Werewolf Novel Massacres Language

Gothic romances are hard to do. The first hurdle to overcome is the giggle factor — the bubble of laughter that suddenly arises as an emotionally over-wrought scene descends into melodrama. Then there is the fact that this is the genre of choice for both the novice novelist and the author who has been honing his craft for years in anticipation of the day he will be published. Because of these misfortunes, it is often overlooked by good writers who could shine this rock into a gem.

Red Riding Hood, unfortunately, is a classic gothic romance — which is a shame because the premise is strong. Drawing on the coming of age symbolism of the original tale, a young woman, Valerie, must decide what she wants out of life. She can marry the eligible blacksmith and have a good life; she can run away with the mysterious woodcutter and satisfy her desires; or, she sacrifice herself to the wolf who is ravaging her village.

One night the wolf kills her sister, beginning a four night attack on the town. The men try to capture it, only to discover that it is a werewolf — and one of their own. As the terror sets in, a stranger arrives to restore order, and uncovers the real evil in the community. The meditation on evil is the lynch-pin of the book, and also it’s downfall. As a child Valerie looked the wolf in the eye and since then she has been convinced that she is also evil — but there is nothing in the book to indicate this.

Yet it is clear that the authors, Sarah Blakley-Cartwright and David Leslie Johnson, believe that people are rotten at their core. They detest their characters and every description is dripping with disgust or disdain. As a result the reader really doesn’t care what happens to them, or the plot. The embodiment of evil is meant to subtly shift over the course of the story, redefining our definition of it. Yet it is so sloppily done that it becomes confused, as if the authors never fully grasped the concept themselves.

The point of view is also muddled. Although most of the story is seen through Valerie’s eyes, suddenly we will pop into someone’s head for a moment. This is incredibly disorienting. The strong symbolism should be allowed to speak for itself, as it does in the original tale, but the magic is meticulously explained out of it.

The novel reads like a university creative writing project. Perhaps this is because there are two authors, or perhaps it is because it did originate in a well-meaning educational setting, but either way the words trip over themselves in a scrambled dash to arrange themselves in the correct order:

• The town’s people, emerging from the nightmare, held to one another, raising a barrier against the Wolf. But it was also a barrier against the evil they had allowed into themselves. For a few moments, the center of the universe was there, in the village churchyard.

I have not seen the movie by Catherine Hardwicke, but I can guarantee it was better than this. Do not read this book for the kitsch factor, hoping that it is so bad it is good. It is not worth the slog. If you are interested in the symbolism or the plot, spend three minutes watching this video and save yourself the time and money.

[NSFW, unless you work with pasties]

Contact the author here: mick@morningquickie.com