Wolf at the Table - Adam Rapp

 Wolf at the Table  - Adam Rapp

she read

This is a novel that spans sixty years and four generations of a large Catholic family, the Larkins.  As with many large families, the offspring have a wide range of personalities and levels of success.  There is also one child who has an intellectual disability, one who marries into a family with, unbeknownst to her, a history of  schizophrenia, and one who was abused by local priests as a child and develops an antisocial personality disorder (commonly known as a “psychopath”).  This true cross section of America is revealed through snapshots of family members at different points in time, particularly focusing on two of them who quite disparate in their temperaments. 

Well written, the narrative in this character driven novel is rather objective; Rapp didn’t exploit the emotionalism of the antisocial behaviors and family difficulties.  He touches on serial killers, with passages involving Richard Speck, John Wayne Gacy, and, of course, the Larkin sibling who is a serial killer and we see how family can be complicit or ignorant. There is an undercurrent of danger, perhaps even evil throughout the story.

I couldn’t engage with any of the characters  Often I read a family saga such as this and, although it may be dark, am left with some feelings of hope.  After this one, which was mesmerizing, a generalized bleak feeling remained.  

Thanks to #NetGalley and #LittleBrown for the DRC.