A Dream of Wolves : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: Dr. Stuart Jordan is a great character whom you have sympathy and hope for. The novel is spun off his life as obgyn doctor during the day and moonlighting as a medical examiner. He is completely wrapped up in his work and for good reason. His soon died fourteen years earlier and his wife, a manic depressive, floats in and out of his life. His work provides some stability for Dr. Jordan. In comes Rosa Littlefoot, a woman accused of murder and with an infant daughter... she somehow manages to get Dr. Jordan to look after her daughter while she is incarcerated. Dr. Jordan's surface level stable life (one must remember he is always dealing with the pain and memory of his son's death and the havoc his wife wreaks) is turned upside down... Annabel (the wife) returns, he has an infant to care for and quite a few other obstacles. The book is great because you have so many hopes for Doc, and you wish he would get some backbone! But he doesn't disappoint you in the end... great read!

Rating:
Summary: Fine work
Review: First-person books are notoriously difficult to write, primarily because of the difficulty of making the narrator a sympathetic character. So it's hats off to Michael White for creating in Stuart Jordan a believably flawed, deeply caring hero. This was one of the happy occasions when the trade reviews didn't misrepresent the quality of the work. A Dream of Wolves is a lovely, rather languid book about life and loss and about the inherent difficulties of love, marriage, fatherhood and professionalism. The author did his homework on the medical research, and Dr. Jordan's observations ring true without any authorial self-congratulatory patina. In other words, the facts fit seamlessly into the narrative. They don't stand up and shout from the page, "Hey! Look at me! Look at me! I'm research!" Too many authors fall into this trap; White scrupulously avoids it. He refrains from playing a godlike role in the writing, allowing his characters to speak and act for themselves.

White is a writer who cares about his characters, who takes the time and makes the effort to bring them to life, warts and all. Any writer who can ascribe qualities to an infant and make that infant so real that she's almost visible to the reader, is a gifted writer. I wholeheartedly recommend this book; it's one of the rare ones that you finish with a satisfied sigh.

Rating:
Summary: Annabel and Stuart
Review: Fourteen years before Michael C. White's "A Dream of Wolves" begins Stuart and Annabel Jordan lose their son Will in a freak hiking accident. Annabel, a manic depressive and alcoholic, whose hold on reality is tenuous at best, cracks up for good and takes to appearing and disappearing from Stuart's life at will always knowing that Stuart will be there to care for her and tend to her neuroses. Stuart, ever the good husband does exactly that, becoming in essence Annabel's co-dependent, obsessed with here whereabouts and well being. There is a very telling motif that runs through the entire novel: Annabel's hands. Stuart, as a way of gauging the level of Annabel's mania, is continually watching her hands: "Her hands, I noticed, began to tremble again. They shook as she lit her cigarette or sipped her tea....they made me think of my father's hands, when the Parkinson's was well advanced. And her eyes had that all-to-familiar unsettled look, darting restlessly about..." This is a classic indication of co-dependency: the continual searching for signs that all is well ...or not. It is not until Stuart begins an affair with a local D.A. Bobbie Tisdale, during one of Annabel's "disappearances", and also begins to care for an accused murderer's daughter (Maria) that Annabel's hold on him starts to unravel. Annabel, naturally and inevitably arrives on the scene "to help" Stuart and care for the child. And for a time Annabel is lucid, taking her medication and tending to the child, the house and the garden. But will it last? White has done a good job of melding all the disparate elements of this novel together (I have only mentioned a few) but ultimately the way he chooses to end the novel is not satisfying and even more damaging it seems tacked on; an afterthought that merely ties up all the various subplots. The most tender and well-written scenes are those dealing with Stuart's relationship with Annabel. It's a shame that White did not base his entire novel on that.

Rating:
Summary: Annabel and Stuart
Review: Fourteen years before Michael C. White's "A Dream of Wolves" begins Stuart and Annabel Jordan lose their son Will in a freak hiking accident. Annabel, a manic depressive and alcoholic, whose hold on reality is tenuous at best, cracks up for good and takes to appearing and disappearing from Stuart's life at will always knowing that Stuart will be there to care for her and tend to her neuroses. Stuart, ever the good husband does exactly that, becoming in essence Annabel's co-dependent, obsessed with here whereabouts and well being. There is a very telling motif that runs through the entire novel: Annabel's hands. Stuart, as a way of gauging the level of Annabel's mania, is continually watching her hands: "Her hands, I noticed, began to tremble again. They shook as she lit her cigarette or sipped her tea....they made me think of my father's hands, when the Parkinson's was well advanced. And her eyes had that all-to-familiar unsettled look, darting restlessly about..." This is a classic indication of co-dependency: the continual searching for signs that all is well ...or not. It is not until Stuart begins an affair with a local D.A. Bobbie Tisdale, during one of Annabel's "disappearances", and also begins to care for an accused murderer's daughter (Maria) that Annabel's hold on him starts to unravel. Annabel, naturally and inevitably arrives on the scene "to help" Stuart and care for the child. And for a time Annabel is lucid, taking her medication and tending to the child, the house and the garden. But will it last? White has done a good job of melding all the disparate elements of this novel together (I have only mentioned a few) but ultimately the way he chooses to end the novel is not satisfying and even more damaging it seems tacked on; an afterthought that merely ties up all the various subplots. The most tender and well-written scenes are those dealing with Stuart's relationship with Annabel. It's a shame that White did not base his entire novel on that.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book
Review: I am a big fan of Michael White's, and this book was exactly what I've come to expect from him. He tells a story skillfully and creates interesting characters I come to feel as if I know. "Doc" is in an awkward situation here, never having recovered fully from the loss of his son and feeling torn between his lover and his errant, manic-depressive wife whom he cannot seem to let go of entirely. I sympathized with his situation and was thoroughly caught up in the mystery of Rosa Littlefoot, who is sitting in jail for having killed her common-law husband and has entrusted the confused "Doc" with the care of her infant daughter. Did she kill him? What really happened on that night? Will "Doc" get custody of Maria? Such a tantalizing tale . . . kept me completely engrossed throughout! Mr. White is right up there at the top of my "favorite authors" list!

Rating:
Summary: I wanted to love this doctor, but I didn't.
Review: In the southern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, Doc Jordan works as an obstetrician/gynecologist as well as the medical examiner. Doc's personal life remains in shambles ever since his son died fourteen years ago. Neither he nor his separated wife found solace in one another with Annabel tending to float in and out of his life. Instead Doc lives for his work.

Doc visits a domestic murder scene where apparently the common law wife, Native American Rosa Littlefoot, killed her abusive husband Lee Roy Pugh. In spite of his full agenda, Doc takes their four month old child into his home. Annabel makes one of her evanescent visits and claims she is capable of nurturing the infant, but Doc has doubts. As he investigates the murder, Doc wonders if his girlfriend is right and that he should divorce his spouse so everyone can get on with their lives.

A DREAM OF WOLVES is not your usual ME vs. monstrous odds that Vegas would take no book. Instead this tale is more of a human drama centering on morality based on one's relative outlook on life. Doc struggles with his future knowing that even in his late fifties, he can expect a life span of two to three decades more. However, what makes Michael C. White's tale special is the secondary cast also examines their present lives in terms of their future. Placing all that inside a mystery turns Mr. White's novel into a dream book for sub-genre fans that want realistic characters not superheroes.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: deft, gripping murder mystery transcends genre cliches
Review: Michael C. White's compelling "A Dream of Wolves" is much more than an intriguing murder mystery. Written with a deft hand, the novel features an extraordinary protagonist, a middle-aged gynecologist wracked by guilt over his son's death and riddled with a sense of social and personal responsibility for not only his professional obligations but his personal life as well. Doctor Stuart Jordan not only finds himself embroiled in a troublesome homicide, he also attempts to resolve the terrible internal conflicts which have rendered his life quietly unbearable. Not only does the author surround Doc Jordan with a series of beautifully-realized characters, Michael White imbues his narrative with precise, evocative detail, from medical terminology to lush descriptions of the North Carolina Appalachians. This is a work which doesn't just transcend the boundaries of the mystery potboiler, it recreates them.

It is the quality of conscience and devotion to truth, both external and internal, which defines Doc Jordan. The premature, accidental death of his son some fifteen years previous has destroyed his marriage and left Jordan adrift in his own life. Guilty over an intemperate utterance at the time of his son's disappearance, Jordan futilely observes his marriage disintegrate; his wife's life dissolves in a haze of bipolar destructive behaviors. Unable to sever his relationship with Annabel while simultaneously initiating an invigorating but furtive relationship with an assistant district attorney, Doc Joran always seems subservient to his internalized sense of responsibility. Despite Annabel's deteriorating emotional state, Doc assumes responsibility for her status; on the basis of his word and an uncanny instinctive feel for an accused Cherokee woman, he assumes responsibility for the care of the accused's newborn child. He serves as a quiet Northern conscience in an isoalted, rural Southern town, always putting others ahead of himself, perpetually reminding himself of what he needs to do for others.

This keen psychological study of a tormented man, a good man thrust in a whirlwind of pain, guilt, recrimination and remore, is the cornerstone of "A Dream of Wolves." How Doc Jordan comes to grips with his personal circumstances, tenaciously serves justice in his quest for the truth of a grisly homicide and begins the wonderful process of personal regeneration, through his love for his custodial child and his passion for the love interest in his life are the separate threads Michael White adroitly interweaves in this immensely readable novel.

Rating:
Summary: deft, gripping murder mystery transcends genre cliches
Review: Michael C. White's compelling "A Dream of Wolves" is much more than an intriguing murder mystery. Written with a deft hand, the novel features an extraordinary protagonist, a middle-aged gynecologist wracked by guilt over his son's death and riddled with a sense of social and personal responsibility for not only his professional obligations but his personal life as well. Doctor Stuart Jordan not only finds himself embroiled in a troublesome homicide, he also attempts to resolve the terrible internal conflicts which have rendered his life quietly unbearable. Not only does the author surround Doc Jordan with a series of beautifully-realized characters, Michael White imbues his narrative with precise, evocative detail, from medical terminology to lush descriptions of the North Carolina Appalachians. This is a work which doesn't just transcend the boundaries of the mystery potboiler, it recreates them.

It is the quality of conscience and devotion to truth, both external and internal, which defines Doc Jordan. The premature, accidental death of his son some fifteen years previous has destroyed his marriage and left Jordan adrift in his own life. Guilty over an intemperate utterance at the time of his son's disappearance, Jordan futilely observes his marriage disintegrate; his wife's life dissolves in a haze of bipolar destructive behaviors. Unable to sever his relationship with Annabel while simultaneously initiating an invigorating but furtive relationship with an assistant district attorney, Doc Joran always seems subservient to his internalized sense of responsibility. Despite Annabel's deteriorating emotional state, Doc assumes responsibility for her status; on the basis of his word and an uncanny instinctive feel for an accused Cherokee woman, he assumes responsibility for the care of the accused's newborn child. He serves as a quiet Northern conscience in an isoalted, rural Southern town, always putting others ahead of himself, perpetually reminding himself of what he needs to do for others.

This keen psychological study of a tormented man, a good man thrust in a whirlwind of pain, guilt, recrimination and remore, is the cornerstone of "A Dream of Wolves." How Doc Jordan comes to grips with his personal circumstances, tenaciously serves justice in his quest for the truth of a grisly homicide and begins the wonderful process of personal regeneration, through his love for his custodial child and his passion for the love interest in his life are the separate threads Michael White adroitly interweaves in this immensely readable novel.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent storytelling, a multi-layered lesson in life!
Review: When one thinks of wolves, several connotations come immediately to mind. First, of course, is the literal form, the pack-running animals humans tend to fear and misunderstand. Another might be a more oblique definition, used more in business dealings...and then there's always the everyday dealings we come across in our lives. Michael C. White has utilized all of these references in his wonderful new novel, "A Dream Of Wolves". With incredible nuance, style, and emotional depth, White submerges the reader into the small-town lives of the people of Hubbard County, North Carolina, snug in the hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Seen through Doc's eyes, we witness the trials and tribulations that seem magnified in a town of such size. "Doc", a "yank" from Maine, is the towns only OB/GYN and practicing medical examiner, a chore he'd much sooner be rid of, since he's getting on in years, and feels that his plate is already too full. Even after thirteen years, he's reeling from the sudden disappearance and death of his only son, Will, and the subsequent deterioration of his wife's mental state...she, who disappears for months on end, only to return without warning to disrupt "Doc's" life. When a local Native American woman is accused of killing her backwoods boyfriend under mysterious (at least to Doc) circumstances, the story revves into gear.

White depicts a multi-layered community, rife with tensions, racial and otherwise. The characters act and react in a real manner, and become people you'll care about and want to know more of. Excellent storytelling from an incredible author!

Rating:
Summary: well written and engaging
Review: White has written a lyrical novel that deals with loss, pain, and loyalty....the loyalty of Rosa to her daughter and to the real murderer of her common-law husband; Stuart's loyalty to his severely mentally ill wife, Annabelle, who disappears for years at a time; and the loyalty of both Stuart and Annabelle to the memory of their lost son.

The descriptions of the North Carolina mountains and the small towns are just lovely and really evoke the feeling of being there. White fully fleshes out his characters and the community in which they live.

While the book begins with a murder, and while its investigation runs throughout the book, one would never call this a mystery. It is a well-done character study and an exploration of the feelings and motivations of these characters.