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A review by christinecc
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is frankly fantastic historical fiction, and the best part is that Elodie Harper makes it look easy as pie.
"The Wolf Den" is set in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and centers on Amara, a young woman whose comfortable family falls on hard times, leading to her sale into slavery and, more specifically, prostitution.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Pompeii? When does the volcano countdown begin? Honestly, I don't know. But what I can say is that this is the first in what promises to be a gripping trilogy, so rest assured, the volcano does not blow by the end of this book.
Instead, "The Wolf Den" gives us a compelling and vivid depiction of a young woman struggling to come to terms with her dehumanization at the hands of a sex industry that sits within a society with legalized slavery at every level of production. You might see a well-dressed house slave working as a personal maid or secretary, or a stables slave or a manual labor slave, even a skilled artisan slave, but at the end of the day, they are all slaves. They have no rights, no autonomy, not even the ability to let themselves fall in love, fall sick, or fall pregnant without considering that their owner has the final say over their fate. Harper didn't have to go hard on this, but boy oh boy does she use the historical mores of Ancient Rome to flesh out the world that cradles her story.
Ultimately, the omnipresence of Roman slavery and the disturbing, viscerally uncomfortable dynamic between slaves and slave-owners are at the heart of "The Wolf Den." Even more impressive is the book's cast of characters and their deeply human relationships with each other. Amara, Dido, Victoria, Cressa, and all the other women at the Wolf Den brothel stand out as individual people, never interchangeable, and always compelling. Harper never takes the easy way out of giving us good guys and bad guys--and in spite of that, the book contains some of the most shocking, stomach-twisting cruelty while making us doubt, over and over, whether there can be room for kindness in a world as cruel as shown here. The answer is yes. And no. It's a bit of both. And the main character isn't exempt from these difficult choices.
Highly recommended, albeit with a warning that the book does discuss and depict slavery, trauma, and non-consensual sex. It's never graphic or gratuitous, but the grief and violence is felt in spite of Harper's restraint.
With that in mind, you should definitely pick this book up (and its upcoming sequel) if you enjoy immersive and well-researched historical fiction, stories set in Ancient Rome, and a large cast of attaching characters who act as a found family and give each other hope in a dark situation.
Thank you to Netgalley and Union Square & Co. for giving me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
"The Wolf Den" is set in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and centers on Amara, a young woman whose comfortable family falls on hard times, leading to her sale into slavery and, more specifically, prostitution.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Pompeii? When does the volcano countdown begin? Honestly, I don't know. But what I can say is that this is the first in what promises to be a gripping trilogy, so rest assured, the volcano does not blow by the end of this book.
Instead, "The Wolf Den" gives us a compelling and vivid depiction of a young woman struggling to come to terms with her dehumanization at the hands of a sex industry that sits within a society with legalized slavery at every level of production. You might see a well-dressed house slave working as a personal maid or secretary, or a stables slave or a manual labor slave, even a skilled artisan slave, but at the end of the day, they are all slaves. They have no rights, no autonomy, not even the ability to let themselves fall in love, fall sick, or fall pregnant without considering that their owner has the final say over their fate. Harper didn't have to go hard on this, but boy oh boy does she use the historical mores of Ancient Rome to flesh out the world that cradles her story.
Ultimately, the omnipresence of Roman slavery and the disturbing, viscerally uncomfortable dynamic between slaves and slave-owners are at the heart of "The Wolf Den." Even more impressive is the book's cast of characters and their deeply human relationships with each other. Amara, Dido, Victoria, Cressa, and all the other women at the Wolf Den brothel stand out as individual people, never interchangeable, and always compelling. Harper never takes the easy way out of giving us good guys and bad guys--and in spite of that, the book contains some of the most shocking, stomach-twisting cruelty while making us doubt, over and over, whether there can be room for kindness in a world as cruel as shown here. The answer is yes. And no. It's a bit of both. And the main character isn't exempt from these difficult choices.
Highly recommended, albeit with a warning that the book does discuss and depict slavery, trauma, and non-consensual sex. It's never graphic or gratuitous, but the grief and violence is felt in spite of Harper's restraint.
With that in mind, you should definitely pick this book up (and its upcoming sequel) if you enjoy immersive and well-researched historical fiction, stories set in Ancient Rome, and a large cast of attaching characters who act as a found family and give each other hope in a dark situation.
Thank you to Netgalley and Union Square & Co. for giving me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Sexual assault, and Suicide