Reviews with content warning for Death - Wolf in White Van

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

12 reviews

kartoffelqueen's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Incredibly unique and captivating. A very internal book, drilling down on one character for a brief moment in time, and the way his life overlaps with itself. The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job at capturing the voice of the novel

Content Warnings

koshpeli's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The book is told by the main character as he talks about his life surrounding two tragic events and their aftermath. The book skips through time and so the driving force is the book is to find out what exactly happened and why. But in some ways, it’s a portrait of a character and how he views the world. He would fit well into a mountain goats song, but because it’s book length, there’s more detail and depth to the character.

The main character developed and runs a roleplaying game played by mail and set in a dystopian future where a nuclear accident turns the US into a wasteland populated by militias, mutants, and other characters. Players send in moves and they get sent the results of their moves, each choice branching them out to new possibilities and closing the door on old ones. While players can write anything they want, the main character has to distill that move into one of a limited number of predetermined choices. It is stated many times that the goal of the game, to find and infiltrate the last safe place in the US is unreachable. Essentially this is a metaphor for the character’s life (or a reflection of how he sees the world). The book has a nihilistic feel and I didn’t love the conclusion, but learning about the game, some of the players, and some of the details of his life, mainly his fantasy life, his view of the world, were very interesting and kept me me reading.

Content Warnings