The Wolf at the Door

Jameson Currier

Completed 2/25/2018, reviewed 2/25/2018

3 stars

I wish I’d visited New Orleans at some point in my life.  It seems a world apart from anything in my experience.  My only exposure to it is mostly from literature, movies, and TV.  The Wolf at the Door is a new book to add to my list of virtual New Orleans visits.  And while it doesn’t give a grand tour of the city, it certainly has the tone one would expect from a story about a haunted, gay-owned and operated guesthouse in the French Quarter.  It’s a fun little book, light-reading with a couple of deep messages thrown in.  It was nominated for a Gaylactic Spectrum Award for positive LGBTQ images in SF/Fantasy/Horror.

Avery runs a guesthouse and his ex, Parker, runs the adjoining restaurant.  Together they own the building and run ragged with their businesses, barely keeping their heads above water.  Avery, who drinks, eats, and works too much, is starting to see ghosts, strange little balls of light, and a spectral wolf.  Are they real, or is it just the booze?  Surrounded by a cast of gay men and lesbians, Avery tries to get of the bottom of his visions.

The interesting thing about the book is that it’s not just a ghost story, it’s also a personal journey of spiritual rediscovery.  Avery grew up in a family of charlatan faith healers and snake handling evangelists.  His experience of God is not a healthy one.  Growing up gay only made matters worse.  Now with all the ghosties floating around, he soon learns that it’s possible to have a relationship with God that’s healthy and tangible.  I was surprised a little by this.  I felt it was introduced a little awkwardly, but eventually it wove into the story pretty well. 

The book also discusses slavery in Louisiana in the 1800s.  In addition to the horror that slavery is, we hear the story of a family full of interracial relationships with its slaves, the offspring of some are slaves and others are free.  It’s really frightening how cruel a family can be.  And the story is based on the author’s actual research on New Orleans life in the 1800s.

I did have a few problems with the book.  Avery reads an old journal from one of the family that originally owned the building, the family that I described in the preceding paragraph.  It is interesting at first, but goes on a little too long.  I felt the book dragged in spots during this part.  He also reads from an unpublished manuscript which drags a little.  Lastly, there isn’t much dialogue.  A majority of the story takes place in Avery’s head.  Sometimes this drags a bit too.  It does help us understand though that he is potentially an unreliable narrator.  I would have liked to have seen more interaction with the other people at the guesthouse, though.  They were setup interestingly and I thought could have had a lot more participation in the narrative.

Overall I enjoyed the book.  It’s full of flawed but endearing characters.  It’s a quick read despite dragging in a few parts.  I give the book three out of five stars.