6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful love story deftly written, April 20, 2005
This review is from: The Wolf Ticket: A Novel (Paperback)
Though I can't improve on Lori Lake's review, I can assure all lovers or romance that this is the real deal. It is filled with authentic touches that place the lovers' attempts to find one another in a believable--and dangerously unstable--historical world, but from the very start serendipity plays a central role in bringing these women together, sealing their bond, and setting them on one another's trail once they are flung apart by circumstance. I thought the ending was wholly in line with the enchanted journey part of the story (tender Pascale and tough Witold both pass into a kind of dream world the moment they meet--and stay there, no matter how ordinary the tasks they must accomplish while searching for one another). This story has little violence, but much danger, and (contrary to assertions by the reviewer upset that it was not a story about contemporary lesbian role-models for a self-affirming monogamous lifestyle) little sex, but much sensuality. None of the sex seemed gratuitous or alienated. I thought it added much sweetness to this deeply romantic grownup fairytale.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fascinating, Engrossing Tale, June 27, 2003
This review is from: The Wolf Ticket: A Novel (Paperback)
World War II is a few months from ending. The Germans have been repelled, and it's only a matter of time before the Allies prevail. Troops are on the move, as are many soldiers and staff who provide administrative support for the war effort. Pascale Tailland, an American translator, has been stationed in Germany, but now her unit is reassigned. The novel opens with Pascale and her fellow WACs on the train awaiting departure. She catches sight of a blond-haired youth whom she correctly assesses is a refugee. He is "gaunt, hardened, and bleak" but despite his desperate appearance, something is familiar. At the last minute, she pulls him aboard the departing train. And with one touch, Pascale is aware that this slender youth is not a man.
The Polish Bronia "Bron" Rukowicz is passing herself off as Witold Rukowicz. She's escaped one forced labor camp and with cunning and verve is doing all she can to stay away from the horrors of the war. She has no desire to go back to the deprivations in Poland. After all she has been through, she is closed off emotionally. In conversation over the next few hours, Pascale gradually draws out the aloof refugee. When Witold tells Pascale that life is basically "cruelty, wars, and massacres," Pascale insists that life itself gives meaning. Witold is quick to counter: "The only meaning I see is the law of the wolf, kill or be killed" (p. 22). She has stopped believing in goodness or altruism. This, the way of the wolf, has been the refugee's defense against the horrors she has encountered.
For the rest of the short time they travel together, Pascale puts herself on the line in order to prevent Witold from being discovered and either captured or sent off to a refugee camp. By the time the two part, Pascale has made a crack in carefully constructed defenses, and Witold has fallen head-over-heels for the American. Pascale is also smitten.
What follows is the fascinating, engrossing tale of these two women trying to find one another again in the chaos of the war-torn countries of Europe. Bron continues her masquerade as Witold, and her situation is much more dangerous and unpredictable. Both women have to find trustworthy helpers in order to track one another. Pascale's search and Bronia's arduous journey make for a gripping tale. I couldn't put this book down and read far into the night until I reached the surprising conclusion.
Clarke's prose is fluid and literary, and she knows her history, not to mention more than a smattering of several languages. The details about Bronia's persistent attempts to survive are particularly rich. For instance, at one point, while locked up in the hospital ward of a camp, she is considering all possibilities for escape, and she realizes "every place could be escaped from if you looked hard and thought like a mouse." Bron's resourcefulness-and resilience-is truly a miracle.
The Wolf Ticket is one terrific story. I highly recommend it and wish Clarke would publish another novel with great speed.<BR...
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The story ends HOW???, June 28, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Wolf Ticket: A Novel (Paperback)
Pleasant enough read, obviously a first novel from an author with considerable talent and potential.
The story has some really good writing throughout, and creates the mood of war torn Europe very well. The details were convincing and seemed authentic.
The ending really bothered me though. Without giving it away, I have to say that it was a complete surprise, and not one that left me feeling satisfied.
I just didn't feel that the characters would accept that solution especially without any foreshadowing earlier in the story that this would be the way things would end. It reminded me of stories that end with "suddenly Pascale and Witold woke up and realised the whole thing had all been a crazy dream". I felt cheated.
I enjoyed the book up to that point, and thought the characters and the story deserved better. I would like to see more from this author.
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