What a strange book...

Can't quite get my mind around this one yet. I have few doubts that book clubs, having picked this book, will spend many hours debating what it all really means.

The plot swings from one extreme to another -- at points, it's almost too harsh to bear. A young suicide victim is refused burial in the "regular" part of the cemetery, shunted off, instead, to the section for the damned, those hopelessly beyond salvation. And then there's the 'prairie raw', parts, where the bleak and bitter nature of farm life is laid on with a trowel. For me, the dead animal quotient came perilously close to being too high. Time after time, I was within a hair of signing off, finding something a little easier to listen to.

But I didn't turn it off -- which says something else about this book.

It has its delightful moments too, some of them hilarious. This is a German Lutheran town -- seriously judgemental and harsh in its own right, in terms of how 'newcomers' are treated, in terms of what's done and what's not done. In that sense, Clara is a fish out of water. As a pastor's wife, certain standards of conduct are imposed upon her, and she is expected to comply. But she seems blithely unaware, or better yet, doesn't much care. One absolutely hilarious scene has her showing up, seriously pregnant, at a women's circle meeting in shorts, an incident that will no doubt be recounted with titillation and delighted horror for the next hundred years or so. That vignette is wonderful, exceptionally well written and insightful. I wish there'd been more scenes like that.

The narrator? Once again, this one didn't do her homework. I don't understand why professional narrators don't check for the correct pronunciation of local place names. In this one, Hillary Huber, who otherwise does a good job, repeatedly renders the Minnesota town of "Mankato" as man-KHAAT-o, whereas any real prairie kid will know it's man-KAY-o. Stupid error -- would only have taken a moment to check, and instead, it renders her as less than professional.

Would I recommend "Little Wolves"? Maybe. Sort of. I guess. I'm glad I listened, and I know parts of it will stick in my mind for a long time. Other parts are sufficiently disturbing I can't forget them soon enough. If you like prairie stories, with all that entails, you might find it as intriguing as I did.

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12 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Trigger Warning

I didn't realize that this book featured a discussion about suicide by gunshot in the first few pages. I couldn't finish it since my son passed that way in Jan 2021. Putting a quick note here for anyone that might need it.

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5 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Couldn’t wait for it to be over

The author apparently didn’t do any research as the whole book is based on the premise that coyotes are little wolves, in addition to a sophomoric plot that flipped back-and-forth between a disturbed mom disturbed daughter, disturbed neighbors, and a disturbed husband. In fact, all of these characters seem to have some mental aberrations. &

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1 persona l'ha trovata utile

Great story and Performer!

The Little Wolves held so much meaning.
Hillary Huber did a fantastic job. She glided through voices so well I forgot that only one person narrated.
I definitely recommend Little Wolves!

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1 persona l'ha trovata utile

Let me tell you a story

You just have to sit back and listen to this story unfold. Don’t waste your time time trying to guess how it’s going to end. Don’t worry about what happens next. Just sit back, listen, and enjoy.

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headline

narration best part although the storyline wasn't your run of the mill ghost story either

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Great Mystery - Great Narration

This story grabbed me early on. Hillary Huber's excellent performance made me glad I was listening to it.

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Fantastic

A murder. A mystery. Wolves and Little Wolves. You will fall in love with the characters, the legends, the myths, and most of all prescient Clara,

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Beautiful and captivating

What a beautiful and captivating story where myth and history become intertwined! The Minnesota landscape, prairie and forest
becoming poetry. I couldn’t put this audio book down.

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Powerful story

The narrative is great. There are some triggers in this book of teenage gun violence but it’s done in a way to show the damage done to the teen that pushed him.
I loved the old legend told too.
Well written.

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