Wolf Boy

On January 9, 1993, the Harrelson family's lives were changed forever. That was the day they got word that eldest son Francis, a budding mycologist, was killed in an auto accident in a car driven by his fiancee, Jasmine, who survived. Each Harrelson deals with grief in a different way: father Gene hides in his furniture store with the CLOSED sign on the door and considers cheating on his wife with a former employee -- their already extant marital problems are brought into sharp relief by the extra stressor of Francis's death. Meanwhile, sister Crispy writes letters to pop star Marky Mark (of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch), asking him to come rescue her, and figuring out a way to meet up with him in the meantime; and mother Helen walks the ledge of a nervous breakdown before seeking help from a support group. Only Stephen channels his grief for the loss of his big brother and best friend (and his visions of Francis swimming in the sky) into something creative -- a superhero comic book called The Adventures of Wolf Boy, with art by Stephen's girlfriend, Nicole Strussman. This and Stephen's other attempts to keep Francis's memory alive are saddening and joyous, making me wish I knew the boy personally. In one of the most blazingly original bursts of creative brilliance I have seen in quite some time, first-time novelist Evan Kuhlman (his short stories have appeared in Glimmer Train Stories, among others) has combined the literary family-grief story (think Ordinary People without the downer ending) with the superhero comic in his debut, Wolf Boy. Interspersed within the story of a family's loss are panels of The Adventures of Wolf Boy. (The comic is actually illustrated by identical twins Brendon and Brian Fraim -- check out examples of their clean lines and traditional approach at Fraimworks.) In Wolf Boy, Kuhlman combines the best parts of John Irving, Jonathan Lethem, and Jonathan Franzen. This semi-autobiographical tale (Kuhlman lost his own brother at a young age) charms and delights; Kuhlman has managed to focus on a sad subject without making it depressing. The comic was a terrific idea, and watching how it parallels the novel's story is a wonder. But I especially admired how Kuhlman realistically portrayed the family's relationship with Jasmine following the accident -- a gradual separation followed by an almost complete cut-off, with only the smitten Stephen still in contact. One day she's practically their daughter, the next she's a pariah. It's maybe not the right way to do things, but it's the way that often goes. I was consistently surprised by Kuhlman's choices in Wolf Boy. Not only in the imaginative format of the novel, but also in the way Kuhlman never makes the expected choices with his characters. He doesn't seem to have favorites, treating all of them with equal respect. This, in turn, causes us to root for all of them to successfully get through their struggles and come out stronger on the other side. And the ambiguous

Losing any family member in an auto accident would be terrible, but losing the big brother you've idolized for all of your 13 years is impossible to conceptualize. The task of coming to terms with such a loss is what faces the protagonist of Kuhlman's debut novel, set in early '90s Illinois. The book follows the Harrelson family as they struggle to keep living in the wake of the their golden-child Francis' death at age 19. The bulk of the story revolves around Stephen, an engagingly clever and imaginative13-year-old, although ample time is given to 9-year-old Crispy, their parents Gene and Helen, Stephen's next-door neighbor girlfriend Nicole, and Francis' college girlfriend. While the temptation must have been strong to concentrate on Stephen and his story, it's greatly to Kuhlman's credit that he's able to take us into the heads of all these other characters and come to care about each and every one. As with so many families subject to such tragedy, the four remaining members cope by drifting apart into their own worlds. The barely communicating parents start sleeping in separate bedrooms. Ever-distant Gene spends more and more time sitting in his furniture shop with the blinds down and the "Closed" sign on the door. Meanwhile, Helen robotically goes through the motions of life until driven to a satisfying act of violence which leads to some long-overdue introspection. Crispy retreats into television and fantasies of being swept away by Mark Wahlberg (at that time he was a preteen idol known for his awful band and his Calvin Klein abs, I mean ads). However, it's Stephen we spend the most time with, as he has visions of his brother over the course of the year and tries to understand why he died. His main outlet is a quasi-autobiographical superhero comic-book he writes, Nicole illustrates, and they self-publish together. In what might be considered a gimmick (not by me, however), parts of these comic books appear in the novel, adding another layer to the storytelling and providing a particularly effective window into Stephen's grief. In general, I tend to stay away from novels and films about tragedy and dysfunctional families. There are enough tough things to deal with in our own lives that I'm not particularly keen to use leisure time to grapple with fictional representations of even more. However, this is one of the few such works I can wholeheartedly recommend. Yes, it's very sad to see this family slowly fall apart, and the parents are especially painful figures to follow. But it's also hard not to root for Stephen to make it though the hard times and realize happiness with Nicole. There's a lot of gentle humor and sweetness that never gets cloying, and Kuhlman's simple, straightforward prose sets just the right tone. A very solid first novel about a very tough topic, skillfully handled. If you like Mark Jude Poirier, John McNally, or Tom Perrotta, check this out.

To steal and change a line from a Tom Cruise flick, "You had me at Prologue." This book opens with a bit of a shock to the system, a fine young man has died, and follows the lives of those affected by the loss, especially the family, especially the younger son Stephen, over the next year. The writing is clear and captivating, and the included comics, a surprise, fit well and added much to the story. There are also some humorous moments, which you might not expect in a book like this, but they came off as quite natural. I truly cared about each of the characters, especially Stephen and his oddball girlfriend Nicole and his sister Crispy, which is quite rare for me (at most I usually only care about the protagonist, if that). If you are looking for something sweet, sad, and original, give this book a try.

This debut novel took my breath away. It's so haunting and real in its depiction of grief and loss, and yet realistically portrays a typical dysfunctional family as well as coming-of-age: while Stephen tries to grapple with the death of his idol, he is also trying to deal with his first kiss, going to high school, and how to reach his estranged father. All very relatable themes. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

This novel is both wonderfully strange and wonderfully written, sort of literary fiction but with added comics. When I first heard about this novel I was worried that the comics would be cutesy or distract from the plot, but that wasn't the case at all, they fit in perfectly (especially when I got to know Stephen, the protagonist) and added much to the book, though I wouldn't mind if there had been one or two more. The subject of the novel is tough, the loss of a cherished son, but the writing is strong and the characters are endearing (though Gene, the father, will test your patience), and the art is as good as any comic book art you'll find. I read this book in two days instead of the more typical two weeks, probably because I had two concerns weighing on me, what happens to Stephen and girlfriend and his family, but also what happens to their comic book counterparts, the Laredos and Lila Butterfly. If you're looking for something unique and satisfying and a little bit odd, I'd highly recommend this book. I don't think you'll need to love comics to love this novel, since they only make up about 10-15 percent of the book. I've never seen anything like Wolf Boy and wonder if it will spur some imitations/rip-offs, and I do hope there will a sequel by the author (Kuhlman) and the illustrators before too long. Quite a debut.