The Dark Heart of Every Wild Thing

Joseph Fasano (Goodreads Author)

3.80 · Rating details · 5 ratings · 4 reviews

Deep in the mountains of British Columbia, across an unforgiving landscape, one man’s pursuit of a fabled mountain lion leads him into the furthest reaches of himself. As he struggles to confront the wilderness surrounding him—from the baying hounds to the relentless northern snows—he journeys into his own haunted memories: a life of wild horses and ballet, fishing skiffs ...more

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Paperback, First, 272 pages

Expected publication: September 1st 2020 by Platypus Press

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May 18, 2020 Nancy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: publisher-sent

A father and his nine-year-old son trek into the high mountains to hunt a mountain lion. Generations have hunted the lion and failed. The father had sworn to bring one home.

They depart in late in autumn when the snow shows the lion's tracks. The father patiently teaches the child. At night the boy still dreams of his mother who died in an accident several years before.

Fasano creates a world that can be experienced with all the senses, the iron smell of blood and woodsmoke ingrained in a child's ...more

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Jul 25, 2020 Laura Rinaldi rated it it was amazing

What happened to me reading this novel was a magical experience I felt I had been missing — I feel we might all be missing in this global trauma... bringing ourselves to embrace places of tragic and painful reality, truly looking into ourselves, deepening the waters of our spirit and encountering the ghosts the man in this novel does. Fasano’s poetry is inseparable from him — that is evident here. His voice is true and wise and stable and consistent amongst his other works. As a first novel, I f
What happened to me reading this novel was a magical experience I felt I had been missing — I feel we might all be missing in this global trauma... bringing ourselves to embrace places of tragic and painful reality, truly looking into ourselves, deepening the waters of our spirit and encountering the ghosts the man in this novel does. Fasano’s poetry is inseparable from him — that is evident here. His voice is true and wise and stable and consistent amongst his other works. As a first novel, I felt the assistance from voices of ancestry and the collective akasha. I felt he creates the possibility to reach the great masculine/feminine balance we all need and yearn for. I felt enriched after reading this book.

The main character’s search for this animal — this destroyer, this raging, unhinged natural entity, is the search this man needs to find the pieces of himself he had not been able to access until this part of his journey manifested. My favorite part of the novel is that the female character Fasano creates actually takes the lead role despite the male first person narration. Her consciousness dances across each page — he is she, and Fasano is both of them, and every dark wild heart he creates in these 270 pages. I recently became an admirer of Fasano’s work because he has reintroduced poetry to my life through the social media outreach he created during these difficult times.

I feel that if you too are searching, learning, on a journey — and of course, we all are — this book can touch you and move you and inspire you in the deepest, most profound and unconscious ways. If you read his poetry you know he is a master of his own psychology and ancestry, and his creative and intuitive balance between dark and light, color and texture, creates dialogue and prose that truly awakens your core, makes you wonder who you are and what you are made of.

I loved this novel and would recommend it to anyone looking to delve deeper into themselves and their hearts, their identity, humanity and true nature. ...more

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Jul 20, 2020 Judy Alsworth rated it it was ok

Another Canadian setting for this author (previously read his poem on Vince Li). This fails to hit the mark however as the overwrought imagery and poetic intonation becomes cloying and detracts from the narrative. Some definite beautiful passages, but overall not an enjoyable story -- which is why I chose a novel to read an not a poem.

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Jul 20, 2020 Ben Sack rated it it was amazing

It's so rare to find a writer who can tell a captivating story in beautiful prose, and Fasano is that writer. I've been a fan of his poetry for years, and this novel just blew me away. I hope to read more from him, and I hope to see this book made into a film. I can imagine the incredible imagery, landscapes, and human drama of it playing out on the screen. This is a must-read.

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