Customer Reviews

Wolf: A False Memoir

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

 

 

This was my first bite into the words of Harrison, and I quickly bought three more of his afterwards. Wolf is not so much about Harrison's hero searching for the beast, but of him searching to find himself in the reality he has thrown himself into over the years. Drying himself off of bourbon and physical and mental loves over the years, while reminiscing over his well travelled youth. With humor and words that are true to the way we speak and think. Sometimes he'll ramble in newfound dreams while walking alone through the woods, where it's hard to follow, but its interesting to see inside his mind during these times. We truly follow his train of thought, which is important in understanding and relating to the man. Harrison's world lives in all of us...

Harrison's first novel is a great book. It shadows the irrevrant character of the novelist himself. From the purpose of the trip [to see wolves] to the final gorging of food in Ishpeming, Harrison takes one on a roller coaster of emotions all bundled up in the persona of a modern man trapped in a world he doesn't understand and that has long foresaken him. Wolf is a must read for Harrrison fans.

This novel is one of Harrison's finest; the prose reads like poetry and the protagonist lives poetry.

Wolf for me came after many other Jim Harrison reads. I hesitate to give this novel three stars because inherently Harrison has proven capable of so much more. Truthfully, as a Harrison read it falls far short of his standard. That said, this book is a must read for any Jim Harrison fan. More than anything it is a glimpse into one of America's finest writers beginning hours. This is an up close snapshot of someone feeling oats, marking the page; the tell tale signs of greatness truly are there. It is impossible to ignore Harrisons sense of humor, physical descriptions, and internal dialogue of wisdom. He back tracks with deft pencil strokes weaving the reader in and out of the labrynth of the mind. Granted, the reader has to wade through some interesting sludge to get there, but no matter. More than anything I got a hearty laugh from some interesting narrations and wondered to myself how its possible for a man to include so much bad sex, truly bad sex in one novel and still get it published. I not only blanched, I put the book down to get past some less than poetic riffs on the human act. Ahem. But Harrison is so much better than Kerouac, dare I say it, in his ability to become one with the earth and dare I even go there, he gives Hemingway a run for his money at times. At times. Yes, this novel barely deserves the three stars that I'm giving it; however, for the avid Harrison reader, they are duly deserved. The back and forth wilderness trampings laced with the traveling memoir are effective and again, this work bears the mark of a master. In the end it is lovely to see one progress in such a grand fashion. I hope at least that Harrison can look back and say that he is proud.

I had read Sundog and Woman Lit by Fireflies and was excited to read more. This novel was a great disappointment. Harrison seemed to be exploring a prose style which mirrored the insanity of his alcohol deprived/cold turkey protagonist. It was a valiant effort but in the end - it failed misearably.

This was my first attempt at Harrison, and I left it disappointed. Judging from some of the reviews of others, and from Harrison's overall fame and success, perhaps his other works deserve a try. I may be being unfair to the author, but I felt like maybe Harrison was trying to hard to write like, well, Harrison. I found this book (more specifically, it's protagonist) to be unnecessarily dark, depressed, and a bit depraved. If you cannot get enough of Harrison, then you should probably read it. If you are just curious, I'd suggest one of his more popular books.

Under The Volcano in the deep and dark Michigan woods...Great writing from a great, underappreciated writer. Harrison knows how to hunt with the best of the hairy chesters, but he also knows how to cook. He knows how to tell the plain truth and wax rhapsodic about the stalking the lonesome.

I too read this book and was deeply disappointed. A rambling story with no real satisfaction reached by the reader at the end. I rank this book right up there with "Farmer" and "A good day to die" as being one of Jim's lessor works.

This book may be hard to appreciate at first, but I've lost count of the number of times I have read it. It is a powerful book, and the quality of the fictional dream-- my primary measure of excellence in literature-- is bewitching, and, in my estimation, difficult to surpass. F*#k, my best advice is to order it immediately. It is my sincere belief that there is at least a 95% probability that you will agree with me after reading it. Like the crass commercial says: "JUST DO IT!"