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Be My Wolff: A Novel by Emma Richler
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Be My Wolff: A Novel (edition 2017)

by Emma Richler (Author), Lucy Rayner (Narrator)

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396641,451 (2.69)None
"Zachariah and Rachel Wolff are brother and sister. Well, not exactly. They are star-crossed lovers. Well, not exactly. Rachel is the cherished daughter born to a Russian family living in London, and Zachariah is her parents' adopted son, who arrived from the orphanage with one sweater, a head of rambunctious curls, and a dexterous set of fists, or fives, as he likes to call them. As children, they became as close as two people could be. But when they crossed this forbidden line, there was no going back. Now, as an adult, coping with Zach's estrangement from their formidable father, Rachel has set herself the task of inventing a family history for her beloved. And so the novel cartwheels through Zach's imagined ancestry--from a tavern-educated boxer in Dickensian times, to a Hussar at the Battle of Borodino during the Napoleonic Wars. All the while, Zach and Rachel's troubles in present-day Camden Town start to build to yet another point of no return. Filled with art and science, fairy tales and folk songs, tsars and foundlings, epic battles in the prize ring and on the Western Front, Be My Wolff is a novel of astonishing range and imagination: a love story, an exuberant adventure through time and place, a tale of the most unbreakable ties that bind"--… (more)
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Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
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. ( )
  StefanieGeeks | Oct 1, 2018 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Be My Wolff...I guess it was just not for me. Seemed like the book overall lacked direction. The content, honestly, wasn't my usual thing. It's a very weird romance story between a girl and her adopted brother. Not necessarily taboo but just weird overall. ( )
  acvickers | Aug 29, 2017 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
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 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. ( )
  bluepigeon | May 20, 2017 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I was very excited to receive this as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. It sounded very interesting - a different kind of love story, one that seemed almost a little taboo. However listening to it as an audio book, it was very hard to stick with. I can't tell if it was that it didn't seem to have an actual storyline or if it was the narrator who didn't convey the emotions of the characters properly. I would definitely be interested in reading a paper version of this, as it might make it easier to follow/become interested in. ( )
  library.chanclas | May 11, 2017 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Received this as an Early Reviewers Advance Copy.
I've been enjoying listening to audio books on my drives to and for work and I've listened/read some works I never would have other wise and have found several I've enjoyed. I had a real hard time following this story and getting interested in the characters. It just never sparked my interest for some reason and i'm sorry to say became kind of a chore to get through. I did listen to the end, but ws kind of relieved it was over.
Maybe reading the actual novel would have been different, but listening to some one read, it was hard to follow when the story splits off into imaginary side stories. I found myself lost as to where we were. I like history both British and Russian but just couldn't get into this novel.
I'm sure it's a perfectly good book but just wasn't my cup of tea. ( )
  hredwards | May 11, 2017 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Richler, Emmaprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Rayner, LucyNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
That the art of pugilism is founded in nature, is so obvious a truth that it scarcely requires illustration. -----------Daniel Mendoza, the Memoirs of the Life of Daniel Mendoza 1916
Notwithstanding the Innocence of the Children, yet as they are exposed and abandoned by their Parents, they ought to submit to the lowest stations and should not be educated in such a manner as may put them upon a level with the Children of Parents who have the Humanity and Virtue to preserve them, and the Industry to Support them. ------------Foundling Hospital sub-committee minutes, 12 April 1749
A Wolf Pack may vary in number from two to fifty or so, typically amounting to three or four in Europe where the lone wolf is also preeminent, because prey, here, is less imposing in stature, consisting largely of hare and rodent. Bonds between wolves are uncommonly close, yet social structure is neither so rigidly hierarchical nor so immutable as man supposes, nor as man's own, indeed. The pack is a family, and wolf society, a dynamical system; sensitive to initial conditions, changing in time. Chaotic.
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"Zach? Are you awake? Wake up."
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"Zachariah and Rachel Wolff are brother and sister. Well, not exactly. They are star-crossed lovers. Well, not exactly. Rachel is the cherished daughter born to a Russian family living in London, and Zachariah is her parents' adopted son, who arrived from the orphanage with one sweater, a head of rambunctious curls, and a dexterous set of fists, or fives, as he likes to call them. As children, they became as close as two people could be. But when they crossed this forbidden line, there was no going back. Now, as an adult, coping with Zach's estrangement from their formidable father, Rachel has set herself the task of inventing a family history for her beloved. And so the novel cartwheels through Zach's imagined ancestry--from a tavern-educated boxer in Dickensian times, to a Hussar at the Battle of Borodino during the Napoleonic Wars. All the while, Zach and Rachel's troubles in present-day Camden Town start to build to yet another point of no return. Filled with art and science, fairy tales and folk songs, tsars and foundlings, epic battles in the prize ring and on the Western Front, Be My Wolff is a novel of astonishing range and imagination: a love story, an exuberant adventure through time and place, a tale of the most unbreakable ties that bind"--

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Emma Richler's book Be My Wolff was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

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