An epic novel that spans almost fifty years from 1951—2010, WOLF AT THE TABLE satisfied several of my reading urges. Without being gratuitous, Rapp introduces characters with various mental health disorders, folded into a domestic drama of six siblings. They were raised by a withdrawn war vet father and a stern, religious Catholic mother. The siblings are so un each other---Fiona is beatnik/hippie, Myra is earthy and solid, Alec is isolative and friendless (he sustained merciless abuse by priests). One died a baby, and you’ll read about the others. My takeaway is that the Larkin family represents a slice of American life--- a combination of candid, passive, violent, rebellious, conforming---there’s a gentle side and an underbelly of psychopathology. There's a serial killer in the midst, or should I say the mist? Accountability proves a tough road.

Rapp understands the nuances of schizophrenia, intellectual disability, and sociopathy, avoiding clichés I’ve seen when a writer fails to do their homework. I suspect he’s had an up-close-and-personal experience from someone close to him. Either that, or he’s just exceptional on his research and execution. (One misstep—I’ve never seen an onset of schizophrenia at age eleven). As a psychiatric nurse, I am wary when I read about characters that I see every day. But Rapp predominantly passed the smell test. His maladjusted characters are credible and complex. WOLF is the landscape of the American Dream/American Nightmare.

His main protagonist, Myra Lee, is the oldest of her siblings, and definitely the most well-drawn in the novel. me, she is a nurse, and skilled at working with clients who have psychiatric disorders and criminal behaviors. She is a strong and selfless individual, and was the glue of the family, certainly the moral compass. Readers get a clear view of her thoughts and feelings, and she was a fictional stand-in for Rapp’s mother, with poetic license.

We meet thirteen-year-old Myra in 1951, on an after-church Sunday, during her only free time. She’s the one in charge of her sister Joan, who has Down’s syndrome, so she relishes this brief weekly liberty, when she sits in her favorite diner to read. A hidden copy of Catcher in the Rye is taped under a table, courtesy of an understanding waitress. A first edition copy of the Salinger book wends its way through the Rapp novel, symbolizing angst, alienation, connection, lost innocence---all themes that the author tackles in this novel.

Immersed in Holden Caulfield, Myra gets interrupted by a handsome and charismatic older chap claiming to be Mickey Mantle, who assertively grabs a seat beside her. The persona of Mickey Mantle, Holden Caulfield, also becomes a motif (along with a rare MM baseball card). He’s the first “wolf at the table” that we meet. A few more will follow.

When WOLF is on point, it shines. It’s credible and immersive, and the last seventy pages were riveting. Occasionally it lagged, it could have used a trim in the middle and sides, (when I’d see the author flickering behind the curtain). Perhaps one more draft would have tightened it up. Rapp would wax burlesque, but then he’d get over the hump and reel me back in.

A warm thanks to Little, Brown and Company for sending me an ARC for review.35 s3 comments Jill1,220 1,862

I went into this book believing the focus would be on a “family harboring a serial killer in their midst,” but Adam Rapp’s intentions are far more nuanced. In reality, Wolf at the Table is a meditation about the ubiquitous nature of evil and our constant proximity to it. To read it narrowly as a parable about one particular family would be, I believe, a mistake.

The author telegraphs his intentions right from the beginning. The oldest of give children in the staunchly Catholic Larkin family, teenager Myra meets a stranger who claims to be the up-and-coming baseball player Mickey Mantle. With his chiseled physique and all-American looks, Mantle was the epitome of the American sports hero. We know in hindsight that he is destined to fall from grace through his heavy alcoholism, which left him a shell of the man he once was.

Did Myra truly meet Mickey Mantle? Probably not. Directly afterward, we learn that a killing took place close by, which might have been enacted by the imposter. If, indeed, he was an imposter. Heroes and killers go hand in hand.

We do know that Myra’s sole surviving brother, Alec, is the family’s bad seed and, as time elapses, is ly a serial killer. He preys on teenage boy athletes, who are on the cusp of breaking through their lower socioeconomic conditions through their sports prowess. In other words, these are boys primed to live the American Dream.

In the meantime, life goes on around the Larkins. As the siblings settle into their roles – the responsible older sister Myra, the flamboyant Fiona, and so on – Alec lingers on the outside, sending disturbing postcards to his family. Evil continues to lurk, particularly with peripheral references to Richard Speck and John Wayne Gacy and priest abuse. As life wears away at the siblings, innocence is lost, and in his or her own way, every key character becomes complicit in the perpetuation of evil.

This is a fascinating book. My thanks to Little Brown and Company and NetGalley for enabling me to be an advance reader in exchange for an honest review.




22 s3 comments Cynthia904 139

I hate to be the bad guy. While this book does have a few negative ratings, no one has written a negative review yet. I read the glowing ones, hoping their insight would help me discover something redeemable within this novel, but I do not feel even a fragment of what those who loved this felt.

There are a number of things that bothered me about this book, but the aspect I found the most bothersome was how completely void of emotion it was. The author examines one family’s close proximity to violence and mental illness, but offers absolutely no impactful lines in the narrative. I think it was fair for me to expect this to hit hard, to shock, to hurt, to, perhaps, even conjure tears. It did not accomplish any of this. Despite its length, the book is hasty in its delivery of every single crime. Rapp never let any of it simmer, and he never allowed his readers to feel what the characters felt. It all seemed to float upon the surface of something that could have been profound.

The story is dialogue heavy, which I suspect has a lot to do with the author’s history as a playwright and screenplay writer. I’m sure this could work under different circumstances, but I found it rather tedious in Wolf at the Table, as much of the dialogue contributed very little meaning to the novel.

The title of the story, as well as the synopsis, make it clear that we can expect a member of the family to grow into a serial killer in due time, and it’s obvious who this will be from the start. However, I still found this character’s descent implausible. Rapp’s intention for this character was evident, but I don’t think it was well developed. One aspect I did was the subtlety of a parent denying all responsibility for their wayward child, but I felt frustrated by the implied complicity of all family members. I suppose Rapp may have wanted readers to be shocked and bothered by this, and I also suppose their inaction is a reality for many families. But the way their willful ignorance was conveyed left me incredulous.

The narrative is laden with bodily descriptions, and while both genders were included, those of women were derogatory and/or sexualized. I could not help but notice that men were often “heavyset” (or similar), while women were described as “fat,” as if fat was a vulgar thing to be. The only time I recall a male reference using this word, it also seemed to be villainized. I really cannot stand seeing such prominent fat shaming in a book.

There were other descriptions, outside of those surrounding women’s bodies, that I could have done without, as well. While some seem to fit the mind frame of the characters we were visiting in any given chapter, this was told through a third person narrator so, unless such descriptors were conveyed through dialogue or properly attributed to a specific character’s thoughts, I don’t think it came across especially well. I believe I understand what Rapp was trying to capture, but I think it’s going to bother a number of readers because it’s not well communicated. It’s often downright offensive.

One component examined in Wolf at the Table was nature versus nurture. As a lover of psychology, this should have ticked the right boxes for me but, everything else, I don’t think it was handled skillfully. In my opinion, most specifically in regard to mental illness, I think the genetic link felt forced, and woefully misunderstood.

I am often more attracted to character driven narratives than plot driven ones. I kept asking myself what qualities made this particular one so unappealing as I read. Aside from all I’ve already mentioned, I feel the author attempted to dig into too many characters and needed a more structured focal point. The idea of looking at the impact of violence, both historically and within one family, is an interesting one, but this novel failed to make a thorough, impressive statement surrounding the topic.

Since Wolf at the Table was a highly anticipated read for me, my disappointment is enormous.

I am immensely grateful to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

Wolf at the Table will be out on March 19, 2024.12 s Mary Lins927 139

“Wolf at the Table”, by Adam Rapp, has had marvelous pre-publication hype, and I was “anxious” to read it – anxious in the sense of urgently excited, but also in the sense of anxiety that it might not meet expectations. Ultimately it wasn’t what I expected, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rapp has written numerous plays and YA fiction, and I’m guessing that’s why his prose is never dense or over-written; his writing is clear and vivid, and it keeps the story flowing forward at a perfect pace. As time passes and the story builds so does the suspense and the sense of doom and danger. I couldn’t put it down.

Beginning in 1951 and ending in 2010, Rapp tells the story of the Larkin family across the decades, which is also the story of America over those years. It is a large but not especially close, Catholic family and the novel mainly follows oldest daughter Myra and her slightly younger brother, Alec. Alec is caught stealing and his parents “kick him out” when he is still quite young. He roams the country, yet sends home disturbing “messages” for decades.

“The Wolf at the Table” is also a psychological thriller where the reader knows more than the characters about a deep threats of violence in close proximity to each of the main characters.

It is also about how people deal with problematic family members. As a reader I was angered and frustrated by characters who willfully turned away from evidence that would have required them to take action. But that’s what makes this such a great read; I was provoked into many feelings!
“Wolf at the Table” will keep you up at night in more ways than one!

My thanks to Little Brown for an advanced reader’s copy of this gripping and disturbing novel. 4.5 rounded up!5 s Jennifer1,124 2

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an impartial review.

Absolutely outstanding. I do not understand where Adam Rapp has been - writing plays, I guess. More novels, please, Mr. Rapp. Smart, thoughtful, incredibly well-written, about families, violence, loneliness, and what we owe each other, and more and more. If I have to quibble--I missed some of the sibling voices the reader loses along the way but only because each character is so beautifully and distinctly drawn. I think this novel defies pigeon-holing as the reader does not necessarily know where Rapp is leading. But what a fantastic trip.4 s Tina Plintz62 3

I give this book a 2 stars.
My honest opinion was it lacked feeling! I will say the book was well written and I did finish it. But I did find it missing something. The descriptions of surroundings and characters were great but I found it lacked how they were actually feeling. I maybe because it jumped from character to character. I found out after this was a first novel from a playwright. And I honestly wonder if that is why. There was no twists and turns it was very straightforward.
I was excited to read it since it was compared to we need to talk about Kevin. But I was very disappointed unfortunately. I am glad I was able to get an advance copy to try from NetGalley.3 s1 comment Paula W436 77

I was provided an advanced listening copy of the audiobook by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expected publication date: 3/19/2024.

Spanning the years 1951-2010, this character-driven family saga follows the Larkin family. Myra is mostly the main character, and is the eldest of 6 children in a strict Catholic family when we meet her at the age of 13. Myra has 3 sisters and 2 brothers, one of whom dies as an infant from rheumatic fever. Myra must sadly take on a lot of parental responsibility at a young age by helping out with her younger siblings. She becomes a nurse and still finds herself caring for and supporting some of her younger siblings well into adulthood. Myra’s younger sisters Lexy and Fiona find themselves on opposite ends of the class and power system as adults. Her brother Alec, the former altar boy, was a thief by age 10 (and a victim of sexual assault from several priests). Stealing church funds at age 18 got him kicked out of the family home for good, and then he spent his young adult years roaming the country doing odd jobs, hanging out with bad people (John Wayne Gacy?), and calling Myra for financial assistance or just a shoulder to cry on when he was too drunk. Oh, and also sending his mother a Tupperware container full of poop one Christmas.

I’m not sure what the message is here. This book has a whole lot going on. A lot of it was done well, but I’m not sure that all of it was.

1.) This is a family saga, but un any family saga you have ever read.
2.) There is true crime. Serial killers are amongst us.
3.) There is an underlying theme that violence is always in close proximity and no one can be trusted, not even your siblings or your spouse.
4.) Devout Catholics, particularly during the early time period in this book, often turned their head to the sexual abuses going on within the church, to the detriment of the victims who ended up with PTSD and other issues.
5.) Schizophrenia can be passed down through families, and some people fare better than others because of better support systems and better healthcare.
6.) Family and friends will often keep their mouths shut when they discover something horrendous about someone. Me, I’m an unapologetic snitch. I would rat out my own son in a heartbeat if I even suspected some of the stuff going on in this book. I just don’t get it.

I’m going with 4 stars. I think people will be talking about this book for a while. As a plus, the audiobook narrator (Paul Sparks) was excellent. 2 s Stacy40pages1,553 191

Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp. Thanks to @littlebrownandcompany for the gifted Arc ????????

Myra is the oldest of a large Catholic family in 1951 when she meets a man claiming to be Mickey Mantle. The event shapes her youth, as a triple homicide occurs later that night. As her siblings grow and also leave home, her brother Alex becomes more isolated.

If you’re a fan of character driven family sagas, this is one for you. It’s very long.. in my opinion, slightly longer than it needed to be, but once you get into all the characters you don’t mind. There’s some cameos by real life serial killers that you may pick up if you’re a true crime fan. Overall a very interesting character study and saga.

“It’s a door rising out of the earth, the simplest of doors, wooden, with a tarnished brass knob. You either grab hold of it, turn the knob and walk through the f*cking thing, or you don’t.”

Wolf at the Table comes out 3/19. 2 s Bonita Soley367 4

Gritty and gripping - an immersion into non-fiction through fiction. A seemingly average Elmira family, five siblings - the responsible one, smart one, wild one, challenged one, and the lost one follow disparate paths, sometimes crossing, sometimes avoiding - some brush with evil, a couple will collide with it, for one it will stick. One will have an easy path, some struggle more than others - and mental illness will try to break some, but be surpassed in others. An intense journey - and when it's done - will leave you stunned.2 s Shereadbookblog720

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.2 s Pam Poddany323 5

Spanning the years 1951 to 2010, this is the story of the Larkin family living in Elmira, New York. They are a strict Catholic family with six children..Myra, Lexy, Alec, Fiona, Joan, and baby Archie.

This is their life stories--each chapter is told from the point-of-view of one of the characters. Throughout the entire book, right from the beginning, you can feel the tension, danger, and suspense constantly building. As the reader, YOU know something evil is lurking...but the characters? Not so much! They are naive and blind to the dangers that constantly surround all of them.

The book is filled with a sense of family and love, while at the same time, the characters are dealing with crimes, serial killers, schizophrenia, and mental disorders. As the reader, your eyes are wide open.

The characters are so filled-out, so down-to-earth, so real. Life events are normal and every day, yet at the outskirts of their lives, evil dwells. Richard Speck and John Wayne Gacy are involved and there is even a serial killer who is too close to home.

This book was hard to put down. Author Adam Rapp certainly has a way with words.

A special thank you to Little, Brown and Company for an advanced copy of the book in turn for my honest review. 1 Melanie130

A Dark, hopefully hopeless, plunge into a disturbingly limitless pool of humanity and not in a good way. Rapp excels at writing sentences filled with foreboding thoughts that grow even darker in my own mind. His descriptions of schizophrenia are vivid and really, some of the most “emotionally present” parts of this book. Violence is much closer than it appears in your peripheral vision. 1 2 comments Agrippina Fadel50

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, this book took me for a ride. It was not what I expected. It could also be named "The Larkin Family and all the psychopathic killers around them."
The book covers 60 years in the history of the Larkins, a middle-class family with six children. We see the kids grow up and go through life while dealing with some major challenges. Lots of character development, mental illness discussion, serial killings, and some pretty messed up stuff. (would you mail your mother your poop or all of your teeth? how about both?)
If you true crime and serial killer lore, you will particularly enjoy it, but the book is not really about the crimes and criminals. I think it is more about what makes people do horrible things and how often ordinary citizens come in contact with killers and molesters without knowing it, and how the "ordinary citizens" sometimes end up being monsters.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full reviewnetgalley-titles1 Stacey277 7

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley. This book, as the title implies, is dark and gritty. The story starts with a large Catholic family of 6 children and we follow them as the members peel off and fall away. A brother dies as a child which sets the stage in a sense for everyone to handle the future in their own way. One sister is disabled and will stay with mom forever, another sister floats off, she is a con and a hippie, yet another leaves to start a new, well to do life, a brother drifts leaving one to be the peacekeeper, conduit for the family shop always tries to do right by others. It’s almost the roles in an alcoholic family come to life. The books spans 1950’s to 2000 and gives nods to events of the time, including several serial killers. There are near misses with evil, there is a deep immorality in one character borne of trauma. It was intense and unexpected.1 Devin Mainville365 6

I think this book suffers from its marketing. The synopsis promises a “harrowing multigenerational saga about a family harboring a serial killer in their midst” which sounds my entire alley. Of course, if the marketing was truthful and billed it as the Forrest Gump of true crime, it probably wouldn’t sell as well.

I enjoyed aspects of this story, but it was entirely too long and needed a clearer focus. It felt Rapp wrote this for himself, not the reader - the prose too dense and self-indulgent. Which may be great for him, but not so much for me.

I think a lot of these vignettes work as short stories, but they don’t add up cohesive narrative.1 Ania16

this is lettrboxed for books omg. this book was good. 1 Lauren1,351

I have mixed feelings about this book. The writing is excellent, but I was very uncomfortable and upset with his descriptors about women, people with disabilities, and people of color. While I acknowledge they were meant to be realistic of the time periods in which this book is written, I found some of it vulgar and unnecessary.

The plot was also predictable. That’s not always a bad thing, but based on the description of the book, I was expecting more of a twist.

From the first two pages I knew what I was getting into: no teenage girl love The Catcher in the Rye.fiction-historical-fiction1 Bookreporter.com Historical Fiction569 31

Myra Lee Larkin is the oldest of five children living with her parents in Elmira, New York. Her mother expects much from her as the eldest sibling. In 1951, Myra is 13 years old and seeks periods of solitude whenever she can find them. She sneaks off to a diner to read the controversial THE CATCHER IN THE RYE before her daily curfew. A stranger strikes up a conversation with her and makes quite an impression. The man says his name is Mickey Mantle, and the only things that erase him from her reverie are her baby brother’s hospitalization and the triple murder of a local family.

In 1964, Alec is the black sheep of the Larkin family, shuffling from job to job and one single-room occupancy to another. Laziness appears to be the reason for his inevitable dismissal from each job, or at least that’s what his recent boss has informed him. Alec’s friend, Duke, consoles him and advises him of a plan to make some fast money. He goes with Duke and inadvertently becomes involved in a robbery-homicide.

As the turbulent 1960s progress, a majority of the Larkins reunite for a Christmas Eve dinner. The contrasts between the siblings are apparent as Myra is working as a nurse in Chicago, Lexy is attending college in New Haven, Fiona embodies the free-spirited hippie, Alec is MIA and Joan is developmentally challenged. The dinner descends into chaos as Fiona and Lexy engage in trading barbs intended to sting the other, while the remainder of the guests serve as mediators or merely spectators.

The ensuing decades witness Myra getting married and having a child, Ronan, with a troubled man named Denny. Ronan goes to New York to become a writer and finds love. Lexy also weds and has two children. Joan remains home, where she is often a comfort to her mother. Fiona’s life takes her from Myra’s couch to a commune and then to New York City in an attempt to be an actress. Alec’s pursuits begin to take him down a road that is far darker than anyone could imagine.

WOLF AT THE TABLE charts 60 turbulent years through the eyes of one family and leaves no emotion unshed. Adam Rapp brings limitless depth to each of the prominent characters featured in his latest work. Myra enters the novel as a romantic soul who identifies with Holden Caulfield from THE CATCHER IN THE RYE. As a young teenager, she is restless yet doesn’t shirk her familial obligations. She is the polar opposite of Alec and Fiona. Fiona is the perpetual adolescent who envies her older sisters and always has her hand out. Alec is a troubled man whose apathy is only rivaled by his cruelty. Each chapter is engrossing and functions as a novella on its own, where the climax often involves a shocking moment.

Rapp has written an extraordinary novel that dismantles the nuclear family but illustrates how some bonds can remain indestructible.

Reviewed by Philip Zozzaro Liz487 17

It is curious that the last two books I have read developed from a seed in the authors' past. Each author had physical memories passed down to them, giving one the entire history of the family and the other snatches of memories in a shoebox delivered over two decades later.

I enjoyed these brilliant family sagas, Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp and This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud. After reading these incredible novels, I thought that much of the literature I've read recently by older authors telling family stories might be a catalyst for creating a new genre: Aging Adult Fiction (alternative adjectives could include Old, Older, Personal Long History). I the categorization, and I love the books. The first one for me was Elizabeth Strout, who wrote about fleeing New York with her ex-husband at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lucy by the Sea. Then there was Ian McEwan in Lessons.

These literary giants wrote about what life looks when viewed from the prism of what was on offer at the beginning of life and how things played out for all the familial characters. Rapp's large family in Elmira, New York, shook me to the core with hints of horrific events happening close to what seemed a typical lower middle-class family with four sisters and two brothers. Myra, the oldest daughter, told the main POV chapters, followed by the mother and the brother. As time passed and children were born into this family, Ronin became my hero. Folks, this is not a gentle stroll down memory lane. But it was worth every minute I spent reading this brilliant novel.

On the other side of Aging Adult Fiction is the brilliant global journey Claire Messud creates with Gaston and Lucienne Cassar. The Cassars, deeply in love, find separation from each other painful as Gaston is in the French Navy and Lucienne is trying to parent her children in Algeria. The Cassar family story takes us worldwide, moving for almost a century. They become a family without an actual, natural home to comfort them. The family and their offspring make the best of each situation, but home is an elusive fantasy that will forever elude them. I felt particularly stirred by this story as it contains personal elements.

The heft of Wolf at the Table and This Strange Eventful History gave me so much to reflect on, consider, and learn from. I am in awe of these authors and their work.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of these books.

Wolf at the Table was published on March 19, 2024, by Little, Brown, and Company.


This Strange Eventful History will be published on May 14, 2024, by W. W. Norton & Company.best-of-2024 netgalley Donna Krutsinger21 3

I found this book mesmerizing and fascinating as I read it in its entirety in one snowy day.

Rapp creates very diverse characters all in one family. The siblings, five in total, turn out to be markedly disparate indeed. There are several characters introduced and examined in the book - the parents, their five children, the main character's spouse, their child. So many of these characters are truly developed throughout the book's plot.

I really enjoyed the timeline of the book, which spans 6 decades, taking the reader on a trip from 1951 to 2010. We travel with these characters from upstate New York all the way to Los Angeles, CA. Being from Illinois, I found it intriguing that locations such as Marion, Carbondale, Joliet, and Chicago were components of the setting, also.

Probably the aspect I d the most about this book though had to be all of the topics that Rapp broached - abuse in the Catholic church, serial killers, handicapped siblings, schizophrenia, sports (professional baseball and collegiate track), the NY art scene. If someone would have handed me a book and told me to read it and that it was going to be about all of those topics, I probably would have just shook my head and said No Thanks. Rapp makes this work though, does he ever make it work.

I don't remember the last time I read a book so quickly. I love historical and pop culture references, and this plot is packed full of those. You have the character of Mickey Mantle (or perhaps the illusion of Mickey Mantle's character) playing a part. You have several baseball references to the Yankees and then also several to the Chicago Cubs. You've got John Wayne Gacy's lethal injection at Statesville Correctional Institute in 1994. The serial killer, Richard Speck's slaughter of nurses in 1966 plays into the plot, also,

Truly, while reading the book and also after finishing it, I thought it was genius how the author created these characters and was able to tell their family stories all the while weaving so much mainstream culture history into it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Little, Brown & Co. / Hatchette Book Group for the opportunity to preview this ARC. I highly recommend it.adult-fiction arc contemporary-fiction ...more2 s Heather L322 4

This is a very good book, it is the slice of life for the Larkin family, a large Catholic brood that has its ups and downs over a period spanning from 1951-2010, the author has certainly captured the essence of this family and brought them and their struggles to life. Myna is 13 when she meets a boy who she is led to believe by him, is Mickey Mantle, as a reader this scene really leapt off the pages you could almost feel the malice in this fellow (who was not Mantle). The story is told through the point of view of certain of the people in the family, Myra, Fiona, Lexy, Alec and Joan, there is a sixth, a baby, who passed away at the beginning of the story. Myrna is the eldest and the most grounded, Fiona is a hippie who never seems to settle down (or want to), Alec is probably one of the most despicable characters I have read in quite some time, he has a mean streak from the get go and it gets worse over time, Joan has mental health issues and requires life long care. The mom has her point of view at times as well, her and her husband kicked Alec out of the house when he was young (this raises the question of nature vs nurture). Myrna marries Denny a man she fell in love with quite quickly, he ends up leaving her during a blizzard and she finally tracks him down several years later, he's living with another woman, who turns out to be a nurse, Denny has mental health issues, which appear in their son, and his son in later chapters. Myrna is a nurse who eventually becomes a nurse at the State Prison during the time John Wayne Gacy was to be executed for his crimes. As Alec's timeline advances he turns into a very dark character, stealing whatever he can and becoming a serial killer, his timeline is the most disturbing to read. I would recommend especially if you enjoy family sagas. Thanks to #Netgalley and #LittleBrownandCo for the ARC. Vicki326 4

“Wolf at the Table,” by Adam Rapp, Little, Brown and Company, 400 pages, March 19, 2004.

In August of 1951 in Elmira, New York, Myra Larkin, 13, the oldest in a Catholic family of six children, is reading in a local diner. Ava, her mother, allows this as long as she’s home by 7:15 p.m. to help with the younger kids. The other children in her family are Fiona, Alec, Joan, Lexie and Archie. Joan is mentally challenged. Their father’s name is Donald.

She meets a young man in the diner. Then as she is walking home, it starts raining heavily. A car pulls over. It is the young man who offers her a ride home. He claims that he plays in the minor leagues for the New York Yankees. He says his name is Mickey Mantle.

During the night, Myra is awakened by sirens. Police are at a neighbor’s house. Myra goes outside. She overhears a neighbor say that Bob and Bonnie Mulert and their daughter, Marie, 11, were murdered. The police never arrest the killer.

Fast forward to August of 1964. Alec picks apples on a farm in Niagara Falls. He is fired for poor performance. Alec is an alcoholic and becomes more of a loner. He and his friend, Duke Foster, burglarize a store, but Duke kills the owner. Duke tells Alec to head to the Midwest.

Then a year later, Myra is a prison nurse in Chicago. She meets Denny Happ who lives in her apartment building. They marry and have a son, Ronan. When Ronan is six, Denny deserts them. Fiona lives in New York. Lexi is in college. Archie died of rheumatic fever in infancy. Joan is still at home. As time goes on, Alec, once an altar boy, drifts into oblivion. As he becomes an increasingly alienated loner, his mother begins to receive strange postcards from him.

While it starts slowly, the story builds. It shows how siblings can become so different and how one person’s mental illness can impact the whole family. Botopsy (Surbhi Mishra)67 11

I have mixed feelings on this book, the pace is engrossing and boring. The narration is in the perspective of the characters. However, this character-driven approach seems to be unevenly distributed, as the narrative focus primarily circles around just two of the five siblings. This limited scope is somewhat disappointing, as it narrows the reader’s experience of the family dynamics and individual character arcs

Adding to the complexity of the reading experience is the narrative structure. Just as I begun to forge an emotional connection with a character, immersing myself in their story and empathizing with their situation, the narration abruptly shifts. These transitions can be jarring, flinging the reader to a different character’s perspective or leaping across the timeline to a separate moment in the story. Such frequent changes can disrupt the flow and make it challenging to maintain a continuous and deep engagement with each character’s journey throughout the novel.

The characters within this book are crafted with a certain degree of complexity and imperfection, which in theory should lend them an air of authenticity and relatability. There are instances where their struggles and desires resonate, reflecting the multifaceted nature of human experience. Despite this intention, and even with a diverse cast of over seven characters, I found it difficult to establish a genuine emotional connection with any single individual within the story.

All in all, I feel that this book is unnecessarily long. Read it of you family saga. But don’t expect deep connect with characters or plot.

Thanks to the publishers at Little Brown for the advance review copy. All Views are my own.
Donna43 2

This novel explores how siblings raised under similar circumstances can turn out so differently. We follow the Larkins, a 1950's devout Catholic family through generations as they play the hands they're dealt. We meet the girls first. Myra, the good girl becomes a prison nurse, marries, has a son and is then abandoned by her husband when the child turns six. Fiona, the bohemian, is constantly aspiring to an acting career and a lifestyle that she can't have. Lexy, the youngest, is the beauty of the family and has a head for finance. We also meet the boys, and while the youngest dies in infancy, Alec, the golden one, becomes an alter boy which sets him off to replicate his worst moments.
Members of the Larkin family brush up against violence-a mass murder a few blocks away from their house, encounters with serial killers Richard Speck and John Wayne Gacey, and a series of disturbing postcards that Alec periodically sends to his mother. Myra's son Ronan has the ability to redeem this family but has his own inherited demons to deal with. We hope for the best for these people but life happens and realistically, things don't always turn out the way we'd them to.
This is a fascinating character study of a family on the edge. Grim in sections, hopeful in others, the reader is motivated to find out how the author will tie everything together and whether reckoning and redemption are possible. A difficult read but well worth the effort. Connie 323 6

I expected Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp to be dark, but the plot was not quite what I expected based on the description. The book peers into the lives of the Larkin family, including staunch matriarch Ava, quiet and damaged Donald, along with their children Myra, Alec, Fiona, Joan and Lexy. Their story is not a happy one; descriptors that come to mind include gritty, sad, harrowing and disturbing.

We get slices of their lives over the course of 50 years and told from mainly Myra's and Alec's points of view. There is a bit from Ava and Fiona, but I would have d to hear more about Lexy, Fiona and Joan. The theme seems to be how close their lives are brushed with violence, but some members are closer than others. The strong writing carries the book as we visit the Larkins over the timeline. Although parts are difficult to read, I will call it 3.5 stars rounded up.

I will recommend this to readers who dark family dramas.

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.netgalley SusanH115

Adam Rapp is a masterful writer. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award winning novelist and playwright. His skill at entering the mind of ordinary people and psychopaths makes the book both enormously compelling and deeply disturbing. While I’ve read other books that describe this type of family interaction, Rapp’s attention to detail and insight is truly on another level. He intersperses real events with the characters he creates as they move through their lives. You read in vivid detail how siblings raised in the same environment can develop so differently. Myra, the oldest of six (including Fiona, Alec, Joan, Lexy and Archie) brings hope and life to this large Catholic family as they each face obstacles in life, never being far from murder and loss. You won’t be able to put this book down until you reach its conclusion. With thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for this ARC. My opinions are my own. #AdamRapp susanh_book Jeanne967 37

The story of the Larkin family of Elmira, NY. What a mess they are. Myra is the oldest and the most able but she just seems to go along with things. She is probably the most able. Her brother, Alec, is horrible and mean and leaves when he is 19. There is also Fiona, a failed actress, Joan who has a mental handicap and Lexy who seems to be the one that "makes it." Lexy and Fiona are barely mentioned and the story goes back and forth between Alex and Myra but there are years in between each chapter so you are meant to fill in the gaps. The story takes place from 1951 to 2010. A lot of places mentioned in NY were familiar to me so that made it interesting but there just didn't seem to be a lot of emotion or dialogue. At one point I thought a character was going to be killed and I was good with that. The author just didn't make me care enough.

I would to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown and Co. for providing me with a digital copy.netgalley Mark485 2

I love Adam Rapp's plays, especially THE SOUND INSIDE, and I did not really know he's writing novels as well, but I have to admit, I read his WOLF AT THE TABLE, all 500 pages, in one sitting. It's incredibly provocative and fascinating. The tales of one family--parents, three daughters, one son--are riveting, honest, and, yes, violent. But Rapp truly understands family, even the extreme cases, and he writes with sensitivity, humor, and honesty. Maybe most importantly, not un Jonathan Franzen, he can paint the bigger picture through small moments that encompass and represent how we all feel, act, and think. This is a truly superior novel, one that held me from the very beginning, and although the violence is challenging, he paints beautifully how it's tied to our struggles internally. He also understands the nature of bipolar personalities, and while they often lead to violent behavior, he describes all acts with empathy, and, yeah, love. Five stars for sure. Heather Hudson7

A very disturbing and unsettling book. I struggled with rating it because I cannot “recommend” the book yet I must acknowledge the skill of the author. It is extremely well written and fills you with dread as you turn each page yet compels you to keep turning - in part in hopes that there will be a glimmer of goodness or happiness in store. But no, other than one sister who gets very little mention, tragedy just keeps piling on, impacting every character. There is little good news to be found in these pages. It reminded me of A Little Life yet, unimaginable as this may sound, Yanagihara novel is almost joyful in comparison. If the sign of a good book is it’s ability to keep you awake all night struggling with the horror of what can happen to a family of “ordinary” people this must be a “good book”. But if you read to find some bit of hope and joy you may want to skip this. Annie2,138 126

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