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The Tenderness of Wolves
A brilliant and breathtaking debut that captivated readers and garnered critical acclaim in the United Kingdom, The Tenderness of Wolves was long-listed for the Orange Prize in fiction and won the Costa Award (formerly Whitbread) Book of the Year.
The year is 1867. Winter has just tightened its grip on Dove River, a tiny isolated settlement in the Northern Territory, when a man is brutally murdered. Laurent Jammett had been a voyageur for the Hudson Bay Company before an accident lamed him four years earlier. The same accident afforded him the little parcel of land in Dove River, land that the locals called unlucky due to the untimely death of the previous owner.
A local woman, Mrs. Ross, stumbles upon the crime scene and sees the tracks leading from the dead man's cabin north toward the forest and the tundra beyond. It is Mrs. Ross's knock on the door of the largest house in Caulfield that launches the investigation. Within hours she will regret that knock with a mother's love -- for soon she makes another discovery: her seventeen-year-old son Francis has disappeared and is now considered a prime suspect.
In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the crime and to the township -- Andrew Knox, Dove River's elder statesman; Thomas Sturrock, a wily American itinerant trader; Donald Moody, the clumsy young Company representative; William Parker, a half-breed Native American and trapper who was briefly detained for Jammett's murder before becoming Mrs. Ross's guide. But the question remains: do these men want to solve the crime or exploit it?
One by one, the searchers set out from Dove River following the tracks across a desolate landscape -- home to only wild animals, madmen, and fugitives -- variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for seventeen years, and a forgotten Native American culture before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good.
In an astonishingly assured debut, Stef Penney deftly weaves adventure, suspense, revelation, and humor into an exhilarating thriller; a panoramic historical romance; a gripping murder mystery; and, ultimately, with the sheer scope and quality of her storytelling, an epic for the ages.
The year is 1867. Winter has just tightened its grip on Dove River, a tiny isolated settlement in the Northern Territory, when a man is brutally murdered. Laurent Jammett had been a voyageur for the Hudson Bay Company before an accident lamed him four years earlier. The same accident afforded him the little parcel of land in Dove River, land that the locals called unlucky due to the untimely death of the previous owner.
A local woman, Mrs. Ross, stumbles upon the crime scene and sees the tracks leading from the dead man's cabin north toward the forest and the tundra beyond. It is Mrs. Ross's knock on the door of the largest house in Caulfield that launches the investigation. Within hours she will regret that knock with a mother's love -- for soon she makes another discovery: her seventeen-year-old son Francis has disappeared and is now considered a prime suspect.
In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the crime and to the township -- Andrew Knox, Dove River's elder statesman; Thomas Sturrock, a wily American itinerant trader; Donald Moody, the clumsy young Company representative; William Parker, a half-breed Native American and trapper who was briefly detained for Jammett's murder before becoming Mrs. Ross's guide. But the question remains: do these men want to solve the crime or exploit it?
One by one, the searchers set out from Dove River following the tracks across a desolate landscape -- home to only wild animals, madmen, and fugitives -- variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for seventeen years, and a forgotten Native American culture before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good.
In an astonishingly assured debut, Stef Penney deftly weaves adventure, suspense, revelation, and humor into an exhilarating thriller; a panoramic historical romance; a gripping murder mystery; and, ultimately, with the sheer scope and quality of her storytelling, an epic for the ages.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Stef Penney
9 books295 followersStef Penney grew up in the Scottish capital and turned to film-making after a degree in Philosophy and Theology from Bristol University. She made three short films before studying Film and TV at Bournemouth College of Art, and on graduation was selected for the Carlton Television New Writers Scheme. She has also written and directed two short films; a BBC 10 x 10 starring Anna Friel and a Film Council Digital Short in 2002 starring Lucy Russell.
She won the 2006 Costa Book Awards with her debut novel The Tenderness of Wolves which is set in Canada in the 1860s. As Stef Penney suffered from agoraphobia at the time of writing this novel, she did all the research in the libraries of London and never visited Canada.
-Wikipedia
She won the 2006 Costa Book Awards with her debut novel The Tenderness of Wolves which is set in Canada in the 1860s. As Stef Penney suffered from agoraphobia at the time of writing this novel, she did all the research in the libraries of London and never visited Canada.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,812 reviews
May 12, 2020
Wilderness
What makes The Tenderness of Wolves a memorable story is the location, the desolate snow-covered wilds of Canada in the late 1860s. An unforgiving time when settlers and native Indians sought to live off the land and often suspicious of each other. The fur trappers and the Hudson Bay Company were at the heart of all trade and their power and influence were extensive and decisive.
When a trapper Laurent Jammet is murdered, Francis Ross disappears into the frozen wilderness and makes himself the prime suspect. Francis’ mother convinced of his innocence sets off with William Parker, a half-Indian tracker, to find her son and prove his innocence. Tantalisingly Parker is also a suspect! This is an intriguing whodunit with several characters that we're not quite sure of their motives or hidden agendas. The story provides a compelling mystery full of suspense and that air of threat if only you knew which direction it was coming from.
The multiple threads weave together in a captivating plot that is subtly developed. A plot which deals with a murderer on the loose, corruption, local politics, settlement issues, and the different guises of love interests and sexual desire.
This is a magical book and created beautiful vivid imagery of a harsh but extremely beautiful country. The cold and fragility of life seeped into my skin and I imagined how difficult settlers’ lives were. What makes this more remarkable is that Stef Penney achieved this without ever visiting Northern Canada and received criticism as a consequence. Hmmm. That's what writers do.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it. I also have to say, I love the title.
What makes The Tenderness of Wolves a memorable story is the location, the desolate snow-covered wilds of Canada in the late 1860s. An unforgiving time when settlers and native Indians sought to live off the land and often suspicious of each other. The fur trappers and the Hudson Bay Company were at the heart of all trade and their power and influence were extensive and decisive.
When a trapper Laurent Jammet is murdered, Francis Ross disappears into the frozen wilderness and makes himself the prime suspect. Francis’ mother convinced of his innocence sets off with William Parker, a half-Indian tracker, to find her son and prove his innocence. Tantalisingly Parker is also a suspect! This is an intriguing whodunit with several characters that we're not quite sure of their motives or hidden agendas. The story provides a compelling mystery full of suspense and that air of threat if only you knew which direction it was coming from.
The multiple threads weave together in a captivating plot that is subtly developed. A plot which deals with a murderer on the loose, corruption, local politics, settlement issues, and the different guises of love interests and sexual desire.
This is a magical book and created beautiful vivid imagery of a harsh but extremely beautiful country. The cold and fragility of life seeped into my skin and I imagined how difficult settlers’ lives were. What makes this more remarkable is that Stef Penney achieved this without ever visiting Northern Canada and received criticism as a consequence. Hmmm. That's what writers do.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it. I also have to say, I love the title.
February 8, 2011
Sometimes insightful remarks are made which are so reductive they have the power to diminish life even as they explain it. In 1939 Alfred Hitchcock explained in a lecture at Columbia University: "We have a name in the studio, and we call it the 'MacGuffin.' It is the mechanical element that usually crops up in any story. In crook stories it is almost always the necklace and in spy stories it is most always the papers." Wikipedia elaborates:
A MacGuffin is a plot device that motivates the characters or advances the story, but the details of which are of little or no importance otherwise. The element that distinguishes a MacGuffin from other types of plot devices is that it is not important what the object specifically is. Anything that serves as a motivation will do.
This is one of the principal reasons why spy and "mystery" novels bore the living bejesus out of me, and alas, when I realised "The Tenderness of Wolves" was not, in fact, a cookery book as I had been led to believe, I found it was a "mystery" novel, a stone whodunnit in fact. The victim is murdered because of the big fat MacGuffin which in this book takes the form of a bone tablet which some guys think is valuable because it may indicate there once was a literate Indian society. So in this book people do a lot of following trails, which as this book takes place in the Frozen North are actual footprints in the snow. I won't give the ending away, but they do so much tracking they almost find the Woozle.
I liked the chaotic flailing about which takes up most of the plot, it reminded me of two great Coen Brothers movies, Blood Simple and Fargo. But enjoying the bafflement of others only takes you so far.
The other thing which bugged me about this book was The Historical Present. It's weird enough when authors write in the first person past tense but you can suspend enough disbelief and imagine (if the self-consciousness of reading imaginary narratives ever surfaces) that you are hearing a perfect recollection by the narrator. The Historical Present smashes this conceit. "I am not gentle but he makes no sound as I clean the wounds with rubbing alcohol. He has his eyes shut. From the corner of my eye Parker seems to be watching us..." That kind of thing. It's a strange idea - instead of the perfect recollection the perfect real-time self-description like you are on an advanced driving test - "Describe your observations Mr Bryant" "In my rear view mirror I see a black Fiat Punto with a blond male driver and a woman with a leopardskin coat, can't see if it's fake fur but I am assuming so; now I am making a left turn into Cold Potato Street, avoiding the cyclist who has large earrings and is weaving slightly as his panniers are overfilled".
And finally - this book was famously written by a woman who suffered so much from agrophobia that she did not leave a wooden box measuring three feet by six feet by ten feet for over two years. So the book was written entirely out of research and imagination (she would poke her arm out of the box and friends would place interesting articles about Ancient Canada into her open hand). I like this idea a lot because after all, fiction is made up, and I have little time for autobiographical coming of age novels (except for Edmund White). However - if I look at the author blurb and I see "John Weebblebeeble has been a lecturer at the Creative Writing School of the University of Do As You like, Minnesota for 37 years" or I see "John Weeblebeeble has been employed variously as a prizefighter, royal embroiderer, catamite, chef on board a nuclear submarine and private detective; John was born Stephanie MacGuffin and transgendered at the age of 31. He now lives in a community for the blind and limbless in Katmandu" - I kind of get the notion that the latter's interesting experiences will make the better writer. Literature proves this prejudice nonsense, but it lingers.
A MacGuffin is a plot device that motivates the characters or advances the story, but the details of which are of little or no importance otherwise. The element that distinguishes a MacGuffin from other types of plot devices is that it is not important what the object specifically is. Anything that serves as a motivation will do.
This is one of the principal reasons why spy and "mystery" novels bore the living bejesus out of me, and alas, when I realised "The Tenderness of Wolves" was not, in fact, a cookery book as I had been led to believe, I found it was a "mystery" novel, a stone whodunnit in fact. The victim is murdered because of the big fat MacGuffin which in this book takes the form of a bone tablet which some guys think is valuable because it may indicate there once was a literate Indian society. So in this book people do a lot of following trails, which as this book takes place in the Frozen North are actual footprints in the snow. I won't give the ending away, but they do so much tracking they almost find the Woozle.
I liked the chaotic flailing about which takes up most of the plot, it reminded me of two great Coen Brothers movies, Blood Simple and Fargo. But enjoying the bafflement of others only takes you so far.
The other thing which bugged me about this book was The Historical Present. It's weird enough when authors write in the first person past tense but you can suspend enough disbelief and imagine (if the self-consciousness of reading imaginary narratives ever surfaces) that you are hearing a perfect recollection by the narrator. The Historical Present smashes this conceit. "I am not gentle but he makes no sound as I clean the wounds with rubbing alcohol. He has his eyes shut. From the corner of my eye Parker seems to be watching us..." That kind of thing. It's a strange idea - instead of the perfect recollection the perfect real-time self-description like you are on an advanced driving test - "Describe your observations Mr Bryant" "In my rear view mirror I see a black Fiat Punto with a blond male driver and a woman with a leopardskin coat, can't see if it's fake fur but I am assuming so; now I am making a left turn into Cold Potato Street, avoiding the cyclist who has large earrings and is weaving slightly as his panniers are overfilled".
And finally - this book was famously written by a woman who suffered so much from agrophobia that she did not leave a wooden box measuring three feet by six feet by ten feet for over two years. So the book was written entirely out of research and imagination (she would poke her arm out of the box and friends would place interesting articles about Ancient Canada into her open hand). I like this idea a lot because after all, fiction is made up, and I have little time for autobiographical coming of age novels (except for Edmund White). However - if I look at the author blurb and I see "John Weebblebeeble has been a lecturer at the Creative Writing School of the University of Do As You like, Minnesota for 37 years" or I see "John Weeblebeeble has been employed variously as a prizefighter, royal embroiderer, catamite, chef on board a nuclear submarine and private detective; John was born Stephanie MacGuffin and transgendered at the age of 31. He now lives in a community for the blind and limbless in Katmandu" - I kind of get the notion that the latter's interesting experiences will make the better writer. Literature proves this prejudice nonsense, but it lingers.
August 22, 2021
‘The Tenderness of Wolves’ by Stef Penney won the 2006 Costa Book of the Year award, formerly known as the Whitbread Book Awards. This award recognizes English language writers from Britain and Ireland. According to Wikipedia, the book should have literary merit but also be enjoyable to read. That seems to describe this book perfectly. Penney’s debut novel has firm roots in the soil of lush language, especially in describing the wintery landscape of Canada, but it doesn’t neglect readers of popular fiction. With a murder mystery at its heart, the pages were, for me, a page turning marvel. I’ve been in a reading slump for a while, and it was beyond nice, to at last, get my hands on a book that provided an impetus to keep turning pages.
Mrs. Ross needs to find out who murdered Laurent Jammet, because her seventeen-year-old son, Francis, who disappeared the night of the murder, stands accused. Written from the first person point of view, it is her perspective that I find most interesting. Penney, suffering from agoraphobia, during the writing of the novel, chooses a liberating adventure for her main character. Mrs. Ross comes across as a person one does not easily warms up to; distant. Unhappy, closed-off, she nevertheless has a lively intellect and pointed opinions. Mrs. Ross is honest with herself about her feelings when she decides to go after her son. She is “scared to death.” Leaving behind the husband who searched for their son at his favorite fishing spot and came home without him, she dares to face her fears.
Secondary characters are so vivid in this tale that it’s difficult to call them secondary. Each carries a message, a specific importance. Most vivid to me is William Parker, a half breed man whose appearance Mrs. Ross likens to that of ‘Frankenstein’ in Mary Shelley’s work.
“But it is his face that makes me think of the story of the artificial man. He has a low, broad forehead, high cheekbones, and a nose and mouth that turn downward like a raptor’s beak and give a powerful impression of wildness and cruelty.”
Mrs. Ross’s opinions of William Parker will be challenged. He is representative of the wolf and of the nature of a world in which Mrs. Ross has not participated. The 1860s landscape of northern Canada provides a brilliant backdrop for these fascinating characters. Greed, honor, reputation, and clarity of vision and purpose are themes. Penney closes out the novel with thematic images of ‘returning’ which is to say bittersweet and also brilliant.
Mrs. Ross needs to find out who murdered Laurent Jammet, because her seventeen-year-old son, Francis, who disappeared the night of the murder, stands accused. Written from the first person point of view, it is her perspective that I find most interesting. Penney, suffering from agoraphobia, during the writing of the novel, chooses a liberating adventure for her main character. Mrs. Ross comes across as a person one does not easily warms up to; distant. Unhappy, closed-off, she nevertheless has a lively intellect and pointed opinions. Mrs. Ross is honest with herself about her feelings when she decides to go after her son. She is “scared to death.” Leaving behind the husband who searched for their son at his favorite fishing spot and came home without him, she dares to face her fears.
Secondary characters are so vivid in this tale that it’s difficult to call them secondary. Each carries a message, a specific importance. Most vivid to me is William Parker, a half breed man whose appearance Mrs. Ross likens to that of ‘Frankenstein’ in Mary Shelley’s work.
“But it is his face that makes me think of the story of the artificial man. He has a low, broad forehead, high cheekbones, and a nose and mouth that turn downward like a raptor’s beak and give a powerful impression of wildness and cruelty.”
Mrs. Ross’s opinions of William Parker will be challenged. He is representative of the wolf and of the nature of a world in which Mrs. Ross has not participated. The 1860s landscape of northern Canada provides a brilliant backdrop for these fascinating characters. Greed, honor, reputation, and clarity of vision and purpose are themes. Penney closes out the novel with thematic images of ‘returning’ which is to say bittersweet and also brilliant.
December 13, 2007
For what it's worth, this is the first book I've read since I joined Goodreads to which I've given five stars. So, at the risk of gushing, I'm telling you to run, don't walk, to reserve this at your local library or buy it.
The setting is the 1860s in Canada, where the small community of Caulfield and cabins strung along the Dove River sit at the edge of the great North Woods. The book opens with the murder of French-Canadian trapper, and that event unlocks several intertwined subplots among the people who live in this wintry landscape, dominated by the Hudson Bay Company.
The sharp description of the landscape and lives of European settlers and Indians alike is all the more remarkable because Stef Penney was agoraphobic when she wrote this and was unable to visit the scene of her novel, instead doing all of her research from the safe womb of the British Library.
This is also much more than a mystery, with finely drawn human portraits, stories of forbidden love and heartbreaking loss, all set in a time and place that is vividly evoked. If it were possible, I'd coin the term histery for this amalgam.
When the trapper is found dead in his cabin, a young man, Francis Ross, also disappears and is the first suspect. His father hunts for him briefly, but after he returns home empty-handed, Francis' mother is determined to search for him herself, and to her own surprise, she ends up going off secretly with a man named William Parker who is half-Indian and who has just escaped from official custody as a suspect in the murder.
The killing is the biggest sensation in the community since the disapperance several years earlier of two girls, who some feel died in the woods and were eaten by wolves, a story none of the experienced woodspeople believe, and a chapter of history that will make an eerie reappearance as the novel progresses.
Penney is a screenwriter by trade, and part of the sheer enjoyment of this book is the movie-like pacing, with short chapters weaving expertly back and forth between three and four subplots (I'd be surprised if this isn't made into a movie at some point). Mixed into this cast of characters is a venal and paranoid Hudson Bay official, a utopian settlement of Norwegian Christians deep in the woods, a charismatic but troubled Hudson Bay officer who lives deep in the forest, a new Company employee who is trying to prove himself and trying to decide which woman he loves, and the mysterious man that young Francis Ross saw and followed after the murder.
Penney's gift for language also elevates this above many a plot-driven mystery. At one point, she describes a narrow-minded resident of the village this way: "She considers herself a well-traveled woman, and from each place she has been to, she has brought away a prejudice as a souvenir."
Or this landscape description: "As suddenly as a smile, the sun causes beauty to break out on this sullen plain. Beyond the pallisade lies a perfect landscape, like a sculpture carved in salt, crystalline and pure. Meanwhile we trudge through roiled slush and dirt, trampled and stained with the effluent of dogs."
And near the end of the book, a description of the son's recuperation: "It has been weeks that he has lain up in the white room, his muscles softening and his skin growing pale like rhubarb under a pot."
A page turner with bonuses. You can't ask for more.
The setting is the 1860s in Canada, where the small community of Caulfield and cabins strung along the Dove River sit at the edge of the great North Woods. The book opens with the murder of French-Canadian trapper, and that event unlocks several intertwined subplots among the people who live in this wintry landscape, dominated by the Hudson Bay Company.
The sharp description of the landscape and lives of European settlers and Indians alike is all the more remarkable because Stef Penney was agoraphobic when she wrote this and was unable to visit the scene of her novel, instead doing all of her research from the safe womb of the British Library.
This is also much more than a mystery, with finely drawn human portraits, stories of forbidden love and heartbreaking loss, all set in a time and place that is vividly evoked. If it were possible, I'd coin the term histery for this amalgam.
When the trapper is found dead in his cabin, a young man, Francis Ross, also disappears and is the first suspect. His father hunts for him briefly, but after he returns home empty-handed, Francis' mother is determined to search for him herself, and to her own surprise, she ends up going off secretly with a man named William Parker who is half-Indian and who has just escaped from official custody as a suspect in the murder.
The killing is the biggest sensation in the community since the disapperance several years earlier of two girls, who some feel died in the woods and were eaten by wolves, a story none of the experienced woodspeople believe, and a chapter of history that will make an eerie reappearance as the novel progresses.
Penney is a screenwriter by trade, and part of the sheer enjoyment of this book is the movie-like pacing, with short chapters weaving expertly back and forth between three and four subplots (I'd be surprised if this isn't made into a movie at some point). Mixed into this cast of characters is a venal and paranoid Hudson Bay official, a utopian settlement of Norwegian Christians deep in the woods, a charismatic but troubled Hudson Bay officer who lives deep in the forest, a new Company employee who is trying to prove himself and trying to decide which woman he loves, and the mysterious man that young Francis Ross saw and followed after the murder.
Penney's gift for language also elevates this above many a plot-driven mystery. At one point, she describes a narrow-minded resident of the village this way: "She considers herself a well-traveled woman, and from each place she has been to, she has brought away a prejudice as a souvenir."
Or this landscape description: "As suddenly as a smile, the sun causes beauty to break out on this sullen plain. Beyond the pallisade lies a perfect landscape, like a sculpture carved in salt, crystalline and pure. Meanwhile we trudge through roiled slush and dirt, trampled and stained with the effluent of dogs."
And near the end of the book, a description of the son's recuperation: "It has been weeks that he has lain up in the white room, his muscles softening and his skin growing pale like rhubarb under a pot."
A page turner with bonuses. You can't ask for more.
August 1, 2008
This book is directed at readers rather than thinkers. I can understand why people like it because there are plenty of wonderfully crafted moments, but the novel lacks focus and depth. I've read a few reviews that ooh and aah over the fact that it's a murder mystery wrapped in a love story hog-tied to a western deep fried in good ol fashioned wilderness tale, but I've always felt that genre divisions are a crutch for people who need the books they read to conform to a series of prearranged attributes.
However, what people take away from a novel (or any work of art), as well as the baggage they bring, isn't something the author can be held accountable for. Though Stef Penney was obviously writing for a target audience based on her experience as a screenwriter (I don't like it when I can see the machinery turning), nearly every other review I've read drags in aspects of her personal life, giving them a disproportionate weight that colors one's appreciation of the narrative. The kind of gossip useless to any serious literary discussion.
Aside from the pockets of wonderful writing scattered throughout, what I liked about this novel was the title. Wolves generally rank above snakes but below mice on the Wheel of Tenderness, but I liked the attempt to turn our thinking around. Those of you with access to the discovery channel know that wolves mate for life (awww...), but that their lives are determined mainly by a constant struggle for physical dominance within the pack. Food is always scarce; most packs can only support one litter of cubs and any youngsters that don't belong to the pair at the top are killed out of hand, and even for mature wolves their main predators remain other wolf packs. If there is a tenderness of wolves it is characterized by a vicious, selective intensity focused ultimately on survival. Draw whatever parallels you please between the previous statement and people you know and love, or substitute wilderness for wolves.
Where the novel runs aground is the arbitrarily neat division into four sections. Not only do they break the flow of the story, they feel forced, as if Penney was already thinking about where to insert the commercial breaks. At the beginning of 'Fields of Heaven' Penney introduces a number of minor characters that, while well-drawn, don't add anything to the novel, or contribute to it's resolution. Everyone in Himmelvanger is background noise except for Line, who didn't serve any real purpose aside from informing Angus at the end about his wife and son (simultaneously robbing the reader of a scene where Angus comes across his wife with Parker ). At the same time, all of the conflict built up in the first section between Knox, McKinley, and Sturrock is set aside and ultimately left unexplored like so many other plot threads. Sturrock and Marie in particular get robbed in this book; after building them up in the beginning, they spend the rest of the novel literally sitting around.
Overall this book confused me, and not in a tantalizing way. I felt jerked around, as though Penney had started to say something, changed her mind, and then sprung mid-sentence in a completely different direction.
However, what people take away from a novel (or any work of art), as well as the baggage they bring, isn't something the author can be held accountable for. Though Stef Penney was obviously writing for a target audience based on her experience as a screenwriter (I don't like it when I can see the machinery turning), nearly every other review I've read drags in aspects of her personal life, giving them a disproportionate weight that colors one's appreciation of the narrative. The kind of gossip useless to any serious literary discussion.
Aside from the pockets of wonderful writing scattered throughout, what I liked about this novel was the title. Wolves generally rank above snakes but below mice on the Wheel of Tenderness, but I liked the attempt to turn our thinking around. Those of you with access to the discovery channel know that wolves mate for life (awww...), but that their lives are determined mainly by a constant struggle for physical dominance within the pack. Food is always scarce; most packs can only support one litter of cubs and any youngsters that don't belong to the pair at the top are killed out of hand, and even for mature wolves their main predators remain other wolf packs. If there is a tenderness of wolves it is characterized by a vicious, selective intensity focused ultimately on survival. Draw whatever parallels you please between the previous statement and people you know and love, or substitute wilderness for wolves.
Where the novel runs aground is the arbitrarily neat division into four sections. Not only do they break the flow of the story, they feel forced, as if Penney was already thinking about where to insert the commercial breaks. At the beginning of 'Fields of Heaven' Penney introduces a number of minor characters that, while well-drawn, don't add anything to the novel, or contribute to it's resolution. Everyone in Himmelvanger is background noise except for Line, who didn't serve any real purpose aside from informing Angus at the end about his wife and son (simultaneously robbing the reader of a scene where Angus comes across his wife with Parker ). At the same time, all of the conflict built up in the first section between Knox, McKinley, and Sturrock is set aside and ultimately left unexplored like so many other plot threads. Sturrock and Marie in particular get robbed in this book; after building them up in the beginning, they spend the rest of the novel literally sitting around.
Overall this book confused me, and not in a tantalizing way. I felt jerked around, as though Penney had started to say something, changed her mind, and then sprung mid-sentence in a completely different direction.
April 11, 2021
Something about the title of the book had attracted my attention. We do not assign any qualities remotely resembling “tenderness” to wolves! The extract of the review from People on the cover page further piqued my curiosity. What was so special about the said review? I quote it verbatim for you, dear reader: “Think Cold Mountain – only colder....
Mystery, romance, and really
bad weather – just try putting this one down.”
Now, such a comparison with Cold Mountain which is a wonderful novel would surely grab a reader’s attention. Finally the blurb made me buy this book.
This debut novel takes us back in time to 1867. The events unfold in a tiny isolated settlement in Northern Territory, Canada. The protagonist – the plucky Mrs. Ross discovers a murder and sets in motion the story. Mrs. Ross’s adopted son would disappear and naturally emerge as the prime suspect. She, in defiance of social conventions and regards for her own safety, would embark on a perilous journey into the Canadian tundra with a “half-breed Native American trapper” who himself was a suspect in the said murder.
I won’t delve much into the story or the individual characters, but share my observations and experience with the book. I must say that for a debut novel this novel is quite ambitious in its scope. A murder mystery is at the heart of the story, but the author has attempted to explore a diverse range of themes – the life of immigrants, gender roles, racial tensions, commercial domination, sexuality, marriage, love and religious dogma. Many of the characters were well fleshed out and the description of the vast tundra was commendable. The author has also tried to use foreshadowing in the narrative and done a pretty good job.
There was also a mention of a relic belonging to a “forgotten Native American culture” , but that point was not elaborated upon. The relic only played the role of a catalyst. I don’t know – maybe the author could have fleshed out this aspect a bit more. I certainly understand the limitations also.
One interesting point about the narration was that only Mrs. Ross had a first person point of view, the rest all had a third person narration. Did I tell you that during the entire length of the novel, we don’t get to hear the protagonist’s first name! The whole world calls her Mrs. Ross.
For a debut novel, I do appreciate the efforts of the author. However, weaving so many themes in one story is not an easy task. At times, these acted liked digressions from the main plot. As for comparison with Cold Mountain, in my humble opinion, let us not go for any such comparisons. But, as a novel, I think Charles Frazier did a much better job with his Cold Mountain. Having said this, we should also keep in mind that this book was a debut novel.
The discussion guide and author interview at the end of the book would shed more light on the author’s intentions.
Overall, a decent read. The book had the potential to be a lot more. I would like to explore more of the author’s works if I come across them during my book hunts in used book stores.
Mystery, romance, and really
bad weather – just try putting this one down.”
Now, such a comparison with Cold Mountain which is a wonderful novel would surely grab a reader’s attention. Finally the blurb made me buy this book.
This debut novel takes us back in time to 1867. The events unfold in a tiny isolated settlement in Northern Territory, Canada. The protagonist – the plucky Mrs. Ross discovers a murder and sets in motion the story. Mrs. Ross’s adopted son would disappear and naturally emerge as the prime suspect. She, in defiance of social conventions and regards for her own safety, would embark on a perilous journey into the Canadian tundra with a “half-breed Native American trapper” who himself was a suspect in the said murder.
I won’t delve much into the story or the individual characters, but share my observations and experience with the book. I must say that for a debut novel this novel is quite ambitious in its scope. A murder mystery is at the heart of the story, but the author has attempted to explore a diverse range of themes – the life of immigrants, gender roles, racial tensions, commercial domination, sexuality, marriage, love and religious dogma. Many of the characters were well fleshed out and the description of the vast tundra was commendable. The author has also tried to use foreshadowing in the narrative and done a pretty good job.
There was also a mention of a relic belonging to a “forgotten Native American culture” , but that point was not elaborated upon. The relic only played the role of a catalyst. I don’t know – maybe the author could have fleshed out this aspect a bit more. I certainly understand the limitations also.
One interesting point about the narration was that only Mrs. Ross had a first person point of view, the rest all had a third person narration. Did I tell you that during the entire length of the novel, we don’t get to hear the protagonist’s first name! The whole world calls her Mrs. Ross.
For a debut novel, I do appreciate the efforts of the author. However, weaving so many themes in one story is not an easy task. At times, these acted liked digressions from the main plot. As for comparison with Cold Mountain, in my humble opinion, let us not go for any such comparisons. But, as a novel, I think Charles Frazier did a much better job with his Cold Mountain. Having said this, we should also keep in mind that this book was a debut novel.
The discussion guide and author interview at the end of the book would shed more light on the author’s intentions.
Overall, a decent read. The book had the potential to be a lot more. I would like to explore more of the author’s works if I come across them during my book hunts in used book stores.
February 11, 2022
"Ori de cate ori melancolia pune stapanire pe mine, lucru frecvent de-o vreme incoace, imi impun sa-mi aduc aminte ca el tremura cand ma atingea, ca am fost candva muza cuiva."
O carte superba care a devenit, fara efort, una dintre preferatele mele. Imi place foarte mult si titlul original, "The tenderness of wolves", iar dupa ce o terminam, daca ne gandim ca este romanul de debut al autorului, ajungem la concluzia ca este o carte absolut remarcabila.
Intr-o comunitate izolata de imigranti din nordul Canadei, numita Dove River, un negustor de blanuri francez este gasit mort. Coincidenta face ca tocmai in acea zi si vecinul sau, Francis Ross, un baiat tanar, dispare fara urma. Banuiala cade asupra sa, mai ales ca era vazut des in tovarasia strainului.
Crima este cercetata de reprezentantul Companiei Hudson Bay, tanarul si naivul Donald Moody si de fostul magistrat Knox care are o drama in trecutul familei sale.
Batranul si excentricul Thomas Surrok vine si el in Dove River, cand aude de moartea negustorului, fiind interesat de o placuta cu tot felul de semne necunoscute, care ar putea fi valoroasa din punct de vedere arheologic.
Cand vanatorul William Parker ajunge si el in asezamant si este gasit in jurul cabanei mortului va fi considerat suspect, mai ales ca are origini indiene si mortul fusese scalpat. Mama lui Francis Ross reuseste sa-l convinga sa plece impreuna cu ea pe urmele baiatului ei, fiind sigura ca enigmaticul vanator reprezinta singura ei sansa de a demonstra nevinovatia baiatului. Curand va afla ca vanatorul este singura ei sansa si de a cunoaste iubirea adevarata. Va fi cucerita de tandretea acestui 'lup salbatic'.
Romanul este absolut superb prin descrierile minunate ale tinutului vitreg si inghetat, al vantului si conditiilor aspre. Adesea calatoria celor doi este insotita de urletele feroce ale lupilor, de frigul crancen, de albul orbitor al peisajului si de perfectiunea fulgilor de zapada.
Pe langa faptul ca prezinta, din punct de vedere istoric, intemeierea acestor asezaminte in nordul Canadei de catre imigranti din Scotia, este si un roman politist in care doamna Ross este detectivul, plecand pe urmele baiatului ei si punand indiciile cap la cap alaturi de inexperimentatul dar corectul Donald Moody.
Nu in ultimul rand este si un roman de dragoste prin sentimentele care se infiripa intre doamna Ross si William Parker. Acestea sunt retinute in concordanta cu peisajul glacial dar cititorul realizeaza ca ele mocnesc inauntrul lor si sunt foarte puternice. Mi-a placut foarte mult ce gandeste ea despre el: "Ma gandesc, fireste, la Parker, iar cand dorm, il visez. Si stiu macar atat: si el se gandeste la mine. [...] Iubire. Magnet. Adevaratul meu nord. Ma intorc mereu spre el." Este asadar o iubire nemarturisita dar pe care amandoi o simt si o stiu si pentru care nici nu sunt necesare cuvintele rostite.
In incheiere va recomand romanul pentru ca are foarte multa personalitate si fler si pentru ca o sa indragiti majoritatea personajelor, avand pe alocuri chiar un aer de Jack London.
Atasez cateva citate pe care le-am cules si care merita retinute:
"Si uneori te trezesti privindu-ti sotul si intrebandu-te: este el barbatul necomplicat care crezi ca este - cel care castiga painea, prieten, povestitor de glume slabe care te fac oricum sa zambesti - sau are si el adancuri pe care nu le-ai vazut niciodata? De ce anume n-ar fi in stare?"
"Dar, asa cum am constatat atat de des in viata, lucrurile dupa care tanjesti cu adevarat te ocolesc."
"Simplul fapt ca-ti place de un om nu inseamna ca poti avea incredere in el."
"Presupun ca, daca ai pierdut deja ceea ce ai mai scump, lucrurile marunte precum reputatia si onoarea isi pierd si ele din stralucire."
O carte superba care a devenit, fara efort, una dintre preferatele mele. Imi place foarte mult si titlul original, "The tenderness of wolves", iar dupa ce o terminam, daca ne gandim ca este romanul de debut al autorului, ajungem la concluzia ca este o carte absolut remarcabila.
Intr-o comunitate izolata de imigranti din nordul Canadei, numita Dove River, un negustor de blanuri francez este gasit mort. Coincidenta face ca tocmai in acea zi si vecinul sau, Francis Ross, un baiat tanar, dispare fara urma. Banuiala cade asupra sa, mai ales ca era vazut des in tovarasia strainului.
Crima este cercetata de reprezentantul Companiei Hudson Bay, tanarul si naivul Donald Moody si de fostul magistrat Knox care are o drama in trecutul familei sale.
Batranul si excentricul Thomas Surrok vine si el in Dove River, cand aude de moartea negustorului, fiind interesat de o placuta cu tot felul de semne necunoscute, care ar putea fi valoroasa din punct de vedere arheologic.
Cand vanatorul William Parker ajunge si el in asezamant si este gasit in jurul cabanei mortului va fi considerat suspect, mai ales ca are origini indiene si mortul fusese scalpat. Mama lui Francis Ross reuseste sa-l convinga sa plece impreuna cu ea pe urmele baiatului ei, fiind sigura ca enigmaticul vanator reprezinta singura ei sansa de a demonstra nevinovatia baiatului. Curand va afla ca vanatorul este singura ei sansa si de a cunoaste iubirea adevarata. Va fi cucerita de tandretea acestui 'lup salbatic'.
Romanul este absolut superb prin descrierile minunate ale tinutului vitreg si inghetat, al vantului si conditiilor aspre. Adesea calatoria celor doi este insotita de urletele feroce ale lupilor, de frigul crancen, de albul orbitor al peisajului si de perfectiunea fulgilor de zapada.
Pe langa faptul ca prezinta, din punct de vedere istoric, intemeierea acestor asezaminte in nordul Canadei de catre imigranti din Scotia, este si un roman politist in care doamna Ross este detectivul, plecand pe urmele baiatului ei si punand indiciile cap la cap alaturi de inexperimentatul dar corectul Donald Moody.
Nu in ultimul rand este si un roman de dragoste prin sentimentele care se infiripa intre doamna Ross si William Parker. Acestea sunt retinute in concordanta cu peisajul glacial dar cititorul realizeaza ca ele mocnesc inauntrul lor si sunt foarte puternice. Mi-a placut foarte mult ce gandeste ea despre el: "Ma gandesc, fireste, la Parker, iar cand dorm, il visez. Si stiu macar atat: si el se gandeste la mine. [...] Iubire. Magnet. Adevaratul meu nord. Ma intorc mereu spre el." Este asadar o iubire nemarturisita dar pe care amandoi o simt si o stiu si pentru care nici nu sunt necesare cuvintele rostite.
In incheiere va recomand romanul pentru ca are foarte multa personalitate si fler si pentru ca o sa indragiti majoritatea personajelor, avand pe alocuri chiar un aer de Jack London.
Atasez cateva citate pe care le-am cules si care merita retinute:
"Si uneori te trezesti privindu-ti sotul si intrebandu-te: este el barbatul necomplicat care crezi ca este - cel care castiga painea, prieten, povestitor de glume slabe care te fac oricum sa zambesti - sau are si el adancuri pe care nu le-ai vazut niciodata? De ce anume n-ar fi in stare?"
"Dar, asa cum am constatat atat de des in viata, lucrurile dupa care tanjesti cu adevarat te ocolesc."
"Simplul fapt ca-ti place de un om nu inseamna ca poti avea incredere in el."
"Presupun ca, daca ai pierdut deja ceea ce ai mai scump, lucrurile marunte precum reputatia si onoarea isi pierd si ele din stralucire."
October 10, 2010
This is a frustrating novel on so many levels. It's one of those books you read where it could and should be brilliant, but suffers from an excess of trying to be too clever, hip and cutting edge in character development and writing technique.
The POV changes constantly from first person to third person in a sometimes confusing, backtrack-several-paragraphs-to-figure-out-who-is-talking kind of way. There are far, far too many characters and storylines happening as well. This would be ok if each storyline was distinct and wrapped up by the book's end. Unfortunately, they aren't, and it left me with a big 'ole "WTH happened to ??" by the last page. Lastly, this book tapped into one of my reader pet peeves - assigning present day moires within a historical context. I'm sorry, but I have a really hard time shallowing a gay fur trapper in 1860's Canada (a regrettable choice of words on my part, I'll admit). Then again, perhaps the only beaver he could access was the kind with silky fur and sharp front teeth, and he turned to men instead - who knows?
Anyway, this book had potential, but it lost me in it's forced cleverness.
The POV changes constantly from first person to third person in a sometimes confusing, backtrack-several-paragraphs-to-figure-out-who-is-talking kind of way. There are far, far too many characters and storylines happening as well. This would be ok if each storyline was distinct and wrapped up by the book's end. Unfortunately, they aren't, and it left me with a big 'ole "WTH happened to ??" by the last page. Lastly, this book tapped into one of my reader pet peeves - assigning present day moires within a historical context. I'm sorry, but I have a really hard time shallowing a gay fur trapper in 1860's Canada (a regrettable choice of words on my part, I'll admit). Then again, perhaps the only beaver he could access was the kind with silky fur and sharp front teeth, and he turned to men instead - who knows?
Anyway, this book had potential, but it lost me in it's forced cleverness.
December 26, 2019
Whew! Is this book perfect? It does have flaws but minor. Yet it was hard to put down- blew the others I was reading at the start out of the water. And at points it reminded me of a John Wayne movie for the soap opera dilemma aspects of reoccurring crisis. Especially the movie "Stagecoach" when John Wayne becomes encumbered by a happenstance rescue of ladies and other dumb innocents within and from an unforgiving environment. So why the 5 stars?
The 5 stars are for complete and galloping entertainment. And this is her debut novel. Can you tell she is a screen writer! Superb mix of characters, more than 20 of them. Epic issues within distances of trapper "Company" Georgian Bay territory Canada. It's early winter and it's just getting worse and worse. Not only outside in the open either.
I believe Stef Penney has covered nearly all the demographics for reader interest in this one. And she did it without foul language or politico preach speak for the length on top of it. It's long and there was a short bit about a third of the way through that dragged. But if you keep your mittens on, do NOT lose your compass, and remember to cover your eyes against white out- you will have a start with this one. Also you need to fire up and melt your brain cells to placement and name memory. Because there are many characters and for their number, they have depth. Different languages they may speak and absolutely different cultures of thought and action. More than three. Not all the Native Americans consider themselves attune to similarity. But the religions, the nationalities, the cultures, the crimes- they all twine into the plot. And the numerous sub-plots.
Does it knot too thoroughly? What mish-mass results. How are the dogs and wolves involved?
Is it a love story between couples? Are all the couples married? How many fall into "like"? Who knows how to trace patterns and track? How many locations do we track them to and for what reasons? Why, when the weather conditions and paths for these journeys are absolutely life-threatening? When is there a choice to "stay" instead?
Read this one and find out. You might even discover what happened to those Seton sisters of 11 and 12 who went off to pick berries a decade ago and never came home. Or who is not just a soft push-over tenderfoot in the end. But does sadly share a fate of the hopelessly naive.
Many posters reject the mixed writing style of narrator change. Mrs. Ross (those who count never know her first name) is the primary narrator. Other revolving chapters are third person narration. And although 90% chronological- you will still get that 10% flashback memory of something or some place that has gone on long before to clarify the picture or the emotion or the motive. Readers have taken out 2 stars for some of that stylistic formation. Not I. It worked sublimely here in knowing the motives and context quite far, far beyond the actions of the plot progression.
Lyrical and cutting of phrase? Donald tries the poetic. And the sentimental. It's the wrong place for either, IMHO. Unless it is an Indian saga upon a motherly wolf.
But it is the right place for this 3 or 4 month long tale. Lake Edgar, Himmelvanger, Caulfield, Dove River and all the "Company" stations in late 1867 Canadian territory come howling and creaking and chapping. They seem just as alive as the characters. Or NOT.
There were several delicious quotes in each section. I can only pick a few. Or one, just a longish one before Mrs. Ross decides to track after her son, Francis.
Here's one for the Chick Lit. readers:
"So that's how it happens: mutual need is what makes people cooperate- nothing to do with trust or kindness or any such sentimental notion. I don't really take in what he says about Knox and why he released him in this underhand way, but looking at his violated face I can believe that Mackinley has done it. Parker wants a rifle and food and his dogs, and I want a guide to follow Francis, and maybe he thinks Francis will talk more readily if I am there- Francis has something he wants too.
And so while my husband sleeps upstairs we pack- and I prepare to go into the wilderness with a suspected killer. What's worse, a man I haven't been properly introduced to. I am shocked to feel fear, too excited to care about the impropriety of it. I suppose if you have already lost what matters most, then little things like reputation and honor lose their luster. (Besides, if the worse comes to the worst, I can remind myself of that, if I have to.)"
Don't think it's all in that vein. There is something in this book for the Native American anthropology interest, for the adventurer par excellence, for the mixed race multitudes, for the big "L" users (instead of the big "H" of heroin), for couples of the same sex, for the God doubters, for the rebellious and disloyal employee, for thieves, for murderers. And especially for the daughter who does not answer to her original name or blood father.
It is somewhat adventure, somewhat thriller, somewhat suspense, somewhat a psychological study, somewhat murder mystery, somewhat "what's it all about" revelations- but almost entirely page turning. That's why I gave it a 5.
Took me longer to read than two other books of the same length or nature. You need to reread almost every first 4 paragraphs of each chapter. Not to the whom, but to the what and where. But somehow that feature never once pulled me out of the Mrs. Ross motives/ connection to the whole.
It was massively entertaining to read this in 98 degree heat too. It absolutely kept me cool.
The 5 stars are for complete and galloping entertainment. And this is her debut novel. Can you tell she is a screen writer! Superb mix of characters, more than 20 of them. Epic issues within distances of trapper "Company" Georgian Bay territory Canada. It's early winter and it's just getting worse and worse. Not only outside in the open either.
I believe Stef Penney has covered nearly all the demographics for reader interest in this one. And she did it without foul language or politico preach speak for the length on top of it. It's long and there was a short bit about a third of the way through that dragged. But if you keep your mittens on, do NOT lose your compass, and remember to cover your eyes against white out- you will have a start with this one. Also you need to fire up and melt your brain cells to placement and name memory. Because there are many characters and for their number, they have depth. Different languages they may speak and absolutely different cultures of thought and action. More than three. Not all the Native Americans consider themselves attune to similarity. But the religions, the nationalities, the cultures, the crimes- they all twine into the plot. And the numerous sub-plots.
Does it knot too thoroughly? What mish-mass results. How are the dogs and wolves involved?
Is it a love story between couples? Are all the couples married? How many fall into "like"? Who knows how to trace patterns and track? How many locations do we track them to and for what reasons? Why, when the weather conditions and paths for these journeys are absolutely life-threatening? When is there a choice to "stay" instead?
Read this one and find out. You might even discover what happened to those Seton sisters of 11 and 12 who went off to pick berries a decade ago and never came home. Or who is not just a soft push-over tenderfoot in the end. But does sadly share a fate of the hopelessly naive.
Many posters reject the mixed writing style of narrator change. Mrs. Ross (those who count never know her first name) is the primary narrator. Other revolving chapters are third person narration. And although 90% chronological- you will still get that 10% flashback memory of something or some place that has gone on long before to clarify the picture or the emotion or the motive. Readers have taken out 2 stars for some of that stylistic formation. Not I. It worked sublimely here in knowing the motives and context quite far, far beyond the actions of the plot progression.
Lyrical and cutting of phrase? Donald tries the poetic. And the sentimental. It's the wrong place for either, IMHO. Unless it is an Indian saga upon a motherly wolf.
But it is the right place for this 3 or 4 month long tale. Lake Edgar, Himmelvanger, Caulfield, Dove River and all the "Company" stations in late 1867 Canadian territory come howling and creaking and chapping. They seem just as alive as the characters. Or NOT.
There were several delicious quotes in each section. I can only pick a few. Or one, just a longish one before Mrs. Ross decides to track after her son, Francis.
Here's one for the Chick Lit. readers:
"So that's how it happens: mutual need is what makes people cooperate- nothing to do with trust or kindness or any such sentimental notion. I don't really take in what he says about Knox and why he released him in this underhand way, but looking at his violated face I can believe that Mackinley has done it. Parker wants a rifle and food and his dogs, and I want a guide to follow Francis, and maybe he thinks Francis will talk more readily if I am there- Francis has something he wants too.
And so while my husband sleeps upstairs we pack- and I prepare to go into the wilderness with a suspected killer. What's worse, a man I haven't been properly introduced to. I am shocked to feel fear, too excited to care about the impropriety of it. I suppose if you have already lost what matters most, then little things like reputation and honor lose their luster. (Besides, if the worse comes to the worst, I can remind myself of that, if I have to.)"
Don't think it's all in that vein. There is something in this book for the Native American anthropology interest, for the adventurer par excellence, for the mixed race multitudes, for the big "L" users (instead of the big "H" of heroin), for couples of the same sex, for the God doubters, for the rebellious and disloyal employee, for thieves, for murderers. And especially for the daughter who does not answer to her original name or blood father.
It is somewhat adventure, somewhat thriller, somewhat suspense, somewhat a psychological study, somewhat murder mystery, somewhat "what's it all about" revelations- but almost entirely page turning. That's why I gave it a 5.
Took me longer to read than two other books of the same length or nature. You need to reread almost every first 4 paragraphs of each chapter. Not to the whom, but to the what and where. But somehow that feature never once pulled me out of the Mrs. Ross motives/ connection to the whole.
It was massively entertaining to read this in 98 degree heat too. It absolutely kept me cool.
March 17, 2017
BEAU-ti-ful book! Highly recommended!
November 29, 2012
Set in the small village of Caulfield in Ontario during the winter of 1867, The Tenderness of Wolves tells the story of a woman's journey into the Canadian wilderness to find her missing seventeen year old son Francis, who has disappeared after a man, who was a friend of her son's, was found brutally murdered.
First off, I don't know why the author gave the novel this title as wolves do not figure in the plot much at all. They are mentioned once or twice but that's about it!
The plot was engaging and compelling at the beginning of the novel, but for about 100 pages or so in the middle it suddenly got very slow and boring, but it did pick up again in the last quarter of the novel. I thought the location of the novel was interesting. I loved the setting and the vivid descriptions of pioneer life in the Canadian wilderness in the mid-nineteenth century.
At times, the novel got extremely confusing! I loved most of Penney's characters but there was simply too many of them. I found it hard to keep track of all of them. I wished Penney had thinned these out as a lot of these "extra" characters weren't vital to the plot. I don't know why she included so many of these characters! She should have spent more time developing the characters that were central to the plot!
Stef Penney wrote all of her characters in the first person so sometimes it wasn't clear which character was doing the talking! Because of this I had to go back and re-read multiple chapters to figure out what was happening in the story. Very annoying!
The ending of the novel was very abrupt. There were TOO MANY loose ends. I desperately wanted some romance in this novel to balance the story out!
This novel wasn't as good as all the hype made it out to be. I think Ms Penney should fire her editor. Jane Wood did definitely not do a good job editing this book! Good editing would have fixed most of the problems with this novel. But overall, I felt it was a good attempt at a first novel by the author. It was an interesting and mostly enjoyable read but it's a shame the ending is very unsatisfying. However, I would read another novel by this author. I think she has potential.
Three stars!
PS: If you want to know what Mrs Ross's first name is it is on page 170 of the paperback version. It's in the paragraph where she describes Parker's dogs :)
First off, I don't know why the author gave the novel this title as wolves do not figure in the plot much at all. They are mentioned once or twice but that's about it!
The plot was engaging and compelling at the beginning of the novel, but for about 100 pages or so in the middle it suddenly got very slow and boring, but it did pick up again in the last quarter of the novel. I thought the location of the novel was interesting. I loved the setting and the vivid descriptions of pioneer life in the Canadian wilderness in the mid-nineteenth century.
At times, the novel got extremely confusing! I loved most of Penney's characters but there was simply too many of them. I found it hard to keep track of all of them. I wished Penney had thinned these out as a lot of these "extra" characters weren't vital to the plot. I don't know why she included so many of these characters! She should have spent more time developing the characters that were central to the plot!
Stef Penney wrote all of her characters in the first person so sometimes it wasn't clear which character was doing the talking! Because of this I had to go back and re-read multiple chapters to figure out what was happening in the story. Very annoying!
The ending of the novel was very abrupt. There were TOO MANY loose ends. I desperately wanted some romance in this novel to balance the story out!
This novel wasn't as good as all the hype made it out to be. I think Ms Penney should fire her editor. Jane Wood did definitely not do a good job editing this book! Good editing would have fixed most of the problems with this novel. But overall, I felt it was a good attempt at a first novel by the author. It was an interesting and mostly enjoyable read but it's a shame the ending is very unsatisfying. However, I would read another novel by this author. I think she has potential.
Three stars!
PS: If you want to know what Mrs Ross's first name is it is on page 170 of the paperback version. It's in the paragraph where she describes Parker's dogs :)
February 9, 2021
This was really good. Set in a remote Canadian settlement in 1867, a man is brutally murdered! It’s dark and bleak and full of atmosphere. Just what I needed right now to be honest.
March 3, 2019
In a small Canadian town by the Georgian Bay, Mrs Ross finds the body of her murdered neighbor, trapper and fur trader Laurent Jammet. Her adopted 17 year old son is also missing, and there are several sets of footprints heading north. The Hudson Bay Company sends their men to investigate several suspects. Mrs Ross sets off with a half-Indian guide, William Parker, to find her son.
The book is full of atmospheric details so the reader can feel for the 1867 immigrant and Indian characters as they deal with the cold, the exhausting travel by foot, and the fear of the howling wolves in the wilderness. There are several other murder suspects, including a man who wants an Indian archeological find owned by Jammet. In addition to being a historical mystery, the book is also about love in its many forms and a riveting adventure tale. Author Stef Penney, a screenwriter, won the Costa Book Award in 2006.
The book is full of atmospheric details so the reader can feel for the 1867 immigrant and Indian characters as they deal with the cold, the exhausting travel by foot, and the fear of the howling wolves in the wilderness. There are several other murder suspects, including a man who wants an Indian archeological find owned by Jammet. In addition to being a historical mystery, the book is also about love in its many forms and a riveting adventure tale. Author Stef Penney, a screenwriter, won the Costa Book Award in 2006.
October 6, 2014
"And so while my husband sleeps upstairs we pack–and I prepare to go into the wilderness with a suspected killer. What’s worse, a man I haven’t been properly introduced to. I am too shocked to feel fear, too excited to care about the impropriety of it. I suppose if you have already lost what matters most, then little things like reputation and honour lose their lustre. (Besides, if the worst comes to the worst, I can remind myself that I have sold my honour far more cheaply than this. I can remind myself of that, if I have to.)"
As the nights are drawing in and the temperatures are dropping to the point that I needed to switch the heating on, this was the perfect book to get in the mood for the upcoming season.
There are a few things that I could criticize about this book - like the holes in some of the sub-plots, anachronisms, the use of 20th century expressions and attitudes that detract from the 1867 setting - but all in all these are minor flaws.
I loved this book. Not least for its writing:
"Sometimes, you find yourself looking at the forest in a different way. Sometimes it’s no more than the trees that provide houses and warmth, and hide the earth’s nakedness, and you’re glad of it. And then sometimes, like tonight, it is a vast dark presence that you can never see the end of; it might, for all you know, have not just length and breadth to lose yourself in, but also an immeasurable depth, or something else altogether. And sometimes, you find yourself looking at your husband and wondering: is he the straightforward man you think you know–provider, friend, teller of poor jokes that nonetheless make you smile–or does he too have depths that you have never seen? What might he not be capable of?"
So what that the language doesn't fit into 1867? The same concept worked for Marty McFly... Anyway, just to clarify, this book is not about time travel.
The Tenderness of Wolves is a mystery set in the wintry northeast of Canada between communities of immigrants and natives, where the murder of a local trapper and the disappearance of a local youth set in motion an unlikely turn of events.
But it is not just a murder mystery. What I loved about the book is what some other reviewers found distracting - that it a number of subplots.
There are stories of people looking for something they have lost, of people looking for their own way in life, of people trying to remember who they are, of people trying to make new starts. Some fail, some succeed.
The subplots add a great deal of depth to the characters and bring to life how in a largely isolated small community nearly everything is connected. Ironically, for a story set in the freezing north, there is a lot of warmth; and for a story largely set in the wilderness, there is a lot of humanity, even though the stoicism portrayed by characters and the brutality of some of the events ensure that this is by no means a cozy read.
This review was first posted on BookLikes: http://brokentune.booklikes.com/post/...
As the nights are drawing in and the temperatures are dropping to the point that I needed to switch the heating on, this was the perfect book to get in the mood for the upcoming season.
There are a few things that I could criticize about this book - like the holes in some of the sub-plots, anachronisms, the use of 20th century expressions and attitudes that detract from the 1867 setting - but all in all these are minor flaws.
I loved this book. Not least for its writing:
"Sometimes, you find yourself looking at the forest in a different way. Sometimes it’s no more than the trees that provide houses and warmth, and hide the earth’s nakedness, and you’re glad of it. And then sometimes, like tonight, it is a vast dark presence that you can never see the end of; it might, for all you know, have not just length and breadth to lose yourself in, but also an immeasurable depth, or something else altogether. And sometimes, you find yourself looking at your husband and wondering: is he the straightforward man you think you know–provider, friend, teller of poor jokes that nonetheless make you smile–or does he too have depths that you have never seen? What might he not be capable of?"
So what that the language doesn't fit into 1867? The same concept worked for Marty McFly... Anyway, just to clarify, this book is not about time travel.
The Tenderness of Wolves is a mystery set in the wintry northeast of Canada between communities of immigrants and natives, where the murder of a local trapper and the disappearance of a local youth set in motion an unlikely turn of events.
But it is not just a murder mystery. What I loved about the book is what some other reviewers found distracting - that it a number of subplots.
There are stories of people looking for something they have lost, of people looking for their own way in life, of people trying to remember who they are, of people trying to make new starts. Some fail, some succeed.
The subplots add a great deal of depth to the characters and bring to life how in a largely isolated small community nearly everything is connected. Ironically, for a story set in the freezing north, there is a lot of warmth; and for a story largely set in the wilderness, there is a lot of humanity, even though the stoicism portrayed by characters and the brutality of some of the events ensure that this is by no means a cozy read.
This review was first posted on BookLikes: http://brokentune.booklikes.com/post/...
August 3, 2011
The hero of this novel is only ever referred to by two names: Mrs Ross, and Mama. In their brief moments together at the beginning of the novel, Angus Ross never speaks to his wife, and she does not have a single good friend who knows her well enough to address her by her first name. She is reserved, polite and, as a married woman in these stifled Scottish, Presbyterian, conclaves in 19th Century Canada, almost invisible: when a self-important local figure demands, ‘Is you husband in?’, she notes that “As a woman I’m obviously not supposed to know anything”. She appears to have little self-esteem, admitting that “in fact long ago gave up the notion that I have any remarkable qualities”. When her teenage son disappears in the aftermath of the murder of a local fur-trader, Laurent Jammet, she is for a while paralysed by indecision.
Yet, from this unpromising start, she demonstrates that she is in fact quite remarkable: she shows enormous physical strength to drag herself through the barren Canadian landscape, not once but three times; greater mental strength to embark on the subsequent quests and to stand up to those trying to advise her against this. And towards the end, as the Cat & Mouse game to find Jammet’s murderer reaches its conclusion, she puts her life at risk. But most revealing of all, it turns out she is not shy, just quiet. She does not lack self-esteem, she is in fact very funny and self-deprecating. She may still appear to be almost invisible but she misses nothing, particularly in the hubris of the numerous self-important men that she meets. She is deeply passionate, stifled through her current circumstances. Had she not been denied educational opportunity because she was subjected to a 19th Century version of “sectioning”, she would have certainly achieved more in life – and yet she does not dwell on this or feel any self-pity. Perhaps this is for the best: beyond the end of the book, we know that she must go back to her husband, who will remain unaware that he is married to such a wonderful woman.
Yet, from this unpromising start, she demonstrates that she is in fact quite remarkable: she shows enormous physical strength to drag herself through the barren Canadian landscape, not once but three times; greater mental strength to embark on the subsequent quests and to stand up to those trying to advise her against this. And towards the end, as the Cat & Mouse game to find Jammet’s murderer reaches its conclusion, she puts her life at risk. But most revealing of all, it turns out she is not shy, just quiet. She does not lack self-esteem, she is in fact very funny and self-deprecating. She may still appear to be almost invisible but she misses nothing, particularly in the hubris of the numerous self-important men that she meets. She is deeply passionate, stifled through her current circumstances. Had she not been denied educational opportunity because she was subjected to a 19th Century version of “sectioning”, she would have certainly achieved more in life – and yet she does not dwell on this or feel any self-pity. Perhaps this is for the best: beyond the end of the book, we know that she must go back to her husband, who will remain unaware that he is married to such a wonderful woman.
May 22, 2008
Well it's 1:20 AM and I just finished this well written page turner. Would probably give it 4 1/2 for capturing my interest. When my book club chose this I didn't think I would like it because I usually don't read murder mysteries. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I liked the weaving storylines and plots and the way the characters were connected in what I was imagining to be a vast wintery wilderness. I also enjoyed the contrast of the first and third person narratives. I'm not sure I get the title.
Although it took me a while to warm up to Mrs. Ross (in the beginning she seemed kind of simple and mousey) but as the story went on I really admired her. I was pulling for her all the way. And...cuddling with Parker in the cabin for warmth...much better than...you know. I could feel it!
I got a little confused with some of the characters and keeping them straight and I still don't get the Seton girls - can't wait to talk about this at book club. Were they both alive or only one of them??? I don't get it!?
I was mildly disappointed in the ending. I wanted a little more. I didn't feel that everything got wrapped up well enough, but that could be because I'm always one for the fairytale endings, girl gets the guy, conflicts are resolved, etc. AND what the hell is her first name??
Although it took me a while to warm up to Mrs. Ross (in the beginning she seemed kind of simple and mousey) but as the story went on I really admired her. I was pulling for her all the way. And...cuddling with Parker in the cabin for warmth...much better than...you know. I could feel it!
I got a little confused with some of the characters and keeping them straight and I still don't get the Seton girls - can't wait to talk about this at book club. Were they both alive or only one of them??? I don't get it!?
I was mildly disappointed in the ending. I wanted a little more. I didn't feel that everything got wrapped up well enough, but that could be because I'm always one for the fairytale endings, girl gets the guy, conflicts are resolved, etc. AND what the hell is her first name??
March 11, 2008
This book received the Costa (Whitbred)Award which I find totally surprising. Certainly the book has all the makings of a great novel. But it is not.
A host of interesting characters, a dramatic environment, a historical setting, even a murder mystery. Lots of interesting characters and criss-crossing paths. Yet it feels more like a soap opera at times than anything else.
I think the choice of the author to give a first person voice to one character and then use third person all the rest of the way through the book is a major mistake (in the discussion in the book she says Dickens did it in Bleak House so why can't I -- because he is a literary genius, that's why). Although all of the characters are interesting, the author gives us more insights into some than others. The result is a feeling that this was designed to be a Dickensian book but the author just wasn't up to it.
I don't think you will feel that you wasted time reading this book and there are some wonderful passages about life in wintry Canada. But I wouldn't put it at the top of my list.
A host of interesting characters, a dramatic environment, a historical setting, even a murder mystery. Lots of interesting characters and criss-crossing paths. Yet it feels more like a soap opera at times than anything else.
I think the choice of the author to give a first person voice to one character and then use third person all the rest of the way through the book is a major mistake (in the discussion in the book she says Dickens did it in Bleak House so why can't I -- because he is a literary genius, that's why). Although all of the characters are interesting, the author gives us more insights into some than others. The result is a feeling that this was designed to be a Dickensian book but the author just wasn't up to it.
I don't think you will feel that you wasted time reading this book and there are some wonderful passages about life in wintry Canada. But I wouldn't put it at the top of my list.
March 19, 2008
A historical mystery set in Canada, and featuring what are essentially the precursors to Mounties and gay characters. I really thought I was going to like this book. Instead, I struggled to keep up with its meandering pace and mostly unsympathetic characters, only to be confronted by a conclusion that just cuts out like the end of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” I know that sort of thing is supposed to be arty and true-to-life, but is a little bit of closure so much to ask? Several plot threads are completely abandoned, dropped five or ten or fifteen pages from the end and never picked up again. Blargh. Forgive me, but I was reading to find out what happens, not to…I don’t know, muse on how mostly things suck and it’s very cold in Canada.
July 29, 2020
A lovely story.
March 2, 2012
It staggers me to see poor reviews of this novel. I suppose that it just shows the difference between people! I was given this book about three years ago, and such is my "To Be Read" pile that I've only got around it reading it now. Well, it was worth the wait. Although it took me some time to become absorbed by the story, I soon couldn't put it down. Penney's writing kept me interested. She can definitely weave words, and her recreation of 19th C. backwoods Canada has a really authentic feel to it. Who cares if she never went to Canada? She has succeeded in creating an intriguing story set in a truly captivating world, peopled with multiple interesting characters. To criticise Penney because she didn't go to Canada to research it (as apparently happened) is in my mind nothing more than a form of literary snobbery. It's similar to saying that even if someone reads lots about a country and say, its political situation, they are not entitled to comment on it unless they have been there to study it first hand. Tosh. I haven't been to all of the places in my novels, yet I believe that I have created credible descriptions of them.
I digress. I was interested by the number of characters relating the story (more than six) in The Tenderness of Wolves and also immeditely concerned that the story would suffer because of it. It's difficult to carry off so many characters, but Penney does it with aplomb. The tale hangs upon the murder of a trapper, Laurence Jamment. We see the effects this tragedy has on the local community, which of course has more to it than meets the eye. The plot makes intricate weaves and turns, making a deeply satisfying read. It's full of sharp and poignant observations of the human character, and I was sorry to reach the final page. That in my mind is the mark of an excellent book
I digress. I was interested by the number of characters relating the story (more than six) in The Tenderness of Wolves and also immeditely concerned that the story would suffer because of it. It's difficult to carry off so many characters, but Penney does it with aplomb. The tale hangs upon the murder of a trapper, Laurence Jamment. We see the effects this tragedy has on the local community, which of course has more to it than meets the eye. The plot makes intricate weaves and turns, making a deeply satisfying read. It's full of sharp and poignant observations of the human character, and I was sorry to reach the final page. That in my mind is the mark of an excellent book
March 31, 2016
Hoy os traigo un libro que me ha gustado muchísimo.
Una de las cosas que más me ha llamado la atención es, que a mí me suelen gustar los libros con un ritmo más bien ligero, en cambio esta vez he disfrutado muchísimo con La ternura de los lobos pese a tener un desarrollo pausado. Es una lectura que se disfruta sin prisa pero sin pausa.
Estaba pensando qué aspectos de la novela empezar a destacar pero, realmente, no sé bien por cual comenzar porque me estoy dando cuenta de que creo que todo me ha gustado. Así que lo haré aleatoriamente.
Si comenzamos por la ambientación, os diré que es muy propicia y adecuada para imbuirnos en la historia totalmente, ya que el crimen cometido y los misterios que se nos van planteando casan maravillosamente dentro de este marco helado que nos rodea durante toda la narración y convierte la trama en más misteriosa y estremecedora. Nos veremos rodeados todo el tiempo por inmensos parajes helados y por pequeñas poblaciones aisladas que nos resultarán, en ocasiones, inquietantes.
Por otra parte, los personajes me han gustado muchísimo, pienso que todos están bien trabajados. Sobre todo el de nuestra protagonista, la señora Ross, ya que, además, cada vez que toma la voz en la narración lo hace en primera persona, cosa que el resto de personajes se nos presentan en tercera. Esto hace que nos sintamos aun más identificados con ella que con el resto, aunque todos los demás también nos resultarán cercanos.
La trama me ha parecido que está bien desarrollada pese a tener un ritmo algo lento, como he comentado al principio, pero yo no he perdido el interés en ningún momento, y sí estaba deseando avanzar en la historia para averiguar qué estaba sucediendo realmente y cómo iba a terminar todo. Considero que la autora tiene un estilo narrativo de gran calidad, me ha gustado mucho su forma de escribir.
En definitiva, una historia que pienso que roza lo sublime, con un lenguaje elegante y delicado, que mantendrá nuestro interés en todo momento gracias a su trama y a sus bien perfilados personajes pese a tener un ritmo un poco lento. Algo que, raro en mí, en esta ocasión no me ha importado ni molestado.
Mi puntuación es: 8/10
Una de las cosas que más me ha llamado la atención es, que a mí me suelen gustar los libros con un ritmo más bien ligero, en cambio esta vez he disfrutado muchísimo con La ternura de los lobos pese a tener un desarrollo pausado. Es una lectura que se disfruta sin prisa pero sin pausa.
Estaba pensando qué aspectos de la novela empezar a destacar pero, realmente, no sé bien por cual comenzar porque me estoy dando cuenta de que creo que todo me ha gustado. Así que lo haré aleatoriamente.
Si comenzamos por la ambientación, os diré que es muy propicia y adecuada para imbuirnos en la historia totalmente, ya que el crimen cometido y los misterios que se nos van planteando casan maravillosamente dentro de este marco helado que nos rodea durante toda la narración y convierte la trama en más misteriosa y estremecedora. Nos veremos rodeados todo el tiempo por inmensos parajes helados y por pequeñas poblaciones aisladas que nos resultarán, en ocasiones, inquietantes.
Por otra parte, los personajes me han gustado muchísimo, pienso que todos están bien trabajados. Sobre todo el de nuestra protagonista, la señora Ross, ya que, además, cada vez que toma la voz en la narración lo hace en primera persona, cosa que el resto de personajes se nos presentan en tercera. Esto hace que nos sintamos aun más identificados con ella que con el resto, aunque todos los demás también nos resultarán cercanos.
La trama me ha parecido que está bien desarrollada pese a tener un ritmo algo lento, como he comentado al principio, pero yo no he perdido el interés en ningún momento, y sí estaba deseando avanzar en la historia para averiguar qué estaba sucediendo realmente y cómo iba a terminar todo. Considero que la autora tiene un estilo narrativo de gran calidad, me ha gustado mucho su forma de escribir.
En definitiva, una historia que pienso que roza lo sublime, con un lenguaje elegante y delicado, que mantendrá nuestro interés en todo momento gracias a su trama y a sus bien perfilados personajes pese a tener un ritmo un poco lento. Algo que, raro en mí, en esta ocasión no me ha importado ni molestado.
Mi puntuación es: 8/10
October 6, 2018
In this historical fiction set in the Canadian wilderness in the mid-19th century, a French-Canadian trapper living near an isolated village is found murdered in his bed. Our protagonist, Mrs. Ross, discovers the body and alerts the authorities. Upon returning home she finds that her seventeen-year-old son, Francis, a friend of the murdered man, has disappeared. Suspicion falls upon her son and a mixed-race tracker. After her husband searches, but fails to find Francis, she and the tracker set off to locate him and determine what happened. This book contains an intricately woven mystery, with several subordinate mysteries embedded into the main storyline. The Canadian legacy of fur-trapping and the Hudson Bay Company play an important role in the narrative.
This book is filled with striking characters, such as the ambitious and ruthless company-man in charge of the investigation, his inexperienced assistant whose heart is in the right place but makes questionable decisions, two daughters of the town magistrate that engender romantic feelings in the assistant, and a Native American guide serving as a personal protector. The author offers insight into human motivations, complexities and incongruities of character, and the yearning for answers, sometimes at the cost of inventing a solution.
It is divided into four sections with many short chapters using different narrative perspectives. The setting becomes a significant part of the story. The writing style is eloquent. The atmospheric descriptions of the harsh landscape of the Canadian winter deliver an almost palpable feeling of icy desolation. Like the titular wolf, people can be misunderstood or judged by their appearance. The author deftly explores this theme in subtle ways throughout the story, showing we are often wrong about that which we do not understand.
An amazing amalgamation of history, adventure, betrayal, tragic loss, and forbidden love, it is not solely a riveting mystery but also an impressive literary achievement. Highly recommended.
This book is filled with striking characters, such as the ambitious and ruthless company-man in charge of the investigation, his inexperienced assistant whose heart is in the right place but makes questionable decisions, two daughters of the town magistrate that engender romantic feelings in the assistant, and a Native American guide serving as a personal protector. The author offers insight into human motivations, complexities and incongruities of character, and the yearning for answers, sometimes at the cost of inventing a solution.
It is divided into four sections with many short chapters using different narrative perspectives. The setting becomes a significant part of the story. The writing style is eloquent. The atmospheric descriptions of the harsh landscape of the Canadian winter deliver an almost palpable feeling of icy desolation. Like the titular wolf, people can be misunderstood or judged by their appearance. The author deftly explores this theme in subtle ways throughout the story, showing we are often wrong about that which we do not understand.
An amazing amalgamation of history, adventure, betrayal, tragic loss, and forbidden love, it is not solely a riveting mystery but also an impressive literary achievement. Highly recommended.
February 18, 2016
La historia que nos narra la escritora escocesa Stef Penney en ‘La ternura de los lobos’, nos traslada al año 1867, al nordeste de Canadá. Dove River es un poblado fundado por pioneros escoceses, en el que el trampero Laurent Jammet ha sido asesinado. Unido a este hecho, hay que añadir la desaparición de un adolescente, del que se cree autor del crimen. En los inhóspitos y nevados paisajes canadienses, transcurre esta novela coral. Quizás la protagonista principal sea la señora Ross, la madre de Francis, el adolescente sospechoso, cuyas partes están narradas en primera persona. La señora Ross emprende la búsqueda de su hijo en un duro viaje a través de nieve y hielo, acompañada de los investigadores enviados por la Compañía, encargada de impartir justicia. El resto de personajes principales, familiares, nativos, cazadores, son voces omniscientes, que nos ayudan a comprender y saber de la vida en este inhóspito lugar. De este modo, entre el misterio del crimen, un secreto arqueológico y secretos varios, también hay que destacar la introspección de los personajes.
‘La ternura de los lobos’ es una novela bien escrita, con aroma de thriller, en la que destaca la condición humana sobre el misterio. Interesante.
‘La ternura de los lobos’ es una novela bien escrita, con aroma de thriller, en la que destaca la condición humana sobre el misterio. Interesante.
January 1, 2008
This is easily one of the most beautifully written books I have read in a long time. The prose, particularly when used in the first person perspective of Mrs. Ross, really drew me in. This combined with the very human nature of both the story and characters made them human. Being from areas near and similar to the setting in the book I was surprised at the author’s ability to craft the feeling of the Northwood’s in winter, and particularly the feelings I had as a child during my first experiences with the intimidation that can be caused by the isolation and alien nature of the woods. This is particularly impressive for someone who has never visited a place of such beauty and isolation. I think Penney weaved beautifully issues of the human condition both modern and timeless in a way that felt real, and while there is no Hollywood ending the ending is better for being honest and true to both the characters and real life.
October 17, 2008
Outstanding debut novel from this Scottish author. Penney captures the voices, terrain, and myriad of cultures of the remote and vast Hudson Bay territory. The bitter chill of winter 1867 matches the chill of murder and suspicion that invades a tiny town. An excellent read!
April 24, 2009
My interest in this novel was heighted by two outside pieces of information: that the author was a screenwriter and that she had never been to the area north of Georgian Bay where the novel is set (and had been criticized for it). The first interested me because the novel is “cinematic” and written in scenes—and moves forward at a compelling pace; the second, because I’ve been decrying the place that research has assumed in novel writing these days and completely accept the author’s counter that this is, after all, a work of the imagination. The setting is tangible and immediate; whether it is “real” doesn’t matter as far as I can tell.
The Tenderness of Wolves is essentially a mystery which takes place 1860s Ontario, on Georgian Bay, a large bay to the northeast of Lake Huron. The action takes place in Caulfield on Dove River, a small settlement with no buildings over 13 years old, in a Norwegian religious colony and on a trading post of the Hudson Bay Company—and in the snow-covered plains and forests lying between. A trader and ex-Company man is murdered in his house on the edge of Dove River and found by a neighboring farmer’s wife. The plot is complex with many characters and basically follows the actions of those who want to find out who murdered Laurent Jammet. The only first person voice is that of Mrs. Ross, who woman who discovers the body and whose son is suspected of the murder, but most of the novel it not first person narration.
The structure is interesting. There are four main sections, corresponding to the different settings and to the stages in the investigation. Within each section are subsections, using focusing on different characters. Mrs. Ross actually narrates the sections where she’s the main focus, but you see her from the outside when she appears in the other sections. The other sections use a sort of Jamesian center of consciousness, with the narrator getting into the head of another character. One can easily see the influence of film.
It’s a complex plot with lots of characters and no real interest in the man who was killed except that the wrong persons are being accused. I found this a page turner until maybe two-thirds of the way through where it suddenly occurred to me I didn’t really care about any of the characters. Nor did I care who killed the trapper since it was clear it wasn’t the two sympathetic characters who were accused. Nor were they in any real danger of punishment for a crime they didn't commit.
The role of “The Company” that controlled the fur trade in British North America, in the novel and in the community, is interesting and Company men are generally bad guys, except Moody who “figures it out” during the course of the novel. But that theme is generally ancillary and not really developed. (I was astounded when I first went shopping in Calgary years ago to find the main department store, referred to by initiates as “the Bay”, was that same company which Wikipedia describes as the “oldest commercial corporation in North America”.
My assessment of this novel: the structure is near perfect, the setting is powerful, the plot is OK, and the characters are skillfully imagined but ultimately bloodless. Mrs. Ross, for example, narrates bits of her past in an insane asylum where she evidently was the favorite of a nutty doctor (made me think of the main character in Atwood’s Alias Grace) but the background generates questions that are never answered. That’s true with other characters as well. Perhaps the difference is that the characterization in film, which of necessity relies on snippets, isn’t really enough for a really effective novel.
The Tenderness of Wolves is essentially a mystery which takes place 1860s Ontario, on Georgian Bay, a large bay to the northeast of Lake Huron. The action takes place in Caulfield on Dove River, a small settlement with no buildings over 13 years old, in a Norwegian religious colony and on a trading post of the Hudson Bay Company—and in the snow-covered plains and forests lying between. A trader and ex-Company man is murdered in his house on the edge of Dove River and found by a neighboring farmer’s wife. The plot is complex with many characters and basically follows the actions of those who want to find out who murdered Laurent Jammet. The only first person voice is that of Mrs. Ross, who woman who discovers the body and whose son is suspected of the murder, but most of the novel it not first person narration.
The structure is interesting. There are four main sections, corresponding to the different settings and to the stages in the investigation. Within each section are subsections, using focusing on different characters. Mrs. Ross actually narrates the sections where she’s the main focus, but you see her from the outside when she appears in the other sections. The other sections use a sort of Jamesian center of consciousness, with the narrator getting into the head of another character. One can easily see the influence of film.
It’s a complex plot with lots of characters and no real interest in the man who was killed except that the wrong persons are being accused. I found this a page turner until maybe two-thirds of the way through where it suddenly occurred to me I didn’t really care about any of the characters. Nor did I care who killed the trapper since it was clear it wasn’t the two sympathetic characters who were accused. Nor were they in any real danger of punishment for a crime they didn't commit.
The role of “The Company” that controlled the fur trade in British North America, in the novel and in the community, is interesting and Company men are generally bad guys, except Moody who “figures it out” during the course of the novel. But that theme is generally ancillary and not really developed. (I was astounded when I first went shopping in Calgary years ago to find the main department store, referred to by initiates as “the Bay”, was that same company which Wikipedia describes as the “oldest commercial corporation in North America”.
My assessment of this novel: the structure is near perfect, the setting is powerful, the plot is OK, and the characters are skillfully imagined but ultimately bloodless. Mrs. Ross, for example, narrates bits of her past in an insane asylum where she evidently was the favorite of a nutty doctor (made me think of the main character in Atwood’s Alias Grace) but the background generates questions that are never answered. That’s true with other characters as well. Perhaps the difference is that the characterization in film, which of necessity relies on snippets, isn’t really enough for a really effective novel.
March 13, 2022
مستوطنة دوڤ ريڤر في شمال كندا، وخريف العام ١٨٦٧
والشتاء القارس يتقدم ببطء وبقوة تاركًا آثاره على أشجار البتولا وأوراقها المغطاة بالجليد التي تهمس بالشتاء القادم، وتهمس بحكايات البرية المتجمدة المخيفة التي دائمًا ما يعود ذكرها حول مواقد الشتاء كلما ذُكرت الذئاب وفرائها الناعم الثمين،
لغز قديم لاختفاء فتاتين مراهقتين من دوڤ ريڤر، خرجتا مع صديقة لهما لجمع التوت والتنزه بجوار البحيرة، وكان موعد عودتهن قبل غروب الشمس، ولكن الصديقة عادت متأخرة وفي حالة بائسة بدونهما بعد أن خرج الجميع للبحث عنهن،
هذا اللغز الذي لم يُحل أبدًا وأصبح حكاية تحكيها العائلات، تُحكي في أمسيات الشتاء أمام النار، أعاده إلى السطح
اكتشاف السيدة روس مقتل صياد فرنسي كندي هو لوران جاميه في كوخه على ضفة النهر،
وفي نفس اليوم اكتشفت اختفاء ابنها ب��لتبني المراهق الذي خرج إلى الصيد في الغابة،
تبدأ التحريات لحل لغز القتل والاختفاء، من رجال داخل المستوطنة، وآخرين من خارجها منهم مَن جاء للبحث وحل اللغز ومنهم ما يبدو أنه جاء لاستغلال الأمر، والحقيقة أن الجميع في دوڤ ريڤر اشتركوا بآرائهم واستنتاجاتهم وتحرياتهم الشخصية التي كانت معظمها تحوم حول الكوخ على ضفة النهر،
ولكن مع ظهور افتراض ارتكاب ابن السيدة روس للجريمة،
لم يكن أمامها سوى السعي لتبرئة إبنها بنفسها، فانطلقت في البحث ��التحري وتتبع الآثار على الجليد التي كانت كلها تقود من الكوخ الصغير عبر السواحل المغطاة بالثلوج إلى الشمال نحو البرية، وك��ن عليها أن تسرع قبل تساقط الثلوج الكثيف، فلطالما كان الثلج بارعًا في طمس أي آثر في برية دوڤ ريڤر،
رواية جريمة اجتماعية وتاريخية مشوقة، مكتوبة ومنسوجة بإتقان،
تظن أنك أمسكت بطرف الخيط، فينفلت من يديك مرة آخرى رغم قوة أدلته، فتبحث عن آخر جديد،
ورغم بطء السرد المزدحم بالشخصيات والحوارات، لكن كشف اللغز والوصول إلى السبب المخيف الغير متوقع كان حافزًا للتقدم في الرواية
11.3.2022
والشتاء القارس يتقدم ببطء وبقوة تاركًا آثاره على أشجار البتولا وأوراقها المغطاة بالجليد التي تهمس بالشتاء القادم، وتهمس بحكايات البرية المتجمدة المخيفة التي دائمًا ما يعود ذكرها حول مواقد الشتاء كلما ذُكرت الذئاب وفرائها الناعم الثمين،
لغز قديم لاختفاء فتاتين مراهقتين من دوڤ ريڤر، خرجتا مع صديقة لهما لجمع التوت والتنزه بجوار البحيرة، وكان موعد عودتهن قبل غروب الشمس، ولكن الصديقة عادت متأخرة وفي حالة بائسة بدونهما بعد أن خرج الجميع للبحث عنهن،
هذا اللغز الذي لم يُحل أبدًا وأصبح حكاية تحكيها العائلات، تُحكي في أمسيات الشتاء أمام النار، أعاده إلى السطح
اكتشاف السيدة روس مقتل صياد فرنسي كندي هو لوران جاميه في كوخه على ضفة النهر،
وفي نفس اليوم اكتشفت اختفاء ابنها ب��لتبني المراهق الذي خرج إلى الصيد في الغابة،
تبدأ التحريات لحل لغز القتل والاختفاء، من رجال داخل المستوطنة، وآخرين من خارجها منهم مَن جاء للبحث وحل اللغز ومنهم ما يبدو أنه جاء لاستغلال الأمر، والحقيقة أن الجميع في دوڤ ريڤر اشتركوا بآرائهم واستنتاجاتهم وتحرياتهم الشخصية التي كانت معظمها تحوم حول الكوخ على ضفة النهر،
ولكن مع ظهور افتراض ارتكاب ابن السيدة روس للجريمة،
لم يكن أمامها سوى السعي لتبرئة إبنها بنفسها، فانطلقت في البحث ��التحري وتتبع الآثار على الجليد التي كانت كلها تقود من الكوخ الصغير عبر السواحل المغطاة بالثلوج إلى الشمال نحو البرية، وك��ن عليها أن تسرع قبل تساقط الثلوج الكثيف، فلطالما كان الثلج بارعًا في طمس أي آثر في برية دوڤ ريڤر،
رواية جريمة اجتماعية وتاريخية مشوقة، مكتوبة ومنسوجة بإتقان،
تظن أنك أمسكت بطرف الخيط، فينفلت من يديك مرة آخرى رغم قوة أدلته، فتبحث عن آخر جديد،
ورغم بطء السرد المزدحم بالشخصيات والحوارات، لكن كشف اللغز والوصول إلى السبب المخيف الغير متوقع كان حافزًا للتقدم في الرواية
11.3.2022
February 16, 2010
The cold snows of Canada seemed like a suitable place to be when the weather here is so wintry. Stef Penney's smoothly written debut novel is an engaging and pacy mystery set in mid nineteenth century Northern Territory. The solution to the crime is satisfying, but my main criticism is that the novel is over-loaded: there are too many minor characters, there's at least one sub-plot too many and there are motifs that Ms Penney seemed to get bored with: the tablet with the mysterious signs just got lost near the end, oh well, never mind, and although the idea of one main character who is also a narrator having a shameful past in an asylum was interesting, it left too many unanswered questions (how did she get out? What does her past have to do with the present?). Good, but needed editing.
January 14, 2024
Nota 7,5
Es un libro que me ha gustado, la autora escribe bien y sobre todo, ambienta muuuy bien. Me ha parecido estar caminando por esas regiones nevadas de Canadá. Pero no leáis este libro si lo que buscáis es una historia de ritmo trepidante porque, aunque lo diga en la contraportada, es mentira. Estamos ante un libro LENTO.
Eso sí, a mí me ha interesado bastante más esa parte lenta que las únicas 10 o 12 páginas trepidantes que tiene que me han dejado indiferente.
Recomendable sí, pero no gustará a todo el mundo.
Es un libro que me ha gustado, la autora escribe bien y sobre todo, ambienta muuuy bien. Me ha parecido estar caminando por esas regiones nevadas de Canadá. Pero no leáis este libro si lo que buscáis es una historia de ritmo trepidante porque, aunque lo diga en la contraportada, es mentira. Estamos ante un libro LENTO.
Eso sí, a mí me ha interesado bastante más esa parte lenta que las únicas 10 o 12 páginas trepidantes que tiene que me han dejado indiferente.
Recomendable sí, pero no gustará a todo el mundo.
March 26, 2010
First of all, let me make it clear.. I read the whole thing and I am still scratching my head in confusion. What begins as a mystery in a trapper's cabin in 1867 ends with me wrinkling my nose in distaste in 2010.
Laurent Jammett is found dead in his cabin. His throat is slashed. A few things are missing. Whodunit and why? It takes 300 some pages and around 25 characters with their entire life stories, thoughts, and desires to answer that question. And the answer left me rather disappointed. I sat there and I said, "All this reading.. two days of my life.. and he died for this?"
I failed to see what a lot of things had to do with the main story, or even the secondary story. Mrs. Ross's memories of the mental asylum, Francis and Susannah's brief "relationship", Line's sexual desires and whatever, the homosexuality angle, I expected all this to tie in somehow in the end, but a lot of it was irrelevant to the story line. These things had nothing to do with the murder. I did enjoy the parts about the long lost missing girls, but found myself disappointed that there are really no wolves in the telling of this tale. I don't really count the brief part in which it is suspected that a wolf ate a horse.
And darn it, you would think they would have at least told us the heorine's first name. What is up with that last page? Two stars.
Laurent Jammett is found dead in his cabin. His throat is slashed. A few things are missing. Whodunit and why? It takes 300 some pages and around 25 characters with their entire life stories, thoughts, and desires to answer that question. And the answer left me rather disappointed. I sat there and I said, "All this reading.. two days of my life.. and he died for this?"
I failed to see what a lot of things had to do with the main story, or even the secondary story. Mrs. Ross's memories of the mental asylum, Francis and Susannah's brief "relationship", Line's sexual desires and whatever, the homosexuality angle, I expected all this to tie in somehow in the end, but a lot of it was irrelevant to the story line. These things had nothing to do with the murder. I did enjoy the parts about the long lost missing girls, but found myself disappointed that there are really no wolves in the telling of this tale. I don't really count the brief part in which it is suspected that a wolf ate a horse.
And darn it, you would think they would have at least told us the heorine's first name. What is up with that last page? Two stars.
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