’s so close to perfect.
I had quibbles at the start. When you begin, the focalisation is a little jarring (this is the first time in a long time I’ve encountered 3rd person present), the prose seems to lack refinement, the characters are a little wooden, and the setting a little flat. But, despite the author’s persistence in a very strange use of commas (or, more often, lack thereof), things soon pick up.
And by the time you reach the halfway mark absolutely none of that matters. Harper has an exquisite handle on character: the humour the girls find among their trauma, the internal politicking, the depth of feeling they have for one another while needing to look out for themselves, the complexities of the pimp who—despite being among the most morally reprehensible of the cast of characters—is my favourite of the lot. There’s not a perfect person among them (well, maybe one or two, but you just know that will never end well), and as Amara, lovely, clever Amara moved through her story I became breathless with anxious anticipation, fearing for her safety, fearing that she’d never reach the end without becoming someone she despised. Harper threads that needle expertly. You are with Amara all the way, rooting for her, questioning her decisions, understanding them nonetheless. All of the characters are so heartbreakingly human, those in the proverbial gutter clawing helplessly upwards while the privileged sit heedless of their good fortune and almost never understand the damage they do.
The book ends so abruptly you almost can’t believe it, but in the end you realise how perfect that ending is—highlighting what you can finally see has been the central relationship all along, leaving you with unanswered questions rather than giving you answers you either don’t want or don’t have time to explore. It’s funny, because I’m usually terribly wary of sequels (a second so often sours the first), but actually it is very clear that Amara’s story is not done. Harper simply and correctly closes the door on a tumultuous period in her protagonist’s life. It’s also clear that Amara has so much more life to live, so much more to achieve, so many more places to go. It seems unlikely that Harper will ever revisit Amara, but if she did, I’d be first in line to buy the book. As it is, I’ll be buying my own hardback of this when it publishes.
This is a beautiful book. It’s so close to perfect.
I had quibbles at the start. When you begin, the focalisation is a little jarring (this is the first time in a long time I’ve encountered 3rd person present), the prose seems to lack refinement, the characters are a little wooden, and the setting a little flat. But, despite the author’s persistence in a very strange use of commas (or, more often, lack thereof), things soon pick up.
And by the time you reach the halfway mark absolutely none of that matters. Harper has an exquisite handle on character: the humour the girls find among their trauma, the internal politicking, the depth of feeling they have for one another while needing to look out for themselves, the complexities of the pimp who—despite being among the most morally reprehensible of the cast of characters—is my favourite of the lot. There’s not a perfect person among them (well, maybe one or two, but you just know that will never end well), and as Amara, lovely, clever Amara moved through her story I became breathless with anxious anticipation, fearing for her safety, fearing that she’d never reach the end without becoming someone she despised. Harper threads that needle expertly. You are with Amara all the way, rooting for her, questioning her decisions, understanding them nonetheless. All of the characters are so heartbreakingly human, those in the proverbial gutter clawing helplessly upwards while the privileged sit heedless of their good fortune and almost never understand the damage they do.
The book ends so abruptly you almost can’t believe it, but in the end you realise how perfect that ending is—highlighting what you can finally see has been the central relationship all along, leaving you with unanswered questions rather than giving you answers you either don’t want or don’t have time to explore. It’s funny, because I’m usually terribly wary of sequels (a second so often sours the first), but actually it is very clear that Amara’s story is not done. Harper simply and correctly closes the door on a tumultuous period in her protagonist’s life. It’s also clear that Amara has so much more life to live, so much more to achieve, so many more places to go. It seems unlikely that Harper will ever revisit Amara, but if she did, I’d be first in line to buy the book. As it is, I’ll be buying my own hardback of this when it publishes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Suicide
Minor: Abortion, Murder