History of Wolves: A Novel

By Emily Fridlund

**A New York Times Editors’ Choice and Notable Book of the Year; An O magazine Book to Pick Up; A USA Today Notable Book; An Amazon.com Best Book of the Month; A People Best New Book**

Garnering rave reviews from around the world, History of Wolves is novelist Emily Fridlund’s darkly shimmering debut

“Literary fiction’s newest golden girl.” —National Post

Fourteen-year-old Linda lives with her parents in the beautiful, austere woods of northern Minnesota, where their nearly abandoned commune stands as the last vestige of a lost counterculture world. Isolated at home and an outsider at school, Linda is drawn to the enigmatic, attractive Lily and the new history teacher, Mr. Grierson. When Mr. Grierson is charged with possessing child pornography, the implications of his arrest deeply affect Linda as she wrestles with her own fledgling desires and craving to belong.

And then the young Gardner family moves in across the lake and Linda finds herself welcomed into their home as a babysitter for their little boy, Paul. It seems that her life finally has purpose but with this new sense of belonging come expectations and secrets she doesn’t understand. Over the course of a summer, Linda makes a set of choices that reverberate throughout her life. As she struggles to find a way out of the sequestered world into which she was born, Linda confronts the life-and-death consequences of the things people do—and fail to do—for the people they love.

A “compelling portrait of a troubled adolescent trying to find her way in a new and frightening world” (People), Emily Fridlund’s propulsive and gorgeously written History of Wolves introduces a new writer of enormous range and talent.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jan 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781443453776

Emily Fridlund

EMILY FRIDLUND’s fiction has appeared in a variety of journals. She holds a PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Southern California. Fridlund’s collection of stories, Catapult, was a finalist for the Noemi Press Book Award for Fiction and the Tartt First Fiction Award. It won the Mary McCarthy Prize and will be published in 2017. The opening chapter of History of Wolves was published in the Southwest Review and won the McGinnis-Ritchie Award for Fiction. She grew up in Minnesota and currently resides in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Reviews for History of Wolves

[technodiabla · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really loved this book. The oppressive sense of foreboding just grew and grew until you could hardly stand it and HAD to know what was going to happen. Though of course it had been pretty clear all along what was going to happen, just not why or how. I enjoyed reading about the lifestyle in a place so different from my own home too. Just a great read.

[ebt1002 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Told from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl growing up with hippy parents in the north woods of Minnesota, this novel's main story line is that of a young Christian Scientist family with a very sick four-year-old boy. Madeline's young life becomes intertwined with that of Paul and his parents, Leo and Patra, as she herself is struggling with coming of age issues: sexuality, attachment, ambivalence about her peers, a hunger for adult role models who don't let her down.... We learn early on that Paul dies, but the story of how and when this happens, and Madeline's involvement and the internal chaos this creates for her, emerge slowly through the second half of the novel. This isn't a morality play and the question of parental ethics in the face of an ailing child is not Fridlund's concern. Rather, Fridlund is interested in the impact of this ethical ambiguity on the emerging consciousness of a young girl. It's a great premise delivered by a promising author. The descriptions of the woods are memorable and Madeline herself is an unforgettable character. But the storytelling is uneven and the side-plot involving a teacher accused of sexual misconduct with a student never cements, never feels compelling or true (and I don't mean true as in "did he do it?" -- in some ways, that is irrelevant to the thread or the meaning, but true in its emergence in Madeline's consciousness). Madeline is satisfyingly complex; her character development is the cornerstone of the novel and it deserves critical praise and attention. But this novel is not Booker short-list worthy, in my opinion.

[sparemethecensor · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hmm. I liked the writing quite a bit, and for the first half or so of the novel, I was drawn in and eager to see what would happen. But I found the second half quite dissatisfying. I didn't feel like any of the plotlines (about Paul, about Lily, about the parents/commune) wrapped up in any meaningful way. Nor did I feel like the flash-forwards seeing Mattie/Linda as an adult illuminating. I would be willing to read more by this author, but frankly I'm surprised it made the Booker long list. It has an obvious first-novel feel and ultimately doesn't deliver on the plotlines it develops.

[chrisblocker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I get why some readers do not like Emily Fridlund's History of Wolves. I totally do. There are two primary stories being told in this novel; the narrative jumps back and forth between the two and also fills the reader in on backstory. The connection between these various threads is vague. If you're not paying close attention, you may not see any connection at all. Even if you see how everything is related, you may not care. The thread that binds everything is a mental one, and those looking for a concrete link will be thoroughly disappointed. I recognize all that, so I'm not surprised that this novel has its fair share of haters.I loved it. Early on, I could tell that this novel was going to require some thought. I don't recall what the clue was, but there was something off-kilter about the narrator and I suspected that close attention was needed. So I slowed my reading down. I listened to the nuances of the narrator's speech. I looked for clues in the text. A few times, I flipped back and compared. And while such functions should not be required of a reader, I'm glad I did, because I enjoyed the story immensely more as I took more time with it.There's an atmospheric quality that is beautiful in History of Wolves. It's lyrical and thought-provoking, but it's dark and impossible to trust. You can feel the shadow of the forest, the creak of the trees, the crunch of snow beneath your soles and you want to stay here, but there's also a need to rush home and never look back. The same is true with the story's narrator. “Linda” is completely believable as a young teenage girl, charming as a storyteller, but you sense she is not a trustworthy person. Yet, I really liked her. She seemed so much more real than most of what I encounter in fiction.The conclusion I'd been anticipating was not as big and dramatic as I'd work out it would be. I expected something really huge and the final acts were far from that, but they worked. The conclusion tied most of the threads together. I say most, because I'm not sure how some of the backstory with the cult fit in. Also, I didn't grasp how all this tied in with Madeline's wolf project. I suspect this is something I simply missed or was too daft to understand. A second read would probably clear these matters up, but it's rare that I ever return to a book, even when I have loved it.I'm really glad History of Wolves was nominated for this year's Man Booker Prize. Prior to its nomination, I hadn't heard of the novel or its author; I doubt it ever would've crossed my path. It is such a gorgeous work in so many ways. It was difficult, you could say elusive, but part of what I liked most was the hunt for the heart of the story. It's in there and if you can put your finger on it, you'll feel the pulse that really brings this story to life.Man Booker Prize 2017:History of Wolves is this year's biggest underdog. Personally, I think it stands no chance of winning the prize. I'd venture to guess that it won't make the shortlist either, but it does share some of the gothic atmosphere of last year's Eileen—it made the shortlist. While I think History of Wolves is a stellar novel (and some of the judges must agree since it made the longlist), it does not strike me as a Man Booker winner (though of the five nominees I've read so far, it's easily my favorite).

[ridgewaygirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Centered on the summer she was fourteen, this is the coming-of-age story of Madeline, who is being raised by her parents in an isolated former commune among the lakes of Minnesota. She's an outcast at school, but at home in the woods with her dogs. When a family builds a lake house on the other side of the lake, Madeline is drawn into their lives, fascinated by Patra, who is spending the summer in the lake house with her toddler son while her husband works out of state. To Madeline, their home seems charmed, but even as a young and naive teenager, she can feel that things aren't as they should be. I was excited to see History of Wolves on the Man Booker longlist. I do like that specific kind of coming-of-age story, but by the end of the book I was less charmed than I had been at the beginning. In part it's that I've just read too many of this specific kind of book lately, and it's not the best of the genre. Emily Fridlund's writing is fine, but it's easy to see that this is her first novel in the pacing and the obviousness of the construction. I suspect I'd have enjoyed this novel more had it not had the expectations of being a Man Booker nominee added to it. I'll certainly be interested in seeing what Fridlund writes as she develops as an author.

[carmenere_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fridlund knows her setting and she describes the environment in a manner that, whether it be canoeing on quiet lakes in the dark or traipsing through the woods of northern Minnesota, places you in the heart of her story. The story. What exactly is the story? The author's story seems a bit ambiguous in that it is far reaching and the reader has to stretch it a bit to find some connections in the novel's threads. Here's my take, the weak and vulnerable are exploited, sometimes, unintentionally, by those in a powerful position. In one of these instances we have 4 year old Paul. He is adorable and precocious and well defined. The other is Lily. Her character is not so well defined and detached. Linda, a high schooler and outdoors woman, plays a part in both their lives. Her undeveloped view of the world has tragic consequences. So, if you love reading of flora and fauna and, maybe, are a little interested in cults, yes that's in this far reaching story too, then give it a try.

[kcshankd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Indiespensable 64. The woods and lakes of Northeastern Minnesota were almost a character in this debut. The novel builds and threatens like a mid-summer evening thunderstorm. Ominous foreshadowings as distant thunder. I typically dislike the disjointed approach that seems to have infected most modern novels, but Fridlund pulls it off. There are several feints and gyres that sort of fizzle out, but finally the story/storm breaks - I was eager to see how it all ended up but disappointed that it was over. A fine effort.

[antrat1965 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book very much.
This novel made me sad in a lot of places and I think it is because it is about something that we all have felt at one time or another.....loneliness.
I was especially moved by the relationship between the main character and her mother. Two people that skirt around and never really connect with each other.
Fridlund is a writer to be reckoned with.

[niaomiya · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Well, I'm kind-of at a loss about this book. I liked it ok in the beginning, then I liked it more in the middle, then I liked it less at the end.Linda is a ninth grader living with her parents in the woods of Minnesota. Former commune members, Linda and her family keep themselves isolated from society, and, although Linda does attend school in town, she is an outcast. Then the Gardner family moves into the house across the lake from Linda's family's home. Linda becomes the babysitter for the young family's four-year-old son Paul, and the Gardners become a second family to her, although there is always an odd sense of discomfort.Throughout the first half of the book, there is a palpable sense of dread, an ominous feeling that something bad is eventually going to happen. This feeling of dread is what kept me reading the book, as I was interested in finding out what was going to happen. Linda is the book's narrator, but the narration cuts back and forth between Linda the teenager and Linda the current middle-aged woman, and it includes some chapters narrated by Linda the young adult. The back-and-forth jumps in time got a little confusing because it wasn't always clear what time frame was being represented, until I read a little bit into the chapter.There is also a separate plot line (set during Linda's high school days) about a classmate named Lily and the school's new history teacher Mr. Grierson. I just didn't get how this plot line fit in. Linda's obsession with Lily is bizarre; not only did I not understand it, I didn't like it.The book was, on the whole, well written. Some parts did drag, and I would skim those slower parts to get to more of the plot. I just found the book very strange. It didn't sit well with me. The ending completely confused me. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea.

[dianekeenoy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gee, three 3 and 1/2 star books in a row, that never happens for me. But, for a third time, the writing is truly wonderful but, the story kept getting bogged down (for me anyway). Our main character, Linda is a teenager living in the remnants of an old hippie commune. She spends too much time alone, that's for sure. A young family moves into a new large house across the lake and Linda becomes the babysitter to the four year old Paul. There is a lot happening in this book and it seems to take a very long time for it to happen. I think this is a good debut novel, but not one of my favorites this year.

[lisapeet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this, for the most part. I appreciated what the author was doing with the two storylines, though I never felt they quite worked in tandem. But still, a good, prickly portrait of loneliness and the different ways people with the best of intentions can hurt their children—the different ways one can be "raised by wolves." Plotting issues aside it's a very well-written book on harm, harm mitigation, culpability, and what to do with misplaced love, all set against the beautifully rendered backdrop of northern Minnesota.

[ozzer_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Wolves are predators, but also have highly evolved social skills. The wolf pack succeeds because of these skills. The narrator of Emily Fridlund’s coming-of-age novel, HISTORY OF WOLVES, seems to be a kind of wolf cub with neither the required social skills nor the pack to succeed in life. Wolves fascinate Mattie Furston, aka Linda. She is a teenager living with her parents—she’s not really sure they are her genetic parents—in a defunct hippie commune in Northern Minnesota. She is a loner, considered a “freak” and “commie” by her classmates. This situation is not unfamiliar to many teenagers. However, Fridlund amps up the strangeness with a dark, foreboding atmosphere that borders on the gothic. Linda is close to nature, but isolated from most human connections. Her parents are dour ex-hippies clinging to a lifestyle that moved on long ago. Hers is a family in name only. She has no close friends at school because she is excessively serious, dreamy and passive. She is a watcher, not a participant. Her isolated childhood and lack of siblings have provided her with few useful social skills. Linda is a young wolf lurking in the trees on the edges of the pack with few tools, trying to discover the secrets she needs to join in. Fridlund provides Linda with two opportunities to connect, but both become muddled and leave her only more confused. Linda seemed to be on track to connect with her history teacher, Adam Grierson, only to have that derailed by a two-fold calamity. He has a record of pedophilia in California and a stash of child pornography at his place in Minnesota. Additionally, Lily Holburn, a popular student accuses him (falsely?) of molestation. Grierson disappears only to reappear briefly later in the novel. Linda’s second connection is a much more important plot element. Patra Gardner lives on the other side of the lake and has a 4 year-old son, Paul, who Linda babysits. Linda bonds with Patra, whom she obviously admires. In this instance, the source of Linda’s muddle stems from Patra’s husband, Leo. He is an astronomer and a devout Christian Scientist who, though frequently absent, seems to be excessively controlling when he does appear. Linda appears to view him as the “alpha animal” and thus competition for Patra’s attention and Linda’s acceptance into their family (pack). Unfortunately, Paul is prone to illness and Leo is reluctant to seek any treatment for him because of his faith. Linda just watches as this situation deteriorates. In a way, both Patra and Adam have similar problems: primal forces control them and each fails at resolution. In Patra’s case, it is maternal and in Grierson’s it is sexual. It becomes obvious that Linda has been scarred by both of these encounters and Fridlund makes it clear that her inaction has deeply affected her life with flash-forwards to Linda at age 26 and once again at age 37. From that vantage, Linda muses: “It’s not what you think but what you do that matters.” Fridlund effectively uses foreshadowing and a dark mood to slowly build suspense and create feelings of foreboding. The novel introduces many interesting ideas and people, but Fridlund seems to dance around them and they fail to come off the page. One feels that big things will develop in both storylines only to be letdown by ho hum finishes. Grierson’s fate is a little underwhelming and Lily never gets her comeuppance. The interesting theme of faith vs. child welfare is not resolved despite references to a trial. In the final analysis, most of the characters feel a little hazy, including Linda. As an adult, she seems to have learned little from her experiences and probably is more adrift than she ever was as a teen. One knows that this lack of resolution was probably intentional, but it makes for an unsatisfying read.

[alanteder · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was enjoyable for me but the reason may not be of interest to all. It was interesting as a study of how an author parcels out clues for the reader in order to intrigue their interest and thus encourage them to read further. I was probably thinking along those lines because there was a recent discussion thread that mentioned it in an online reading group. I can’t remember the exact wording, but it was something along the lines of “the technique of some writers is entirely based around hiding information from the reader.” The mystery genre is obviously built on that, but other non-genre novels can be as well.The reader approaches a novel’s first chapter seeking the answers to certain questions to A) orient themselves in time and place & B) to get an indication of whether the characters and the plot are of sufficient interest to them to read further. “History of Wolves” does this especially well in its first chapter because of the way it lays its clues and then gradually begins to answer them. The reader may pick up on the first clues and begin to make early guesses. If the guess is proved correct by later information, the reader feels flattered in an indirect manner and is more inclined to read further.In the first 3 pages of “History of Wolves’ we find out that: the narrator was a caregiver to a 4-year-old named Paul, Paul has died as has the narrator’s history teacher, the narrator was in the 8th grade, the school teachers and students do not appear to attempt any rescue of the dying teacher beyond discussing “proper CPR techniques”, the narrator hums a song by “The Doors” and a paramedic recognizes the song, the writer lived in a town called “The Walleye Capital of the World” but it was “back then,” the town is Loose River and it is near a larger town called Whitewood, Whitewood has a DMV and a Burger King. From that information you can guess or know that: the writer was a young teenage girl at the time of the story, the music of “The Doors” (1967-1971) was sufficiently popular that both younger and older people would know it , the story likely takes place in Northern Minnesota near the Lake of the Woods, the writer is looking back at their life from an unspecified time in the future, and that earlier time was in the acronym and the fast-food era, but likely before portable defibrillators were installed in most public buildings. A bonus here would be to guess that the actual Doors song was most likely “The End” (because in the context, the paramedics are attending the teacher’s fatal heart attack), which adds a morbid personality streak to the teenager.The Minnesota guess is partially based on reading the author’s blurb about where she grew up, but if you are somewhat familiar with North American fishing the walleye aspect helps to narrow it down a bit. The music of the Doors has been continually popular since they ended so that doesn’t help specify a time very well. The pre-portable defibrillator era would seem to place this about 20 to 30 years ago. The growing popularization of acronyms and fast-food would also fall into that time frame.On the next 3 pages, the Northern Minnesota location is confirmed, a new male history teacher arrives and he wears a single earring, we find out that the Cold War has ended, the narrator’s name is Madeline but she is nicknamed Mattie or Linda by different people, and is bullied as Commie or Freak by others, her age is fourteen.Various information is confirmed but new questions arise. We know we are past the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991 by likely a few years at least, male teachers with earrings were acceptable but still remarked on, the narrator is considered an outsider by some students for an unknown reason. Most of these and further questions are answered by the time “Science”, the title of Part 1 of this 2-part novel is over. Part 2 “Health” then goes deeper by providing further specific details. A reader familiar with Christian sects can also make a further guess about one aspect of this novel based on those sub-titles alone.So I liked the book because of the world building and yes, because the author flattered me so I wanted to keep reading. Perhaps I made the reading more of an analytical exercise because otherwise the narrator and most of the characters are not very likeable. In fact, the most sympathetic character (not counting the child Paul) is probably a falsely accused pedophile. Now that is something different, but it is likely not a winning attraction for many.

[susan.macura · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Linda is the teenage daughter of two former “hippies” who lived in a commune in northern Minnesota. When the commune broke up, they remained. Life for Linda appeared rather boring, even with the local scandal involving a teacher and pornography, until a family moved in across the lake. Linda ended up babysitting for their small son Paul. This story details her life during this period and what happens to young Paul. I kept reading it, hoping it would improve, but when I finally finished it the only feeling I had was why did I waste my time with it? The characters are never developed while the plot of the story just dragged. It was a total disappointment.

[kimmeyer-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Unpopular opinion: I didn't like this book. The writing is ..fine. The plot is mostly non-existent. The stream of consciousness style doesn't bother me, but other than the bits that are clearly foreshadowing, it doesn't seem to be meandering its way to anywhere. The opening chapter, which won an award on its own, is much more compelling than the rest of the book but also entirely unrelated to 90% of the rest of the book. This was definitely a 2.5 star read for me.

[alexbolding · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Right from the title one knows this novel is gonna be studious and layered. Seen as brilliant by the great (T C Boyle!), earning a place on the short list of the Booker, receiving plenty of prizes for the first chapter alone, it is the kind of novel that eludes me or put differently - makes me feel dumb. Yes I can see this is terse, sophisticated writing – concise, layered, full of natural metaphors (dark woods, isolated, winds, water, hunts, fish, snow, ice), and from a vantage point of a teenage girl growing up in a weird world. In fact, looking back, her first chapter contains all the threads that she will spin out in the novel. There is the frustration and utter desolation of a commune that failed – an experience that is translated into parents that have no time for a child that started out as part of communal troupe of children. There is the high school teacher who can’t resist the temptation of young flesh, singling out Mattie for her brains, whilst crossing the line with the pin up girl in class (who ends up pregnant, and the teacher ends up in jail). Linked to the latter there is the failed history project (on Wolves) that Mattie (also known as Linda) pursues under this teacher’s wing. Mattie wants to be seen, but not for her brain power. She wants what the pin-up girl got in the end. Mattie has fantasized about it so often. And finally there is the main theme of the book, Mattie taking care of Paul, a four year old toddler, who is the only child of a Christian Scientology family that comes to stay in the cottage across the lake from Mattie. Paul’s mom Patra is overly impressed, almost slavishly so, by her husband Leo, the scientist. Mattie takes Paul on outings to give some relieve to Patra. Slowly Mattie gets emotionally attached to Patra, and over-awed by Leo. In the end she joins the couple to Duluth for a family outing. Paul falls ill, but nobody acts. Leo performs a suspenseful act, whereby more or less nobody is allowed to act (God is the only one who will, or will not, act… And thoughts are more real than acts…). Everybody realises this is a test. Only Mattie manages to break the spell (by going out getting aspirin), but when she returns, getting an unexpected lift from a helpful holidaying family, she also fails to take responsibility, and the inevitable happens. In the aftermath the family is let off the hook, on religious belief grounds. This novel is an indictment. Subtle, yet harrowing.

[icolford · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In her Booker Prize-shortlisted first novel, History of Wolves, Emily Fridlund has written an emotionally restrained yet poignant and wistful coming-of-age story that demonstrates that adults don’t always know best and that some situations can’t be salvaged no matter how good everyone’s intentions are. Madeline Furston, who prefers the name Linda (though she is also called ‘Freak’ by her classmates), is fourteen and lives in the lake district of northern Minnesota with her distracted and idealistic parents. The Furstons are the last remaining occupants of a remote, lake-front commune that her parents helped establish years earlier, when Linda was very young. Linda, who disdains the company of children her own age, is portrayed by Fridlund as a solitary, independent thinker (an inclination inherited from and unintentionally encouraged by her parents), fearless, a good student, and analytical beyond her years, particularly when it concerns the actions of the adults in her life. Linda relates her account in two narrative threads and after the passage of many years, from the perspective of someone looking back on a formative period in her life. In the first, when a new history teacher, Mr. Grierson, arrives at the school, the children are not sure what to make of an earnest young man trying hard to fit in and be liked. He seems harmless, a bit of a klutz, easily mocked, and in a wilful and impetuous moment Linda tries her hand at flirting with him, a move she later regrets. In the novel’s main thread, Linda is intrigued when a young family moves into the cottage across the lake from her house: a young man and woman and their toddler son. Curious and seeking companionship, she approaches the Gardner family and is quickly accepted into the fold, entrusted by the mother, Patra, to babysit her son Paul. It is spring. Leo Gardner, Patra’s husband and Paul’s father, a research scientist, is away working. A close and trusting bond quickly forms between Linda and Paul, but Patra, an anxious child-like woman who lacks confidence and seems lost without her husband, is incapable of committing to a genuine friendship. Upon Leo’s return, Linda is dismayed by the deferential and subservient turn in Patra’s behaviour, and in Leo’s company Linda remains guarded and subtly hostile, never sure where she stands with him. Throughout the narrative, from time to time, Linda hints at a momentous event and ensuing trial, but leaves the details vague until the latter sections of the novel. Fridlund imbues her story with great foreboding, each mention of the trial whetting the reader’s appetite for a tense and riveting courtroom drama. That the story does not really deliver on this promise is somewhat of a disappointment, though Fridlund does resolve Linda’s story in an emotionally satisfying manner. In the end, the reader of History of Wolves is left with the impression of a complex and exquisitely written novel that succeeds on many levels, but which might be trying to do too many things at once.

[bobbieharv · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was finding it hard to put into words why I loved this book so I read all the reviews, disparate as they were. I'm not sure anyone really "got" it, nor did I, but that did not interfere with my enjoyment. I loved the writing, the sense of place, the distance one feels from Linda (as she feels from herself), and even the seemingly unrelated story lines. Reading it again would really help, but there is too much else to read!Fridlund should rewrite it! What she was trying to say is important: Linda's identification with wolves and with Lily, who was possibly abused by her teacher; the destructive power of religious (or cult) belief; Linda's kindness to Paul, making up for her own mother's distance; the inability of a girl that age with that background to understand or express what she feels or believes.And perhaps she would change the ending to unite all the threads in a more satisfying way.

[needmoreshelves · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This felt like two halves of two different good stories that inexplicably got merged together, but never really fit. While this wasn't completely convincing, I do think the author has promise and will look forward to seeing what she writes next.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book started out very strongly for me. Linda is a teenage girl living in what amounts to a shack in the Minnesota woods with her (mostly) benignly neglectful parents when she meets the family across the lake and starts baby-sitting their young son. She only gradually realizes something is off with the family; they are Christian Scientists, and the son is sick but not being treated. This plot line caught me and pulled me in, but there is also a subplot involving Linda's teacher and another girl who first accuses the teacher of rape, then takes it back. Linda is weirdly obsessed with these two people, and the final scene of the book, which involves the other girl, I found strange and unsatisfying. Also toward the end, the narrative jumps back and forth between teenage and adult Linda. Although the writing was good and the sense of place was very strong, the story didn't quite gel in the end.

[jreynolds1959 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mattie/Linda is a young girl growing up in a cabin in the woods formerly housing a commune. Things got uncomfortable with that venue, and everyone moved away except for Mattie and her parents. There are problems with the heat, an outhouse instead of a bathroom. Mattie lives most of her life searching and learning the woods.Soon a family moves in across the lake in a house that is more like a mansion than a home. A couple and their young son. Mattie becomes the babysitter for this couple. The father, Leo, is not there too much, so Mattie becomes close to the mother, Patra, and the young boy, Paul.Paul seems to have mental issues and is just a little bit protected. He is sometimes a little alarming in his behavior.While Mattie is attending school, a classmate, Lily, claims that their teacher, Mr. Grierson, attacked her and she has become pregnant. This seems to fascinate Mattie. It is almost as if she wishes this could be her.I almost gave up on the book 6 chapters in. That is usually my cut-off point if a book hasn't captured my interest. I kept reading, though, and was taken with the loneliness you feel in Mattie and her yearning to be something, to feel important. I thought the book skipped around a little too much, with no real understanding of what was really going on. There was a lot of switching the story from one point to another, without a clear understanding of why.

[sennebec · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

** spoiler alert ** What are we without a moral compass? How does a person whose compass is bent or broken through no fault of their own, decide right from wrong? Linda is such a person. Raised poorly for the first five years in a commune, she was more a random kid than someone's child. When the group fell apart, leaving her parents as the remaining inhabitants, Mom went religion crazy while Dad stayed aloof from the world, while teaching his daughter survival skills.When a new family moves into a recently constructed home across the lake, Linda is soon pulled into their world. Told in back and forth fashion from her late 30s and her growing up from the time the commune dissolved through her teen years, this is an extremely interesting story of how a person can and does look at events in very different ways as they mature and are influenced by other peoples' experiences. Dark, sad, insightful and a really good read.

[pennma05-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I don't even know what to say about this book. I was really looking forward to reading this book that takes place in my home state because not many are... but reading about things and places I recognize was the only good thing about this book. It was really confusing with lots of constant back and forth with flashbacks and things made up in the mind of the main character. Really disappointing.

[rmckeown_9 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Emily Fridlund debut her first novel in September of 2017. History of Wolves was immediately recognized by the Booker Prize Committee with a position on the 2017 shortlist. According to the dust jacket, she grew up in Minnesota. She has published several fiction pieces, and she has a PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Southern California. Her collection of short stories, Catapult, won the Noemi Book Award for Fiction and the Mary McCarthy Prize. She currently lives in the Finger Lakes region of New York.This ethereal story is about Linda, a young girl of 15 who is a loner in her high school. No one bothers her, and she keeps to herself. Another young girl, Lily is popular, has a boyfriend, but some rumors have ruined her reputation. Linda becomes curious about Lily, and she follows her around campus, and she never opens herself up to Lily, in fact she rarely has a word of conversation until the end of the novel. When Lily disappears, Linda goes to her house and asks about her. Other characters include Mr. Grierson, a new history teacher at the school, and Patra, a woman living in a remote cabin with her son, Paul. Patra’s husband, Leo is, she says, an “astronomer” away from home while he does his starry thing. Paul anxiously awaits he father’s return.Linda is a free spirit, and she seems to wander around as she will. Her parents trust her, and they do not pry into her life or whereabouts. She is also the narrator. In her wanderings, Linda visit a nearby cabin and meets Paul, then his mother, they go for a walk, and Linda becomes Paul’s nanny. Fridlund writes, “In April, I started taking Paul for walks in the woods while his mother revised a manuscript of her husband’s research. The printed pages lay in batches around the cabin, on the countertop and under chairs. There were also stacks of books and pamphlets. I’d peeked at the titles. Predictions and Promises: Extraterrestrial Bodies. Science and Health with a Key to the Scriptures. The Necessities of Space. // ‘Just keep clear of the house for a few hours’ were Patra’s instructions. I was given snacks in Baggies, pretzels wound into small brown bows. I was given water bottles in a blue backpack, books about trains, Handi Wipes, coloring books and crayons, suntan lotion. These went on my back. Paul went in my hand. His little fingers were damp and wiggling. But he was trusting, never once seeming to feel the shock of my skin touching his” (40). There are some peculiar clues here. It turns out that none of these characters are what they seem. It is not exactly a mystery, but is an absorbing read.I found the story absorbing, and while the ending was not a surprise, the way the story ended left me mystified. As I chased after the end of the novel, I expected a certain outcome, but it never came. I sensed a touch of a Scandinavian writer. Ironically, I have been reading a lot of literature from the north lands lately. It has that sparse, serious tone. Linda, for example, lives largely in her mind, and her conversations with Paul are interesting. Emily Fridlund’s History of Wolves is a story with much to recommend it. I was really only slightly annoyed as I closed the book. 4-1/2 Stars.--Chiron, 12-8-17

[clarerhoden · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There is some brilliant imagery in this book, and I love the voice of Linda (Madeline, Mattie - does the ambiguity over her name reflect her confused identity? - cos it's a bit annoying). She is very believably the product of a commune, with poor attachments and such a lack of supervision that it amounts to lack of care, skating very near to abuse. However, the folk she knows as her mother and father may not even be her biological parents, and they are very believably doing the best they can for her. No surprises that she can't let herself love and be loved, or actually grow up. For too long, she's been a child with adult expectations of her, and no credible, practical role models. Her own story is chilling enough, without the death of the neighbour's child. And Linda's reactions to that death are predictably confused - is it tragic? criminal? whose fault is it? - and the acquittal of the parents kind of absolves her own parents from responsibility of care for her. The whole story, seems to me, is about the lack of emotional connection between parents and children - children treated as things - children upon whom we visit our sometimes crazy ideals.
I believe that Linda thinks about wolves because their behaviour shows so much more care for each other, so much more community and family spirit, than she sees around her. There's not one happy family in this book, and no contented, cared for children. In a way it's a frightening portrait of middle America. Not a cheerful read, but enthralling. Try it! See what you think. There's masses to ponder.

[drfuriosa · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Emily Fridlund has real potential, but it's not fully realized, and certainly not in this book. The timeline is messy for no good reason and many subplots trail off without any resolution. It reminded me a little of The Virgin Suicides, but it's still lacking finesse.

[steller0707 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“What’s the difference between what you want to believe and what you do? . . . And what’s the difference between what you think and what you end up doing?”

“An alpha animal may be alpha only at certain times for a specific reason”

This is a very subtle, yet complex novel, a story of a lonely teenager learning to make sense in the world. The first third to half of the story moved very slowly for me; not a lot of action but very atmospheric. Linda (or Madeline or Mattie) knows a lot about the woods she grew up in and a lot about wolves. It’s very hot in the summer and bone-chillingly cold in the winter - we feel it all! And it’s foreboding. We know right from the beginning that four-year-old Paul has died. But what actually happens unfolds slowly. Paul’s story is entangled with a story about a new teacher and a young classmate of Linda’s named Lily. Both stories affect Linda deeply..

I thought in Science (Part 1) I would put this book down. But I’m glad I didn’t. By Health (Part 2) I was drawn into the story and I simply had to read to the end. This is a writer to watch!

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

adult fiction (human drama/secrets and tragedy--socialist commune child with possible abandonment issues babysits for a Christian Science family in rural Minnesota). Kirkus called this "atmospheric" and it does feel like a very immersive, absorbing, chilly blanket of foggy mystery.

[starbox_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is very readable; a coming of age tale set in Minnesota. Teenage Linda/ Mattie lives an impoverished rural life; her parents- former members of a cult- seem strange but unexplored.An outsider at school, she hooks up with a new family across the lake. Young mum Patra is glad of a babysitter as she edits her - often absent - husband's scientific works. And thus Linda becomes close to 4 year old Paul - an appealing child...but is he quitre right? And then Patra's authoritarian,older husband returns...There are tantalizing mentions of a court case. And there's am inadequately explained scond strand, as a schoolmate falsely accuses a male teacher of abuse...I'm aftaid the last couple of pages stumped me. What? Why? Completely foxed.So...very readable indeed...but you finish it mystified.

[shannonrose4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A story as beautiful rich & raw as the setting it unfolds in. This tale is unlike anything else I've read. A shattering debut.