History of Wolves

Bystander. Many of us in middle or later life reflect on formative events of our youth. Sometimes we recall and confirm how what we did was the right thing; other times we have regrets and wonder if we might have done something different. The protagonist of Emily Fridlund’s novel titled, History of Wolves, recalls at age 37 a summer when she was fourteen. At that time she was living with her parents on the site of a former commune in the woods of Northern Minnesota. When a family moves into a house across the lake, she becomes a part-time babysitter to a four-year-old boy. What she fails to observe at that time leads her to reflect on being a guilty bystander to tragedy that might have been averted had she intervened. Fridlund reflects on love in this novel and what we choose to do or not do to those we love to belong to something larger than ourselves or to become accepted by others. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase History of Wolves from amazon.com.