| Product: |
Wolf Brother - Michelle Paver |
| Date: |
10.01.08 (94 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Well written, interesting use of language, great pace throughout
Disadvantages: Some bloody decriptions of forest carnage left by the bear but nothing too bad
It seems that good novels set in Prehistoric times are few and far between, especially for children. Jean Auel's Earth's Children series was the best of the genre in my eyes, but it is certainly not for younger readers.
I was advised to pick up a copy of Michelle Paver's Wolfbrother when researching the questing child in children's literature and found myself engrossed almost immeadiately.
It tells the story of a boy, Torak, living in Prehistoric Europe, after the first Ice Age,
Torak is Just 12 years old, when a hideous and twisted bear attacks and fatally injures his father there is nothing Torak can do to save him. When his father reveals the bear is demon possessed and pushes Torak to swear he will undertake a journey to the mountain of the World Spirit, Torak is left confused, scared and utterly alone.
He knows the bear will hunt him, like it hunted his father, but is left with no clue where to begin.
In the shape of Torak's clan animal, his guide, Wolf, is equally confused, his pack is dead, he cant understand why they wont play with him, but when the tall, confused, tailless boy finds him and allows him to live, he suddenly understands that there is a purpose, he knows which way they must journey.
Torak and Wolf must travel to the mountain before the red star rises, but every inhabitant of the forest seems to be against them, and the Bear is always following...
Characters
Torak
Torak, is only twelve years old, and is on his own for the first time, following his father's death. He finds himself lost and confused, unsure of his next few steps. Torak is an contemporary literary child, not a traditional, carefree tearaway but a boy who suddenly finds himself responsible for all aspects of his own life, plunged into an abyss of uncertainty about himself and his future.
Wolf
When Paver introduces Wolf, she uses a parallel scene of confusion, the wolf cub has also lost all of his family, but the narrative style is much more childlike and Wolf is endearing, he is still a puppy, and Paver has done a wonderful job of painting his actions and thoughts in a way that you can really envision a lost cub doing.
Renn
A girl of the Raven clan, whom Torak meets on his journey, Renn decides to join Torak, as she believes he can be the one to defeat the demon bear, in doing so she must defy her clan though, and risks everything to join Torak. She is fiercely independent, a stark contrast to Torak's uncertainty and gentle manner.
Paver has written very clever language use, both in descriptive language and in speech.
The forest is written to become almost as a character in itself, it is ever-present and always a factor in Torak's life. If is described as having misty-breath and the trees bleed its sap-blood.
Words are linked to form an overall language style, unique to the cultures Paver has created for the book, words like fastwater (river), daywalks (a form of measurement, ie how long will it take to reach the next settlement), this brings a sense that we are not in present day..
Wolf, however, has a narrative style that is entirely separate from Toraks, when Wolf is narrating a chapter, his way of understanding and interacting with the world comes across in the way he perceives things. His language is similar but separate, using words like still-wet, not-breath, and calling Torak 'Tall Tailless' also describing fire as Bright Beast-that-Bites-Hot
I love the narrative style of this book, both Wolf and Torak make a journey, both physically and emotionally, and their voices change and mature over the course of the story as a result.
Wolf Brother is written in fairly short, descriptive sentences, and chapters that last no more than ten or eleven pages. This uncomplicated and undemanding style means there is still a high level of accessibility for readers with a little less confidence, without compromising on story or quality of the text. The inventive use of language that Paver has employed whilst creating the cultures in Wolf Brother keep the language fresh and engaging to read.
Whilst there are no illustrations except the cover, which is instantly evocative of prehistoric eras, there is also a map on the inside cover that you can use to trace Torak's journey and see where other points that are referenced in the story are. In some editions there are also little chapter illustrations on the chapter's first page.
I feel that this book is an excellent medium to tell the classic good vs evil against all odds, coming of age whilst questing novel. Paver has a style of writing that is rich and evocative, and I found myself creatively inspired whilst reading Wolf Brother, my hopes would be that it could do that for children as well.
I enjoyed Wolf Brother, it moves at an excellent pace, and although Torak makes a number of mistakes on his journey, that is all part and parcel of his growing up and you cant help but feel a little protective of him. He is likable enough that I think he is easy to identify with as right from the start he is shown to be fallible, and just a scared young boy.
Wolf is an excellent idea for a character, he is pure wild animal, but having been gifted with something else, after having been destined to be Torak's guide, the bond between boy and wolf is so strong that you feel it yourself, and his narrative style is so endearing that you can help but love the furry puppy.
There is a lot of suspense in this tale, the bear is relentless, and Torak and wolf make their journey with very little guidance, having to rely much on intuition until Renn, joins them, adding a spiky and independent personality into the mix to match Torak's quiet courage, but personal uncertainty.
I will certainly be reading the rest of the series.
At the time of writing, the audiobook, read by Ian Mckellan is available for download free through the guardian website.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/wolfbrother/
I would still reccomend having a paper copy of the book however, some of the language is lost when you listen, rather than read, and the language is part of this books appeal.
Summary: I reccomend this story to anyone wo enjoys a bit of fun, especially if you enjoyed Northern Lights
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