The Wolf's Mother Speaks

by Ben Dolnick, Edoardo Ballerini (Narrator)

Get out of here, Joyce. Go home. You don’t need bad news.

Joyce always had an uneasy feeling about her son, Michael. Serious baby, then a serious kid, then a serious grown-up. His large, dark eyes. He always kept everything inside. When he misses coming home for his birthday, Joyce believes the worst and takes a drive upstate, desperate to find him. What she finds will strain her sanity. Intimate and unsettling, The Wolf’s Mother Speaks is perfect for fans of Jeff VanderMeer, Victor LaValle, and Drew Magary. Ben Dolnick takes listeners on an unforgettable, hauntingly funny journey alongside a mother whose love takes many forms—and a substantial body count.

Genres: Audiobook

167 pages, Audiobook

First published October 30, 2020

About the author

Ben Dolnick is the author of four novels: Zoology, You Know Who You Are, At the Bottom of Everything, and The Ghost Notebooks. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, GQ, and on NPR. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyce had that nuclear family thing down - doting husband, loving child, house in the suburbs - so how did she end up alone, in a crappy apartment with only a cat for company?

Glad you asked. Take a seat. It's going to be a lonnnng one.

That's right. Joyce is finally telling her life story to her (somewhat) unwilling neighbor. (He made the mistake of telling her that he's a writer...and well...once Joyce gets an idea, nothing (hell or high water) will stop her).

Anyway, it all goes back to Michael, her son.

He was a quiet kid. He was always thinking. Not a big hugger, didn't have many interests.

And when he became a teenager, all he wanted to do was hole up in his room with a computer. At first Joyce thought, hey. He's a bit of a loner but that's okay.

But when he got to college...that's when things took a turn for the worse.

Michael just...stopped.

He stopped showing up at his job, he stopped paying rent to his apartment and (and this is the big one) he stopped returning Joyce's phone calls.

Joyce has no choice but to believe the absolute worse. So, she drives upstate - fully expecting to find him dead in a ditch.

But what she finds? It was far worse.

Wolf.

Oh. My. God. This book was a roller coaster - but in the best way possible.

It took me a little bit to get into the story but once I got through the first bits, I was absolutely hooked.

Joyce's character was phenomenal. The author really nailed that overbearing, worry-obsessed but with a heavy dose of tough-love mom - the kind that loves you to death but visits more than a hour brings about a headache. Her take on life was completely on point. And I loved her.

Uncovering Michael's story, watching Joyce's reaction to it and all the hijinks that happen - it was riveting. It was hilarious. It was absolutely fabulous slab of dark humor pie.

And combine that all with the true horror of that ending? Perfection.

I truly wish this book was longer - cause there was so much left to be explored. So many nooks and crannies that could've been uncovered. And yet, I'm also really happy to be left wondering. Go figure.

A huge thank you to Netgalley Audio, Ben Dolnick and Recorded Books for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

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[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wolf ‘s Mother Speaks by Ben Dolnick.
“Something wicked this way comes”
~W. Shakespeare, MACBETH
4⭐️
*audiobook
*4 hours and some change
*Narratored by Edoardo Ballerini
*quick read
*entertaining, perfect for Halloween
*highly recommend

I had no idea what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. The narrator was really good. I really liked the main character and the story.


Thank you NETGALLEY and the publisher for this ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

[Aerandir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have long been fascinated by the the literature about wolves and werewolves so I was particularly eager to experience this book.

The titular "Wolf's Mother" is Joyce. The story begins when she starts opening up to her neighbour, a soon-to-be-father, hoping that he may write a book about her. They don't converse about the usual topics neighbours talk about. In fact, he hardly says anything at all. Instead, Joyce has some gruesome secrets which unwind, one after the other from the night when she finds out that her son turns into a wolf....

I didn't find Joyce particularly engaging and fully-fleshed-out. There were many comments and complaints coming from her about many things which sound like something that one may overhear but didn't provide any particular insight or depth of her as a person and her bottomless love for her son.

That being said the narrator was engaged, kept my interested and I did listen 'til the end. I wasn't particularly horrified or intrigued but I was entertained. I think that this could have worked better as a short story. Ultimately, it was a rather short audio book.

(early access courtesy of NetGalley.com)

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎧4.25⭐️

I had the audiobook narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, who has the most beautiful dulcet tones to listen to. I just loved listening.

It’s short, only 4hrs 42 minutes . It’s Joyce’s story about her son Michael. She gives her musing to her neighbour to read, she is desperate for him to help her write it. Those musings are her telling her neighbour and the reader the story. The way it’s told I totally bought into it.
It really demonstrates a mothers love, and the lengths she will go to to protect her offspring. It has dry witty mom humour, Joyce often goes off on a random tangent, giving an old lady feel. It’s got a YA vibe, except it’s got some strong bad language, it’s also quite dark.
There’s not a lot of character depth, but that’s not surprising with the length of the story.

The theme wouldn’t be my usual genre, but I have to say I really enjoyed it, the narrator is fabulous, but it seemed a strange choice as the storyteller is female.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an entertaining, horrifically fun read! I wasn't sure what to expect from this book about the mother of a werewolf, but it was incredibly enjoyable. Told as if the reader is the interviewer, and the werewolf's mother is being interviewed, the mother answers questions, waxes poetic about any old thing that comes to mind, and is incredibly funny in an understated, witty type of way. Though a story about a mildly horrific turn of events, namely, discovering one's son is morphing into a wild, meat-hungry, predator, the mother is really the star of the show with her wit and the story of her life as it relates to her son, her husband, and a wayward teacher colleague friend.

Highly enjoyable, I recommend this to anyone who likes a little humor in their horror.

[Chris Howells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edoardo Bellerini is without doubt one of the best narrators on the planet. His performance skills bring to life the central character's story, her son is a werewolf, and manages to elicit a sympathy for her and her plight. The delivery of some of her earthly funny lines made me laugh out loud. The novel is well written and original. It is about character rather than plot and does not have the tired cliches that fills so much of this genre. There is no lurid descriptions of the violence for its own sake, rather the impact the savagery has on the characters, and because he has given us time to get to know them, their fate is all the more painful. A short but excellent listen, this come highly recommended.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book for werewolf fans!

Most parents love their kiddos and would do anything to protect them, even unto adulthood, but what would you do when your son is a werewolf and kind of sucks at it?

This mother goes all out and then has to draw back. Depressing stuff but mainly there are many humorous moments. Certainly a unique one - and as always narration by Edoardo Ballerini is exceptional. He changes his voice for the female mother's narration expertly. He's the one who does the narration of Robert McCammon's Matthew Corbitt series, but the voice and tone for that one are so different you couldn't tell they were the same narrator by listening alone. Remarkable.

[Missy]

DNF - I did not care for the reader of this audiobook and could not connect the the story. As the story unfolds as a story within a story, it was not engaging.

Thanks to #netgalley for giving me a chance to listen to this book.

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audiobook was short but very entertaining! A gruesome October read. Told in a 2nd person narrative. It's basically about the full extent of motherly love. Makes you wonder what you would've done in her situation.

The narrator choice seemed a little odd to me at first but after about 30 min of listening, I realized that it actually works well for this type of story.

Special thanks to RB Media for the audiobook!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting. I liked the idea but the story fell a little flat for me. Still worth the listen though. I enjoyed it. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free audio copy in return for my review.

[Thena A Hendrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an unexpected adventure that took me on a wild ride. The ending was a twist that made the whole book for me. I really enjoyed listening to the audio as the narrator did the conversation pieces very well.

[OjoAusana · Rating 4 out of 5]

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* really good for how short it was, i was worried when i saw the length it might feel rushed or cut off too soon but perfect length!