I had heard about History of Wolves by Emily Friedlund on the All the Books Podcast. I will admit that I was half listening as I was driving at the time, but it sounded really interesting, so I picked it up for the Kindle.
This Monday, I had a trip to NYC and whenever I do that, I always start a new book because I will wind up finishing one or two on the 2 hour one way train ride. I started this one, remembering it sounded interesting, but not remembering much else about it. This book is a gut punch that I was simply not ready for. After I finished it, I wanted to shout out on the train- 'Has anyone read History of Wolves, I need to talk about this book right now!,' but since I am not a crazy person, I chose to sit silently basking in the aftermath of this book.
The book centers around Linda, a girl of 13, who is a bit weird in school because of her life circumstances. She lives in the woods, in a former cult commune, and has been raised to live off the land. Her parents are mostly absent from her life, so she finds comfort in adults. One adult is a teacher who she admires greatly and desires to kiss. Later in the story, he will be accused of having child pornography and accused of sexual assault on a student (my second book in a row where this happens to a teacher!)
Linda is taken in by a family across the river. A mother and young child live there and Linda becomes a babysitter, but also "adopted" member of the family. She imagines herself in this family. That bubble will burst when the husband will re-enter the picture halfway through the book. While the description of the book spoils it completely, I won't on this blog post, but it gets bad and it involves a trial that Linda will be a part of (which you will get glimpses of early in the book, when she says things like- at the trial I said...)
As stated earlier, this book is a gut punch. It seems innocent for about the first quarter and then goes into some very dark places so much so that the sections where there seems to be some family reprieve will also become tainted and dark. This is a book that one has to be ready for rather than a simple pick up and read book. When I read it, I wasn't ready for it.
While Fridlund has written some published short stories and other works, this is her first novel and it is so well done. It does get a bit draggy at places, but I was not sure if it was content or my situation-being on a train for 2hrs. Either way, it picks up again quickly and just takes off. I love a novel that you will re-read differently knowing the final outcome of the book.
I gave this one 4 stars.
Here is your Amazon link- History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
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The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more
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Beautifully crafted coming-of-age story set deep in the northern Minnesota woods
“Later when I woke up, I found Patra had curled up around Paul. Back to me. But I could feel her curved spine through her jacket when I pushed in closer, all those little vertebrae linked up, all those bones laid out, like a secret. The night had come down hard, finally. Thunder was rumbling far away. Wind had kicked up waves, and they were loud enough now that I could hear them on the shore of the lake, shoving pebbles forward and back. I could hear pine needles whipping the roof of the house. I could hear Paul and Patra, breathing in syncopation.”Emily Fridlund, History of WolvesThis gorgeously written coming-of-age story plunges you deep into the northern Minnesota woods where teenager, Madeleine navigates growing up in an abandoned hippie commune with a couple who may, or may not be her biological parents.Madeleine, who goes by Linda, has mostly made her peace with being treated like an outsider by her peers at school, but when a young family from the city builds a summer house across the lake, she is drawn into their midst—first as a babysitter for their four-year-old son Paul, and then as a keeper of secrets she struggles to understand.
Top reviews from other countries
Fraser Simons
Feral and unhinged, this may not be for everybody but is fantastic for the right person.
Reviewed in Canada on July 28, 2021
Allie
Lots to discuss for reading groups
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2018