This short piece had the potential to be interesting as I enjoy both history and folklore, but the execution was lacklustre sadly. Uwe is a farmer in 1945 in Germany whose village is about to be menaced by the arrival of the allies - both Americans and Russians. An unpleasant character in the village who has deserted from the front persuades him to join a band of resistance fighters to defend the village from the allies - but at a terrible cost to fellow villagers and ultimately Uwe himself.

The characterisation was pretty flat and the historical background shaky. In 1945, even young boys and old men were forcibly conscripted to fight so the idea that a fit young farmer has been spared the call up isn't credible. Neither is the idea that a deserter who returned to his home village has got away with not being denounced: my recent non-fiction read covering this period, 'A Village in the Third Reich', makes it clear how easy it was to point the finger at other people in a community with no comeback. Plus the idea that both Russians and Americans were wandering around in the same area is completely wrong.

The wolf skin belt comes from old folklore and is unusual in werewolf fiction, but Uwe is stereotypical in his inability to stand up to the bully until too late and the ending is unbelievable. I can only give this 1 star as I found it a real disappointment. ( )

As always Alam Katsu does an amazing job with writting. Loved the name of the book for personal reasons. ( )

The “Werwolf” was a rather obscure Nazi plan to create a guerilla resistance force to repel Allies advancing through German territory. In The Wehrwolf, Alma Katsu references this historical fact, by setting a werewolf story in a rural German village in the dying days of the Second World War.

Uwe Fuchs, the protagonist, has escaped conscription because of an exemption to allow him to care for his ailing mother. He is a simple farmer, whose priorities in life iare his wife Katya and young daughter Liesl. As news from the front worsens, paranoia descends on the village, and Uwe is pressured into doing his bit for his country by joining a local militia led by strongman (and alleged army deserter) Hans Sauer. Uwe soon realises that he has struck a devilish bargain, and that the local legends about men-wolves may not be so fantastic after all...

The premise of The Wehrwolf is an interesting one. As in her longer novels, Katsu combines supernatural horror with historical fiction but here she also adds a cautionary note about the danger of ordinary, good-natured people being drawn into webs of evil. The execution however left me unimpressed – the language and style struck me as quite bland, and the werewolf/Nazi metaphor was promising to begin with but then became increasingly obvious and unsubtle. This was an entertaining evening’s read but not much more than that.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-wehrwolf-by-alma-katsu.html ( )

Wow, this was deep! The story is a combination of history and horror--ironic considering that much of our history IS horror.

The story takes place in a small, out-of-the-way German village during the tail-end of WWII. It follows Uwe, a kindhearted farmer whose only major care is for his wife and daughter. The Nazi party had all but lost the war at this point, and there was much talk in the village regarding the possibility of Allied soldiers storming the village.

As always, there was one loudmouth, alpha male, Hans, who bullied enough men into forming malitia to "protect" the village. Hans preyed on Uwe's insecurities and sense of duty to convince him to join the malitia. What he didn't do was tell the truth about what initiation into the malitia entailed.

Without spoiling, this short story felt like a full-length novel. It was full of backstory and substance. I felt I knew the characters and was in the struggle with them. It was full of emotion and heartache. I felt for Uwe, who only wanted to feel the comraderie of his peers and to do what he believed was right to protect his family. He was naive and taken advantage of. His desire to protect his family became his downfall. It was heart-wrenching and so beautifully written. ( )

A short but very enjoyable and well written werewolf tale. Perfect for this time of year. ( )