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A review by bmg20
The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall
DNF
Having read and loved [b:The Beautiful Indifference: Stories|15818482|The Beautiful Indifference Stories|Sarah Hall|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345162807s/15818482.jpg|17130525], a collection of short stories by this author, I was willing to take a chance on this one despite my hesitation. The subject matter definitely had potential but I read so very little of what is considered 'literary fiction' these days and clearly for good reason.
The concept is interesting: Rachel Caine, a zoologist that grew up in the UK now lives in rural Idaho monitoring wolves. She has been asked to come back to the UK in hopes of hiring her for a project a local Earl has set his sights on: the reintegration wolves to the English countryside. Interested in how long exactly it had been since wolves were common in England, I did a little research myself. Apparently around 1281, the complete destruction of wolves in England was ordered by the current ruler, Edward I and while there were a few mentions of wolves in subsequent years, most appeared to have been exterminated. So despite the modern disadvantages, this Earl wants to bring that park of medieval England back to life and he believes Rachel would be the best bet for this project to be a success. Interesting, but not fascinating enough to capture my complete interest.
Rachel herself was a strange character, seemingly as wild as the wolves she watches, but I struggled with the balance between the topic of the wolves with the overpowering focus on her uninspiring personal life. Then there was the stereotypical Earl, Pennington, and his determination towards this project that was ultimately left unexplained. Emphasis was constantly placed on the fact that he had money and power and he always got what he want without any real meaning behind his actions. The side characters weren't much better and I would have preferred more of a focus on the wolves themselves, alas despite the assumption that they were they definitely took the back burner of the story even with the clear attempt to parallel their story with Rachel's. It just didn't work for me.
The prose is lovely, as I knew she was capable of from her short story collection, but being confronted with another literary story where the quotation marks are experiencing a severe shortage is tiresome. Having to constantly reread passages because I can't determine whether it was something that was actually said out loud or was merely internal dialogue isn't something a reader should have to struggle with. It's a literary style that I will never be on board with.
Having read and loved [b:The Beautiful Indifference: Stories|15818482|The Beautiful Indifference Stories|Sarah Hall|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345162807s/15818482.jpg|17130525], a collection of short stories by this author, I was willing to take a chance on this one despite my hesitation. The subject matter definitely had potential but I read so very little of what is considered 'literary fiction' these days and clearly for good reason.
The concept is interesting: Rachel Caine, a zoologist that grew up in the UK now lives in rural Idaho monitoring wolves. She has been asked to come back to the UK in hopes of hiring her for a project a local Earl has set his sights on: the reintegration wolves to the English countryside. Interested in how long exactly it had been since wolves were common in England, I did a little research myself. Apparently around 1281, the complete destruction of wolves in England was ordered by the current ruler, Edward I and while there were a few mentions of wolves in subsequent years, most appeared to have been exterminated. So despite the modern disadvantages, this Earl wants to bring that park of medieval England back to life and he believes Rachel would be the best bet for this project to be a success. Interesting, but not fascinating enough to capture my complete interest.
Rachel herself was a strange character, seemingly as wild as the wolves she watches, but I struggled with the balance between the topic of the wolves with the overpowering focus on her uninspiring personal life. Then there was the stereotypical Earl, Pennington, and his determination towards this project that was ultimately left unexplained. Emphasis was constantly placed on the fact that he had money and power and he always got what he want without any real meaning behind his actions. The side characters weren't much better and I would have preferred more of a focus on the wolves themselves, alas despite the assumption that they were they definitely took the back burner of the story even with the clear attempt to parallel their story with Rachel's. It just didn't work for me.
The prose is lovely, as I knew she was capable of from her short story collection, but being confronted with another literary story where the quotation marks are experiencing a severe shortage is tiresome. Having to constantly reread passages because I can't determine whether it was something that was actually said out loud or was merely internal dialogue isn't something a reader should have to struggle with. It's a literary style that I will never be on board with.