WOLF: A False Memoir

by Jim Harrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1971

Harrison's novel/memoir (however you want to construe the subtitle, this has a true ring) follows in the expansive, informal spirit of his poetry (most recently Outlyer). This fills in more detail about the goggle-eyed, nature-loving country boy behind the poems and is considerably more graphic re his slipped bonds and bittersweet leavetakings -- ""A heritage of sloth and witlessness and poverty. Seemed splendid"" -- and his varied scenes, from dinner at the pimp's back East to picking with the migrants out West. In between, an assortment of girls and jobs and selves even, but basically, as he puts it, ""I had changed my life so often that I finally decided there'd never been anything to change."" Only his keenness for justice (toward wolves, eagles, the land, himself), whisky, sex, and rural living hold good through all the unsequential anecdotes. This suggests that while you may not be able to step in the same time-as-a-river twice, you can still wade its length and breadth without getting in over your head. A trifle overlong, but refreshing.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1971

ISBN: 0385291604

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1971

Categories: FICTION