Emma Richler

Oh my, there is a lot going on in this book. I hardly know where to start. It is the story of the Weiss family told by the middle child (of 5), Jemima. As a quick internet search can tell you, the author is also the middle child of 5 and so you know there are going to be autobiographical details in it. Since, in real life, Emma is the daughter of renowned author Mordecai Richler this book sheds some fascinating light on him as well.

In addition to the stories of family life there is a show more plethora of details about astronomy and Judaism and books and films and songs and saints and nuns and, and, and... It gets to be a bit much at times but I recommend persevering because these things do illuminate the end of the book.

What is clear is that this family is very close and everyone is bursting with intelligence. I'm pretty sure that part is autobiographical. Meal times must have been chaotic but very interesting in the Richler household. show less

I haven't been so frustrated by selfish characters since Audrey Niffenegger's "Her Fearful Symmetry". The premise was promising but the combination of loathsome personalities laced with a whiny-voiced narrator made it impossible for me to continue listening to this story after disc 2.

I received this audio book through LibraryThing's early reviewers program. The summary sounded interesting and I was really looking forward to it, but I could not get into it at all, despite multiple efforts. I think this was for a couple reasons.

One, I felt kind of dropped into a love story that already happened, so there weren't any stakes involved. It begins rather abruptly with characters who know each other well having conversations about things unfamiliar to readers...or in my case, show more listeners. That was the other problem. I think it might have been more enjoyable to read it on my own; I didn't gel with the narrator's style (or the characters, to be very honest) and struggled to keep invested in listening. I may try again someday, but it wasn't as engaging of a story as I'd hoped. show less

Be My Wolff is a rambling, eternal dialog between a sister and an adopted brother who adore and love each other. The dialog, which takes up most of the novel and does not seem to let up at times, is a bit of a sinking, hold you breath, keep holding, and pray for resurfacing. There is a lot packed in, from fun facts about wolves to Russian folklore to boxing, which I enjoyed; however, after a while some of it seemed repetitive for not real purpose. None of it seemed to really move the story show more along. In the end, I am not sure whether the story or the plot moved much, whether the characters developed at all, though this is not to say that things did not happen (an apt double negative, if you please.)

When the writing was not too concerned with too-precious dialog, there were moments of great clarity with exquisite detail and fresh prose.

The audio version had Lucy Rayner reading, and I wasn't too thrilled with her voice choices or very slow, articulated, and somewhat cold rendering of the story. I found myself wishing that I actually had the book to read in my own head instead.

All in all, I think Be My Wolff is a good fit for lovers of romantic fiction and for those who like to know a lot about what each character is thinking and feeling at all times.

Thanks to LibraryThing and the publisher for a copy of the audio CD version of the book for my honest review. show less