Beautifully written but with an astonishing density, this novel created an incredible sense of atmosphere. I felt the cold, the chill, and the biting wind. I could easily imagine I was in the Northern Territory, watching this strange little town with the strange little occupants, each as isolated as the town of Dove River. And the wolves - such a lovely metaphor for misunderstood humans.
The book's murder felt more like a backdrop than a plot device and now that I've finished, I think that was the intention. Penney's story swept the stark landscape, grabbing all sorts of characters and tiny dramas: the two missing girls from long ago - and the effect they have on the townsfolk; the scandalous woman in the religious community at the far edges of the territory; the older man trying to live down the failures of his past; the young man trying to establish himself in his career despite the harsh disapproval and cajoling of his peers, the teenage son finding out who he is and of what he is capable; and the mother of the missing boy, who struggles to find her place in the world amid an uncertain marriage and a somewhat shady past. Such beautiful stories meshed together.
But the meshed stories are also the downfall of the book; so much is going on that the loose ends fray. The author never ties them off. So much is left unanswered and unresolved. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read this and I'll read more of what Stef Penney writes.
The book's murder felt more like a backdrop than a plot device and now that I've finished, I think that was the intention. Penney's story swept the stark landscape, grabbing all sorts of characters and tiny dramas: the two missing girls from long ago - and the effect they have on the townsfolk; the scandalous woman in the religious community at the far edges of the territory; the older man trying to live down the failures of his past; the young man trying to establish himself in his career despite the harsh disapproval and cajoling of his peers, the teenage son finding out who he is and of what he is capable; and the mother of the missing boy, who struggles to find her place in the world amid an uncertain marriage and a somewhat shady past. Such beautiful stories meshed together.
But the meshed stories are also the downfall of the book; so much is going on that the loose ends fray. The author never ties them off. So much is left unanswered and unresolved. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read this and I'll read more of what Stef Penney writes.
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