![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
This is the final post in my interview series, where other bloggers ask me questions about the books I never got around to reviewing. This last post has just one question about a fabulous book that absolutely deserved to win the Costa prize:
classicvasilly has a questioning mind (you might notice she asked the most questions about the most books - yay for curious people): 'I read the description of Tenderness of Wolves. It sounds like a great read. I want to know everything about it.'
‘The Tenderness of Wolves’ is a historical novel set in a small pioneer town in Canada. An old trapper is found murdered and the narrator’s adopted son, Francis appears to have run away which makes him an obvious suspect. Our narrator, Mrs Ross, must join up with an Indian man to track him down through the vast, snowy Canadian wilderness and clear his name. Following behind them are the official investigators, sent by the malevolent Company that seems to control all of Canada. So the novel has bucket loads of crime and suspense, but it’s also full of love stories, ‘forbidden’ behavior and failed relationships. Pervading over everything is the claustrophobic feel of the landscape that the various parties travel through and the frequent encounters they have with the wolves that roam the land. Now that I start thinking about it there are way too many storylines to really examine them all fully in one review, yet they all blend together well and the variety of viewpoints make the novel a fascinating, multi-layered experience.
I remember when it was published there was an outcry about how the author had agoraphobia and had never travelled to Canada. People questioned how could she possibly have created a realistic book and felt that the book must suffer from Stef Penney’s lack of physical experience of Canada. Let me cry bull on all the people who said things like that. I personally think that Penney’s agoraphobia probably enhanced this book – the descriptions of the storms, the landscape closing in despite being such a wide, open space and the constant, endless snow all create this claustrophobic tone, which complements and enhances the anxious, fearful emotions present among the characters. The feeling of the land and weather malevolently closing in is a perfect example of nature being in sympathy with the plot, which is a novel full of crimes, deception and brutality. I think probably Penney’s experience as an agoraphobic had a lot to do with how successfully she created this atmosphere. It’s also well-written and feels well researched, without feeling overburdened with historical details.
If you’re losing faith in contemporary novel that get a lot of hype I suggest you start ‘The Tenderness of Wolves’ right now.
classicvasilly has a questioning mind (you might notice she asked the most questions about the most books - yay for curious people): 'I read the description of Tenderness of Wolves. It sounds like a great read. I want to know everything about it.'
‘The Tenderness of Wolves’ is a historical novel set in a small pioneer town in Canada. An old trapper is found murdered and the narrator’s adopted son, Francis appears to have run away which makes him an obvious suspect. Our narrator, Mrs Ross, must join up with an Indian man to track him down through the vast, snowy Canadian wilderness and clear his name. Following behind them are the official investigators, sent by the malevolent Company that seems to control all of Canada. So the novel has bucket loads of crime and suspense, but it’s also full of love stories, ‘forbidden’ behavior and failed relationships. Pervading over everything is the claustrophobic feel of the landscape that the various parties travel through and the frequent encounters they have with the wolves that roam the land. Now that I start thinking about it there are way too many storylines to really examine them all fully in one review, yet they all blend together well and the variety of viewpoints make the novel a fascinating, multi-layered experience.
I remember when it was published there was an outcry about how the author had agoraphobia and had never travelled to Canada. People questioned how could she possibly have created a realistic book and felt that the book must suffer from Stef Penney’s lack of physical experience of Canada. Let me cry bull on all the people who said things like that. I personally think that Penney’s agoraphobia probably enhanced this book – the descriptions of the storms, the landscape closing in despite being such a wide, open space and the constant, endless snow all create this claustrophobic tone, which complements and enhances the anxious, fearful emotions present among the characters. The feeling of the land and weather malevolently closing in is a perfect example of nature being in sympathy with the plot, which is a novel full of crimes, deception and brutality. I think probably Penney’s experience as an agoraphobic had a lot to do with how successfully she created this atmosphere. It’s also well-written and feels well researched, without feeling overburdened with historical details.
If you’re losing faith in contemporary novel that get a lot of hype I suggest you start ‘The Tenderness of Wolves’ right now.
Have more questions, then leave them in the comments. If you've reviewed this book leave me a link and I'll include it in this post.
Tags:
