Synopses & Reviews
About Wolf Whistle In 1955, a black boy named Emmett Till was murdered for wolf-whistling at a white woman. The two white men responsible were tried--and acquitted--in a Mississippi town near Lewis Nordan's boyhood home. These events changed him forever. In Wolf Whistle, Nordan transforms one of America's most notorious racial killings into a magical mystery ride of hilarity and horror that you will never forget. Topics to Consider 1. Wolf Whistle is based on an actual racial incident in Mississippi. How does knowing this affect your reading of the novel? 2. The writer makes use of rather unorthodox presentations of events. We experience certain events through the "voices" of pigeons and buzzards, and see them through the magic eye in the swamp. How do these "magical" points of view affect the overall vision of the book? 3. Solon Gregg is as despicable a villain as we are likely to find in literature. Most readers, however, do find points of sympathy. Did you ever sympathize with Solon? Why or why not? 4. Lord Montberclair says, "Decent whitefolks have always needed the likes of you" when he hires Solon Gregg to kill Bobo. Why does a rich, powerful man like Montberclair need someone like Solon? 5. Later in the novel, Lady Montberclair and Alice Conroy seem likely to become friends. What draws them together? How does their bond differe from that of Lord Montberclair and Solon? 6. Bobo, who sets the events in motion in Wolf Whistle, is the one character whose point of view is not represented in the novel. Why is that? 7. Though Bobo is the center of events, Alice Conroy is the main character. What was your reaction to her teaching methods? What does she teach the children? What does she learn? 8. Lewis Nordan's writing is greatly influenced by Blues music? cite some examples of this influence. How does it affect your experience of the story? 9. Wolf Whistle is the story of a tragic event, yet it has very comic elements. In fact, Jack Butler, author of Jujitsu for Christ, has said that "Lewis Nordan can break your heart and make you break down laughing at the same time." What is your reaction to this combination of humor and tragedy? 10. In the novel, as in real life, the murders are acquitted. Do you think the verdict would be different today? What recent events support your conclusion? More About Emmett Till If Wolf Whistle has roused your interest in the Till murder, you can read more about the case in the following sources, suggested by Lewis Nordan. Stephen J. Whitfield. A Death in the Delta: The Story of Emmett Till, 1988. This is the definitive work on the story of the murder and the trial. Williams, Juan. Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965, 1987. The relevant part of this book was made into a popular segment for public television. Wakefield, Dan. Between the Lines: A Reporter's Personal Journey through Public Events, 1966. Huie, William Bradford. Wolf Whistle, 1959. My title is taken from this book, of course. There is a fifty-page essay in this book that was written from a paid interview given by the murderers. I spoke with Emmett's mother recently about this essay, and she disputed some of the statements they present as fact. She said that her son had such a serious stammer that it would have been impossible for him to have spoken the words put into his mouth by the killers. She also ridiculed the idea that Emmett would have bragged of sleeping with white women. She said that he was an innocent child who had slept with no one, and that there were no white girls of women in their lives for him to have slept with in any case. This book is out of print.
Synopsis
ALA Notable Book; 1994 Mississippi Writers Award for Fiction; 1994 Southern Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. In WOLF WHISTLE, Lewis Nordan unleashes the hellhounds of his prodigious imagination on one of the most notorious racial killings of the century, the Emmett Till murder. Soon we're on a magical mystery tour of the Southern psyche of the mid-1950s and the dawning of guilt and recognition in a whole generation of white Southerners. "An immense and wall-shattering display of talent. WOLF WHISTLE will help usher Lewis Nordan into the Hall of Fame of American Letters."--Randall Kenan, The Nation.
About the Author
Lewis Nordan was a professor of creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh for many years and the author of seven books of fiction and a memoir. His awards include three American Library Association Notable Book citations, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award for fiction, the Mississippi Authors Award for fiction, and the Southern Book Critics Award for fiction. He died in 2012.