Brendan Wolf

by Brian Malloy

Book Overview

Who is Brendan Wolf? It all depends on who you ask. * To the staff of a Minneapolis nursing home, he's the devoted partner of a much older man who's recently suffered a debilitating stroke. * To the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312359764
• ISBN13: 9780312359768
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 289 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Breathtakingly beautiful

Brendan, a man branded by his childhood, who cannot put his life order and who is desperately searching for his identity, not realising that happiness is just around the corner. But Brendan's longing for family ties is stronger than anything, even when in his case it's a dead end street. Beautifully and extremely well written, impressive. And Brendan's love for books and reading (and dogs) is heartwarming.

Ripley-esque

I'm late to the party for this, the second novel from Brian Malloy -- and I'm glad I'm late in a way. His latest book was just released, and I can go right from this novel into a frothier, young adult book. BRENDAN WOLF is everything people below have said -- fascinating, sad, tragic, uplifting and completely unique. I would have to compare him closest to Tom Ripley from Patricia Highsmith's famed RIPLEY series. While you may not agree with every decision he makes (or perhaps ANY decision he makes), you can't help but root for him. It's well-written, it's fast-paced, it's nerve-wracking -- and there is a heart in there in a way most novels don't bother acknowledging. While some have chastised Malloy for not having written something in line with A YEAR OF ICE (another five-star for me), I find it thrilling to know that the author can tell many stories from many different perspectives -- and I look forward to whatever is next.

A CURIOUS TALE

BRENDAN WOLF is a curious and disturbing story about a lost soul who is seeking a second chance at life. Brendan is an alias, and we as readers, are constantly reminded of this fact. As such, we can assume that Brendan's entire life is, metaphorically speaking, an alias. He is gay. He comes from sleazy and ill gotten wealth but has been separated from his family, both is parents and 2 brothers. He has lived in foster homes, been adopted by psycho-psychologists, run away, hustled, and rediscovered one of his brothers. He lives with a "dirty old man", not so much by choice but by circumstances. He, Brendan, loves to read and prefers the company of a book to that of people (I can relate to that). He pretends to be a widower, pretends to be a part of an anti-abortion group, and pretends to want to do the right things in life. He yearns to re-connect with his eldest brother, and wants nothing more in life than a chance to be like his literary hero. He fancies himself a not-so-slick thief and a master liar who doesn't like to deceive. As I said, he is a curiously lost soul who has no real identity other than that of the moment. And what becomes of this wandering being?...well..it is far to complex an answer to summarize in a brief review. If you are really curious, you will read the book. How you, whomever you may be, relate to the story will be as unique as your own being. Suffice it to say that this is an interesting novel and a real good read. Perhaps all of us live lives that are an ALIAS...who are we really?

Not What I Expected

This is not at all what I expected after Malloy's first book, the very funny coming-of-ager, "The Year of Ice." At first I was disappointed and a bit put off, but I quickly got swept up in the story. The setting is contemporary and the protagonist is older, and the story much more bleak than The Year of Ice, but the writing is amazing and there are several very funny sections, not the least of which is Brendan trying to keep track of his various identities and aliases, which keep multiplying throughout the book. While Brendan seems to be passive and clinically-depressed - which makes him ripe for manipulation, and manipulated he is - he is also oddly endearing. The writing itself is better than The Year of Ice but the story is exigent and probably not for everyone. At the end of the day I fell in love with Brendan, as frustrating, self-destructive and occasionally unsympathetic as he may be. If you want a story about a sympathetic hottie, you'll be disappointed, but if you like challenging books that are haunting and beautifully written, I can highly recommend this one.

One of Best Novels of 2007

Brendan Wolf is a decent, very naive 35-year old gay man who is on a life long struggle to overcome a difficult childhood of parental abandonment, foster homes and unfeeling adoptive parents. When Brendan reconnects with an older brother serving time in jail his life gets worse, something that would seem impossible. The rest of the novel concerns Brendan's struggle to make a family with the brother and sister-in-law. The author, Brian Malloy, makes Brendan into a person worth caring about, despite the bleak circumstances. I really liked this novel, and am surprised it hasn't receive more attention. It's much better that "Fellow Travelers," another recent novel with a gay theme. Any description of "Brendan Wolf" makes the book sound sad and uninviting; actually it is a wonderfully rich novel.