++++1/2
Fascinating early werewolf novel that is not, even so, the werewolf equivalent of Dracula. Dracula is myth brought to life; Endore reverses the formula and equates life, in all its ugliness, to myth. Convinced by overwhelming circumstantial evidence that his "nephew" is a werewolf, a Frenchman tries first to lock him up, then, when the boy escapes, to track him down in Paris. The boy, now a young man, falls in love with a girl with an unusual attraction to death, desperately hoping their love will cure him. Much of the story plays out against the tumultuous backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War. Yes, the book is a philosophical and political allegory (if that is the right word: Endore doesn't even try to mask his thoughts), but it is also a terrific horror story, one that attacks the reader from a multitude of directions -- physical, medical, psychological, sociological. What the boy does to his girlfriend will not soon be forgotten. It's a convoluted tale, but rarely confusing -- so clear is Endore's writing, which is both perceptive and frequently humorous. A truly remarkable book that, like few others (William Peter Blatty's Legion comes to mind), is both thoughtful and deeply frightening.
Fascinating early werewolf novel that is not, even so, the werewolf equivalent of Dracula. Dracula is myth brought to life; Endore reverses the formula and equates life, in all its ugliness, to myth. Convinced by overwhelming circumstantial evidence that his "nephew" is a werewolf, a Frenchman tries first to lock him up, then, when the boy escapes, to track him down in Paris. The boy, now a young man, falls in love with a girl with an unusual attraction to death, desperately hoping their love will cure him. Much of the story plays out against the tumultuous backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War. Yes, the book is a philosophical and political allegory (if that is the right word: Endore doesn't even try to mask his thoughts), but it is also a terrific horror story, one that attacks the reader from a multitude of directions -- physical, medical, psychological, sociological. What the boy does to his girlfriend will not soon be forgotten. It's a convoluted tale, but rarely confusing -- so clear is Endore's writing, which is both perceptive and frequently humorous. A truly remarkable book that, like few others (William Peter Blatty's Legion comes to mind), is both thoughtful and deeply frightening.