|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HELP | |
|
  $3.25 List price: 23.00 You save: $19.75
HARDCOVER, USED
Ships in 1 to 3 days
More copies of this ISBN:This title in other formats:Wolf Boyby Evan Kuhlman
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:On a frosty winter’s day, Francis—the sweet, generous, responsible eldest child of the Harrelson family—dies in a car accident on an ice-covered highway, and Wolf Boy is born. The earth doesn’t rumble, no angels descend, and the sun doesn’t weep. Nothing, in short, to signify the deep change that each member of the Harrelson household will undergo. Parents Gene and Helen turn away from each other and look inward, losing themselves in private fantasies. Ten-year-old Crispy devises elaborate strategies for her escape from the suffocating clutch of the Harrelson home and into the waiting arms of pop star Marky Mark. But the heart of this family portrait is younger brother Stephen, who, along with his quirky and creative friend Nicole, crafts an alternative reality in which their comic book hero, Wolf Boy, battles the forces of evil, champions the powers of good, and fights to keep his family intact. Through Wolf Boy, Stephen finds an outlet for his grief and a concrete expression for his place in a family spiraling out of control and for all the natural yearnings and hopes of a typical thirteen-year-old. Wolf Boy’s adventures are featured throughout the book, introducing a graphic-novel subplot that adds humor and visual interest and stretches the limits of the conventional novel. With warmth, humor, hope, and empathy, Evan Kuhlman’s debut novel is truly unforgettable and signals a fresh new voice in today’s fiction. Review:"Gene and Helen Harrelson sleep in separate bedrooms after a car accident in an ice storm kills their oldest child, Francis, a sophomore at the local University of Illinois, Carbondale, while younger siblings Stephen and Crispy struggle to cope with the loss of their mentor. In this dysfunctional family tale, happiness escapes the characters in a 'slow, persistent leak' as Kuhlman wryly dissects seemingly innocent moments, like Stephen's assumption that the stranger on the phone is a telemarketer and not the messenger of his older brother's death. Stephen, more or less at the center of the book, channels his grief into stories for a comic called The Adventures of Wolf Boy, illustrated by his charmingly odd girlfriend, Nicole, and woven beautifully throughout the novel. Wolf Boy lives in Forgotten City and grapples with the death of older brother Johnny Laredo while battling villains and trying to save the world. But while the novel offers inventive twists on the story of a boy trying to save his own world (i.e., his grieving family), Kuhlman can't quite pack everything in, so that the small and subtle opening chapters end up getting inked out. (Apr.) " Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:“Kuhlman draws careful, exacting portraits. . . . [He is] a fine stylist with an excellent eye and ear.” —Kirkus Reviews Review:“Rarely is the pain of losing someone expressed with such directness, energy, and, yes, humor. The grief in Evan Kuhlman’s Wolf Boy is palpable and so is the flawed, honest humanity of his characters. Here is real loss and, somehow, real catharsis.” —Peter Orner, author of Esther Stories Review:“Kuhlman wryly dissects seemingly innocent moments. . . . The novel offers inventive twists on the story of a boy trying to save his own world.” —Publishers Weekly Synopsis:With the humanity and intimacy of Ordinary People and Bee Season, Wolf Boy reinvents a classic narrative archetype to follow a young family coping with staggering loss. The death of Francis, cool older brother and affectionate son, leaves each member of the Harrelson family struggling to make sense of a changed world. Parents Gene and Helen lose themselves in separate fantasies; 10-year-old Crispy envisions herself carried away by pop star Marky Mark; and Francis's fiancee is haunted by his ghost. But the story's central character is Stephen, an imaginative 13-year-old boy who copes with his loss by creating a comic-strip universe; as "Wolf Boy" he manages to find power and pride despite the absence of his real-life hero. The fictional adventures Stephen creates with the help of his quirky and creative girlfriend, Nicole, are featured throughout the book, introducing a graphic-novel subplot that adds both humor and visual interest to this moving tale of hope and redemption.
About the AuthorEvan Kuhlman’s stories have appeared in Glimmer Train, Salt Hill, The Madison Review, Third Coast, and The Vincent Brothers Review. He is the winner of the Short-Story Award for New Writers and several journalism prizes. This is his first novel. He lives in Ohio. Identical twin illustrators Brendon and Brian Fraim are best known for their clean line style in the Knights of the Dinner Table: Illustrated comic book. Visit them at brosfraim.com. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment: | ||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
Don't Miss
