History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund: book review

History of Wolves (2017) is set in the isolated remote woods of northern Minnesota.

Madeline Furston is 37 as she narrates her life as a 14 year old, the tragedy, and the trial.

As a teenager, she is smitten with her history teacher, middle-aged Adam Grierson, from California, who wore one gold hoop earring. When he sets her a task for the History Odyssey tournament, she chooses wolves. She lives in a cabin near in the woods, but had never seen a wolf.

At about the same time as Mr Grierson is dismissed from his job, a new family arrives in town – Leo and Patra Gardner and their four-year-old son Paul.

Divided into two main sections – Science and Health (the titles are taken from Leo Gardner’s research) – the book tracks Madeline’s thoughts as she babysits Paul. Madeline ponders whether it’s true that ‘freaks flock to this town.’ Was Mr Grierson a freak? Are the Gardners freaks? Is she a weirdo too?

The characters are not quirky or different or even weirdos, and their portrayals are not developed nor strong enough to be anything other than weak and insignificant. I found no characters of interest in this book, not even Madeline.

The plot is unsettling and incohesive as it tries to depict the thoughts of a teenager and her quest for self, or at least her quest for adult role models. Madeline’s thoughts are random and disconnected. This is not a book about wolves – wolves are symbolic of predators. This becomes obvious the second it is introduced, as there is nothing suspenseful about the plot.

In summary, it is a wistful, but tragic, coming-of-age story – of the action of predators and the inaction of others – that readers will either love or hate. I think it missed the mark on a number of levels.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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