The Tenderness of Wolves – a review
Maxine Clarke’s review of Stef Penney’s The Tenderness of Wolves, this years winner of the Costa First Novel Prize, is on the Euro-Crime site.
(The phrase), “the sickness of long thinking”, is the key to this wonderful book. The story turns into a book of journeys by most of the characters, and by these journeys we come to know their true natures. Several, but not all, of the mysteries, old and new, are eventually solved, and several of the characters come to know themselves and their families more deeply.
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this looks like some good summer reading.
jb says: Yes, that’s what I was thinking. I just hear good things about this book all the time. At least two people have said they felt bereft after finishing it.
Thank you for the extract and link, John, much appreciated.
Total change of subject, the Times third leader today on gun control was good, I thought. About time someone explained the fallacy of the “Dunblane” pro-gun argument.
jb says: I didn’t get to the times today, had to celebrate someone’s twelfth birthday instead, much more important. But I’ll try to track down the leader tomorrow.
We just finished reading “The Tenderness of Wolves” for my book club and someone raised the question of if Jammet Laurent was Line’s missing husband Jani? I was wondering what other people thought.
Thanks.
One of the most interesting stylistic books I’ve read. It’s a 1st person narrative sometimes, sort of… There are prose passages that are so stunning they take my breath away. These are usually tender emotive reflections.