Home › Books › Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell Abou…
Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear
by
42/99
Critics' Rating Index
8/99
Readers' Rating Index
n/a
Scholars' Citation Index
77/99
Volume of Reviews
51/99
Volume of Reader Ratings
Sign in to add to your shelf, rate, or review this book.
About This Book
An original and probing debut work of nonfiction by a brilliant new writer, rooted in her years-long quest to study the cultural legacy of the wolf In this enthralling, kaleidoscopic exploration of wolves both real and symbolic, Erica Berry weaves historic and scientific findings alongside criticism, journalism, and memoir to illuminate the strands of our cultural constructions of predator and prey, and what it means to navigate a world in which we can be both. From 17th-century Europeans referring to mysterious bodily sores as wolves, to contemporary xenophobia about wolves crossing national borders, wolves have long been made to carry our most entrenched sociopolitical, environmental, and bodily fears. Intimate and thought-provoking, Wolfish is a lyrical inquiry into the relationship between humans and wolves, anchored in the dual stories of one legendary tagged wolf, OR-7, and the author. Charting OR-7's long-distance solo journey after he leaves his pack in northeastern Oregon beside the author's own roaming trajectory away from her Oregon home, Wolfish wrestles with inherited narratives around fear, danger, and the body. From her grandfather's sheep farm to a wolf sanctuary on an aristocratic English estate, Erica Berry untangles binaries of predator and prey, self and other, and wild and domestic, finding new expressions for how to be a brave woman, human, and animal in our warming world. Perfect for readers of cultural criticism, environmental writing, Rebecca Solnit, H is for Hawk, or anybody trying to navigate a world that is often scary. A timely and necessary book for current and future generations.
Reviews
"than a kind of extended essay on what wolves mean."
"the intuitive, winding nature of Berry's approach shouldn't suggest that this work is unfocused."
"elucidates the myths and stories we tell about our lupine fears in ferocious and beautiful writing ..."
"Interlaced with myriad quotations from other essayists, scientific papers, fairy tales, and feminist writings, this blend of memoir and nature writing will call to those who delve deeply into themselves and into our relationship with the wild."
"Her writing is richest when she fully commits to examining wolf metaphors and the ways in which we turn even very real wolves into symbols."
"Wolfish moves back and forth between these and other narratives like a wolf weaving through trees at night—assembling a story that's ultimately about what we fear and why ..."
"An exploration of more than just the biology of wolves and the nature of human interactions with these mysterious creatures; it is an analysis of the polarization that plagues modern American society ..."
Preview
Reader Reviews
0 reviewsSign in to write a review.
No reader reviews yet. Be the first!