The Wolf Ticket: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Novel
Review: Bronia Rukowicz aka Witold Rukowicz is THE best butch heroine to come out of lesbian fiction since Leslie Feinberg's Jess, in "Stone Butch Blues".

I was as much in love with Witold as Pascalle Tailland, long before the book finished.

Witold is tough and tender, determined and filled with courage.

Her feelings of love and protection for the women she encounters, her willingness to do anything for them, no matter how dangerous to her personal safety, was truly noble, beautiful,and moving.

Set in WWII, the novel deals with Bronia, a Polish refugee, who,in order to survive, finds it necessary to disguise herself as a man.

She meets beautiful WAC Pascale Tailland. Their time together is brief, but they make a connection, that touches their souls.

Separated, the book's story concerns itself with their adventures, and how they never cease searching for one another, how no love is ever greater than their love for one another.

The ending is a slight surprise, and definitely very satisfying.

Authors of lesbian fiction--take note--Witold Rukowicz is the goal you should be aiming for in creating the kind of character that will enthrall your reader.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Novel
Review: Bronia Rukowicz aka Witold Rukowicz is THE best butch heroine to come out of lesbian fiction since Leslie Feinberg's Jess, in "Stone Butch Blues".

I was as much in love with Witold as Pascalle Tailland, long before the book finished.

Witold is tough and tender, determined and filled with courage.

Her feelings of love and protection for the women she encounters, her willingness to do anything for them, no matter how dangerous to her personal safety, was truly noble, beautiful,and moving.

Set in WWII, the novel deals with Bronia, a Polish refugee, who,in order to survive, finds it necessary to disguise herself as a man.

She meets beautiful WAC Pascale Tailland. Their time together is brief, but they make a connection, that touches their souls.

Separated, the book's story concerns itself with their adventures, and how they never cease searching for one another, how no love is ever greater than their love for one another.

The ending is a slight surprise, and definitely very satisfying.

Authors of lesbian fiction--take note--Witold Rukowicz is the goal you should be aiming for in creating the kind of character that will enthrall your reader.

Rating:
Summary: Started out promising and got worse as it went along
Review: I enjoyed the premise of this story, namely an woman Army translator saves a Polish refugee at the end of WWII and promises to help 'him' get out of Europe so he is not repatrioted back to Communist Poland. The reader quickly finds out that the Polish refugee is in fact a women disguised as a man so she won't end up being raped and killed like the rest of her family. The two are soon seperated and the rest of the book follows them as they travel throughout Europe, trying to be reunited. VERY interesting premise but poorly executed.

I did not like that both the women in this story were screwing around with other women to relieve their sexual appetites despite telling their lovers that they were in love with someone else. I didn't buy that these two woman instantly fell in love with the other, especially since neither of them seemed to think sexual fidelity was an important to their relationship. I can't stand reading about lesbians getting together for casual sex and the sharing of their girlfriends. I don't like reading about small circles of lesbians who have been girlfriends with each other and don't seem to mind the incestous nature of it. I didn't find this book entertaining or life affirming. I won't give the end away, but I was left unsatisfied.

To conclude, I would NOT recommend this book. ONE STAR (Amazon wouldn't let me change the stars)

Rating:
Summary: The story ends HOW???
Review: Pleasant enough read, obviously a first novel from an author with considerable talent and potential.

The story has some really good writing throughout, and creates the mood of war torn Europe very well. The details were convincing and seemed authentic.

The ending really bothered me though. Without giving it away, I have to say that it was a complete surprise, and not one that left me feeling satisfied.

I just didn't feel that the characters would accept that solution especially without any foreshadowing earlier in the story that this would be the way things would end. It reminded me of stories that end with "suddenly Pascale and Witold woke up and realised the whole thing had all been a crazy dream". I felt cheated.

I enjoyed the book up to that point, and thought the characters and the story deserved better. I would like to see more from this author.

Rating:
Summary: A romantic and intelligent love story.
Review: This is an excellent book about love found, lost and found again. The characters have been drawn with sure, deft lines and feel real and interesting. I recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent themes, beautifully crafted writing
Review: This is an intelligent yet accessible story about two women in wartime Europe who meet by chance, and then are separated. The book tells the story of their struggle to find each other again.

Caro Clarke skilfully paints the characters against a backdrop of a ruined continent, and explores, through these characters, themes such as altruism, responsibility, and religion.

This is a very auspicious beginning for what I hope will be a successful writing career. This book deserves wide recognition.

Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating, Engrossing Tale
Review: World War II is a few months from ending. The Germans have been repelled, and it's only a matter of time before the Allies prevail. Troops are on the move, as are many soldiers and staff who provide administrative support for the war effort. Pascale Tailland, an American translator, has been stationed in Germany, but now her unit is reassigned. The novel opens with Pascale and her fellow WACs on the train awaiting departure. She catches sight of a blond-haired youth whom she correctly assesses is a refugee. He is "gaunt, hardened, and bleak" but despite his desperate appearance, something is familiar. At the last minute, she pulls him aboard the departing train. And with one touch, Pascale is aware that this slender youth is not a man.

The Polish Bronia "Bron" Rukowicz is passing herself off as Witold Rukowicz. She's escaped one forced labor camp and with cunning and verve is doing all she can to stay away from the horrors of the war. She has no desire to go back to the deprivations in Poland. After all she has been through, she is closed off emotionally. In conversation over the next few hours, Pascale gradually draws out the aloof refugee. When Witold tells Pascale that life is basically "cruelty, wars, and massacres," Pascale insists that life itself gives meaning. Witold is quick to counter: "The only meaning I see is the law of the wolf, kill or be killed" (p. 22). She has stopped believing in goodness or altruism. This, the way of the wolf, has been the refugee's defense against the horrors she has encountered.

For the rest of the short time they travel together, Pascale puts herself on the line in order to prevent Witold from being discovered and either captured or sent off to a refugee camp. By the time the two part, Pascale has made a crack in carefully constructed defenses, and Witold has fallen head-over-heels for the American. Pascale is also smitten.

What follows is the fascinating, engrossing tale of these two women trying to find one another again in the chaos of the war-torn countries of Europe. Bron continues her masquerade as Witold, and her situation is much more dangerous and unpredictable. Both women have to find trustworthy helpers in order to track one another. Pascale's search and Bronia's arduous journey make for a gripping tale. I couldn't put this book down and read far into the night until I reached the surprising conclusion.

Clarke's prose is fluid and literary, and she knows her history, not to mention more than a smattering of several languages. The details about Bronia's persistent attempts to survive are particularly rich. For instance, at one point, while locked up in the hospital ward of a camp, she is considering all possibilities for escape, and she realizes "every place could be escaped from if you looked hard and thought like a mouse." Bron's resourcefulness-and resilience-is truly a miracle.

The Wolf Ticket is one terrific story. I highly recommend it and wish Clarke would publish another novel with great speed.