Customer Reviews

Darkest Desire: The Wolf's Own Tale

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Schmitz performs in 100+ pages what many writers cannot do with several hundred more. Presents us with an affable yet fallable protagonist, sets up themes and conflict we can relate (in our own desires), and resolves it satisfactorily. As it is so short, it would be unwise to summarize the plot and spoil things for the reader. Surely, however, a newly vocal wolf who preys on children, the Brothers Grimm, and the Devil should provoke anyone to read this appealing work. :)

This is one of the most original books I've ever read. I was a bit skeptical when I heard about the premise. Who writes an adult book about the Big Bad Wolf? Once I cracked it, though, I couldn't put it down. Schmitz has fashioned fairy-tale characters that are not only interesting but (who would believe it?) believable. His writing is precise, his observations droll. And as you might suspect, the story is hilarious. This is a book that I'm going to tout to my friends.

Schmitz has written a great book. There is so much to feed on on so many levels. I was so astounded by the wolf's understanding of his relationship with evil. He refuses to personify it and yet has realized that his ongoing companionship is not friendship. I think the story raises questions about humnan complicity in evil and the human tendency towards idolatry (knowledge, science, consuming). By the end of the book, one has to wonder where the center of the evil that is being described lies: in the devil, in the wolf, or in the Brothers Grimm? Schmitz ablilities to make the reader see situations from the view point of the wolf is truly amazing. It's a good tale and will keep the reader thinking about those big questions about good and bad and knowledge.

Many postmodern deconstructions of legends and fairy tales are rather self-consciously academic and self-referential and are clever in a "hey, look at this fancy stuff" sort of way. Darkest Desire sets the whole nature/culture controversy on its head in a most entertaining manner with a notable lack of pretense. Strongly recommended for adults and mature teens.

This is another book review by the boonie dogs, Wolfie and Kansas. "Darkest Desire", allegedly by Anthony Schmitz, presents a wolf's-eye-and-snout view of the Brothers Grimm. We suspect that this book was ghostwritten by a fellow canine. Much of the book is too insightful and too clever to have been written by a typical human author.

The passages about the tastiness of human puppies are somewhat offensive. A canine is more likely to protect a human child from human predators than to eat the child himself. However, "Schmitz" does make it clear that the child-eating wolf is no more typical of canines than Hannibal Lecter is of humans. In a nice twist on an idea used decades ago by Clifford Simak in "City", Schmitz makes use of the canine ability to perceive and interact with phenomena beyond human perception.