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jdintr 's review for:
Wolf in White Van
by John Darnielle
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.