Once There Were Wolves
By Charlotte McConaghy
258 pages
Megan’s Review
Quick summary
A dark and powerful combination of literary fiction and mystery, narrated by a troubled protagonist who is helping to rewild the Scottish Highlands with wolves. A beautifully written and fascinating read.
What’s it about?
Inti Flynn, a wolf biologist, arrives in Scotland from Alaska with her team of colleagues to reintroduce 14 gray wolves into the country’s Highlands after a centuries long absence. Inti has brought her identical twin sister who suffered an unknown trauma in Alaska. In the past, the local sheep farmers supported the elimination of wolves and the unwelcoming group now resists the rewilding program, believing the wolves will attack sheep and humans. Inti hopes to heal both her disturbed sister and the dying Highlands. But when a farmer is found dead, Inti makes a rash choice and then must prove the wolves were not to blame for the killing. The grim presence of domestic violence, Inti’s deep internal conflicts and her romantic relationship with the police chief all cloud her ability to know whom to trust and make difficult work of her plans.
What did it make me think about?
Inti suffers from a neurological disorder, mirror-touch synesthesia, which causes her to feel the sensations experienced by the people (and some of the animals) she observes. Would that be a gift or a curse? What are our responsibilities to the other life forms with whom we share our endangered planet. The surprising contributions of wolves to a healthy ecosystem. The beauty of the natural world contrasted with the dark capacity of humans to treat other humans with the same brutality for which they vilify predator animals.
Should I read it?
It is a somewhat dark novel, with a spell-binding and powerful story, with plot points dribbled effectively to make it a page-turner. The prose is beautiful and the descriptions of the wolves are fascinating. Not everyone will appreciate the domestic and other violence, but I found them skillfully handled. Although the surprise ending was slightly dramatic for my taste, I very much enjoyed this book.
Quote.
“My father used to say the world turned wrong when we started separating ourselves from the wild, when we stopped being one with the rest of nature, and sat apart.”
Megan’s Review
Quick summary
A dark and powerful combination of literary fiction and mystery, narrated by a troubled protagonist who is helping to rewild the Scottish Highlands with wolves. A beautifully written and fascinating read.
What’s it about?
Inti Flynn, a wolf biologist, arrives in Scotland from Alaska with her team of colleagues to reintroduce 14 gray wolves into the country’s Highlands after a centuries long absence. Inti has brought her identical twin sister who suffered an unknown trauma in Alaska. In the past, the local sheep farmers supported the elimination of wolves and the unwelcoming group now resists the rewilding program, believing the wolves will attack sheep and humans. Inti hopes to heal both her disturbed sister and the dying Highlands. But when a farmer is found dead, Inti makes a rash choice and then must prove the wolves were not to blame for the killing. The grim presence of domestic violence, Inti’s deep internal conflicts and her romantic relationship with the police chief all cloud her ability to know whom to trust and make difficult work of her plans.
What did it make me think about?
Inti suffers from a neurological disorder, mirror-touch synesthesia, which causes her to feel the sensations experienced by the people (and some of the animals) she observes. Would that be a gift or a curse? What are our responsibilities to the other life forms with whom we share our endangered planet. The surprising contributions of wolves to a healthy ecosystem. The beauty of the natural world contrasted with the dark capacity of humans to treat other humans with the same brutality for which they vilify predator animals.
Should I read it?
It is a somewhat dark novel, with a spell-binding and powerful story, with plot points dribbled effectively to make it a page-turner. The prose is beautiful and the descriptions of the wolves are fascinating. Not everyone will appreciate the domestic and other violence, but I found them skillfully handled. Although the surprise ending was slightly dramatic for my taste, I very much enjoyed this book.
Quote.
“My father used to say the world turned wrong when we started separating ourselves from the wild, when we stopped being one with the rest of nature, and sat apart.”
