Wolf Point

by Edward Falco

Book Overview

Tom "T" Walker, a 57-year-old businessman, knows better than to pick up a beautiful young woman hitchhiking with her dangerous-looking boyfriend, but he stops for them anyway. He's been living alone, his life ruinously off course, in such utter isolation from everyone he has ever loved that he welcomes the company and the excitement. But as T finds himself pulled into the chaos of their world in a way he will barely survive, he comes to see his personal...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932961305
• ISBN13: 9781932961300
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Unbridled Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A black heart, but all heart, and very fine

While I've written about this novel for print, praising not just WOLF POINT but a number of Falco's fictions (in hypertext as well as on the page), I care enough about this author and accomplishment to honor them both again in this medium. Falco's latest novel is superb. It erupts with from its opening sentence's "pulp tableau" (a hot young blonde hitchiking, not quite hiding the greasy thug traveling with her) like a perfectly timed and vividly colored fireworks display against a thoroughly noir night. The girl is Jenny, a stubborn but tormented creation to stand with the finest femme fatales. Her tough backup, Lester, veers intriguingly between brute and clown. And the man who picks this duo up is the hurting and withdrawn "T," more troubled than either of the others in his way. The process by which the two runaways bring T to a refreshed awareness and vitality, all while merely trying to save their own skins, creates a classic set-piece of a weary mule, a carrot, and a stick. In other words, WOLF POINT is expertly crafted, its rough trade taking place in ever-smaller spaces -- yet what lingers with you is its emotional depth. I have a few cavils about this book, off in the rarified atmosphere of High Lit. But I must acknowledge, above all, the impact of the wrenching choices this story hammers out, and the key turning points it gives voice. The title may speak of wolves, but the howl is entirely human.

Moved and stunned by an incredibly good writer

I was moved and stunned by an incredibly good writer. Wow, what a discovery! I hope some of the other reviewers will recommend other authors of this calibre (Franzen, Wolfe, Irving, Chabon) that I may not know of. (Email your suggestions: etaub1@aol.com)

A haunting and cautionary tale about punishment and redemption

WOLF POINT by Edward Falco is a far larger and deeper novel than its relatively small size --- 234 pages --- would immediately portend. This is no reflection on the narrative, which clips right along at a pace that leaves readers gasping for breath, implicitly daring them to stop reading. The events, which for the most part take place over a couple of fateful days but resonate backward and forward in time, linger long after the last paragraph is read. Reading WOLF POINT is akin to discovering an unpublished, collaborative manuscript created by John Cheever and Jim Thompson. The narrative opens with Tom Walker ("...my friends and family call me 'T'..."), a 57-year-old businessman, picking up a much younger man and woman who are hitchhiking outside of Syracuse, NY. There is an immediate sense that all is not right; indeed this is communicated to the reader by Walker himself, who knows better than to stop --- which, in the words of the narrative, is precisely why he does. The hitchhikers are Lester and Jenny, who introduce themselves as brother and sister initially but who are far more, and less, than that. In reality Lester and Jenny are on a panicked run, the reason for which may be remedied by the application of a large amount of cash. And it turns out that Walker has plenty of that. The trio heads for a small community called Thousand Islands, a place that has significant meaning for each of them. One expects the situation to inevitably spiral downward, and it does, almost from the moment that Walker opens his door --- and his life --- to Lester and Jenny. Each and every principal here is carrying baggage. Still recovering from a divorce, Walker is unable to fathom the whys and wherefores of what has happened in his life, or that he is to blame for at least part of what has occurred. Lester is an edgy loser; whatever potential he might have had has been derailed, perhaps permanently, by drugs. Jenny is badly damaged and is ready to do damage in kind, at times without even knowing it. Before the story's conclusion, three lives will be brutally changed in a process of rough catharsis and, in one case, redemption paid with dear coin. WOLF POINT is a haunting work, a cautionary tale that by turns demonstrates that while no deed --- good or evil --- goes unpunished, absolution and redemption are possible if one is willing to pay the price. This is a work to be savored and, more importantly, reread. Highly recommended. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Exploring Childhood Abuse, Trust, and Life

Ed Falco's new book, WOLF POINT, explores life's difficult questions with a skill, an efficiency, worthy of any master writer. T, the main character, is out taking a road trip in upstate NY, when he comes across two young hitchikers. It's a risky move to take them on, but T does just that. What happens next is a study of trust between these two hitchikers and their driver. Falco explores the question of how well you can know somebody you've just met and, in using flashbacks into the history of T's life, Falco simultaneously explores the question of how well you can know somebody that you've been with for a long time (in this case, T's ex-wives, lovers, etc.). With his interaction with his two passangers and through flashbacks, T disects his failed marriages, his previous love affairs, his childhood, and his capacity for abuse. In a thriller that never lets you stop turning pages, T reconciles questions about his abusive childhood and why he downloaded a picture of child ponography that, in his mind, started the whole crazy and dangerous adventure with the hitchikers. This is a serious book that examines some serious questions about what it means to live a good, happy, life, free from abusive relationships. Ed Falco's short stories contain many scenes inside cars and many of Falco's protagonists are young seductive females. WOLF POINT does not disappoint in this respect: In addition to much of the early parts of WOLF POINT taking place inside of a car, the 57 year-old protagonist, T, finds himself seductively tortured by a very attractive young lady in her early 20s. This seduction is not just added to the book to make it fun to read, it is included because through these scenes, T unravels the answers to the questions of his life. In the end, both T and the reader learn lessons about what it means to be honest and what it means to give and take abuse. Good literature teaches lessons. Enjoy some good literature; read WOLF POINT today.

Quintessential Falco with dark twists and human foibles

Tom Walker, known as T to his friends, is traveling from his home in Virginia to Upstate New York. Despite his wealth and business success, T's life is a shambles. Walker lost his family and reputation unexpectedly. This trip to a place he was once happy is a frantic effort to regain peace and focus. He's empty, emotionally isolated, and hoping a return to old haunts near Wolf Point will help him feel alive again. Well, be careful what you hope for, T, because you just might get it! Hitching a ride north is the type of blonde few men could pass by, no matter how many warning bells go off in their heads. Jenny Cross is curvaceous, oozing sexuality. Hitching with her is Lester, a macho tough guy carrying a guitar case. From the moment Jenny slides into the seat beside T, she plays the sweet seductress, a purring nubile kitten. Lester, on the other hand, has a troubling, threatening edge. T mentally prepares for trouble sooner or later in their journey. The games begin immediately and accelerate once T, Jenny, and Lester reach a cabin at Wolf Point. Plans to rob T and steal his SUV are put on temporary hold when Jenny and Lester decide their benefactor might give them $60,000 if they play him right. Jenny shares Lester's story during quiet times cuddling with T, who's more than twice her age. Lester tells him Jenny's story while fishing, leaving T to sort the truth from fiction. T knows instinctively that lives are in the balance, but will it be his or theirs? The tale is told suspensefully through dysfunctional characters whose flaws are handled sympathetically by a gifted wordsmith. Wolf Point is quintessential Falco as he skillfully reveals the darker twists and frailties of human nature.