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depmythmoon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a book where I struggled to find the meaning upon the end, so much so that I went to the acknowledgement page seeking answers. I’m not 100% sure I found them, but it at least gave me a satisfying enough answer to come to a conclusion.
I believe this book aims to parallel what COVID did to us as a society, how it “chemically altered” our brains… with a sci-fi wolfy take. Much like we all isolated due to the pandemic and developed our obsessions with particular media, hobbies, or entertainers, this novella shows how a neuroscientist, Sean, turned to an obsession with wolves in her times of loneliness. (She wasn’t really alone though; she was just actively choosing work over her wife, Riya, who was growing tired with her one-sided support.) I feel like this aimed to show the dramatized outcome of how these obsessions and parasocial relationships that some of us developed during our COVID isolation caused our real life relationships to suffer. Then again, I’m reaching at straws here because the ending still left me confused. Someone smarter than me would have to figure that one out. I don’t believe I was the intended audience, honestly.
Sean is a selfish character whose words say one thing while her actions say another. She just cannot take accountability for her actions to save her life. This woman supposedly loves her wife and wants to mend their relationship, but each time Riya holds out an olive branch, Sean finds some way to slap it back in her face. She’s so obsessed with feeling what her wolf subject, Kate, feels and the intimacy of their supposed “connection” that she neglects the very real connection to her wife. She even has a therapist telling her that her priorities aren’t in order, and while she says she understands she has to fix things, she goes right back to obsessing over work again. I enjoyed how the writer was able to portray Sean as selfish, all the while not having the protagonist be aware of that character flaw herself.
I believe this book aims to parallel what COVID did to us as a society, how it “chemically altered” our brains… with a sci-fi wolfy take. Much like we all isolated due to the pandemic and developed our obsessions with particular media, hobbies, or entertainers, this novella shows how a neuroscientist, Sean, turned to an obsession with wolves in her times of loneliness. (She wasn’t really alone though; she was just actively choosing work over her wife, Riya, who was growing tired with her one-sided support.) I feel like this aimed to show the dramatized outcome of how these obsessions and parasocial relationships that some of us developed during our COVID isolation caused our real life relationships to suffer. Then again, I’m reaching at straws here because the ending still left me confused. Someone smarter than me would have to figure that one out. I don’t believe I was the intended audience, honestly.
Sean is a selfish character whose words say one thing while her actions say another. She just cannot take accountability for her actions to save her life. This woman supposedly loves her wife and wants to mend their relationship, but each time Riya holds out an olive branch, Sean finds some way to slap it back in her face. She’s so obsessed with feeling what her wolf subject, Kate, feels and the intimacy of their supposed “connection” that she neglects the very real connection to her wife. She even has a therapist telling her that her priorities aren’t in order, and while she says she understands she has to fix things, she goes right back to obsessing over work again. I enjoyed how the writer was able to portray Sean as selfish, all the while not having the protagonist be aware of that character flaw herself.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content and Mental illness
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