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Wolf at the Table
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
12 posts | 11 read | 14 to read
The Corrections meets We Need to Talk About Kevin in this harrowing multigenerational saga about a family harboring a serial killer in their midst, from the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award finalist playwright Adam Rapp. It's August in Elmira, a small town in upstate New York, and the year is 1951. While Myra Lee Larkin, newly 13, reads a copy of The Catcher in the Rye secretly under the counter of the local diner, a young Micky Mantle approaches her table, chats her up, offers her a ride home. That night, none of her family believe it was really the Yankees outfielder. The matter consumes her until later that evening when the entire towns attention is torn away to the grisly triple homicide that occurs just three doors down from the Larkins on their quiet suburban street. Wolf at the Table unfolds from there, tracing the epic, multigenerational saga of the Larkin family over the next fifty years. Myra and her five younger siblings fan out across the Eastern United States, and yet violence seems to follow them everywhere. Her middle sisters, Lexy and Fiona, struggle with class and power, while Alec, the youngest and only boy, finds his fate more and more tightly wound to that of a prominent serial killer. Myra lands in Chicago, serving as a prison nurse to death row inmates while trying to raise her young son, Ronan, after his father ends up in a psychiatric hospital. All the while, Alec descends into ever-darker brushes with violence, and becomes alienated from the rest of the family, sending his mother cryptic postcards full of ominous portent. It is only the threat of a final confrontation that pulls back the curtain on the myth the family tells itself about its successes, its propriety, and its adherence to good Irish Catholic values. Spanning more than five decades of one familys pursuit of the American dream, Wolf at the Table explores our consistent proximity to violence and its effect over time. Pulitzer Prize finalist Adam Rapp writes with a gorgeous acuity that cuts straight to the heart of each character, and he reveals the devastating reality just beneath the veneer of good society.
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ImperfectCJ
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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I didn't read very much this week, but of the two I finished, this was the one I liked better.

#WeeklyFavorites @Read4life

Read4life Some reading is better than not getting to read at all!! 💙🤓💙 5mo
42 likes1 comment
review
ImperfectCJ
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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Pickpick

This one is a soft pick for me. I enjoyed the exploration of the inner workings of the Larkin family, but I'm disappointed that we didn't see more of some of the family members, especially Lexi. I'm also not totally on board with the brush with fame Alec had and the influence that had on his actions. #tob25 longlist

Photo: Not a wolf but a gray mammal at the table (Silo feeling betrayed that we didn't share Thanksgiving dinner with him).

Suet624 That cat! Oh my gosh. 5mo
TiredLibrarian That cat is clearly starving. 😻 5mo
Bren912 Hilarious!!! 5mo
See All 7 Comments
WildAlaskaBibliophile Milo is so cute! ❤ 5mo
Ruthiella 😻😻😻 5mo
Read-n-Bloom Oh yeah. He‘s not happy 😆 5mo
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 5mo
63 likes7 comments
blurb
ImperfectCJ
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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Amazing myself (and perhaps my seatmate but probably not because she didn't know me and so had no historical context), I spent nearly the entire flight reading the tagged book! It helped that none of the available movies seemed compelling.

TheBookHippie What did ya think of the book? I read the ARC. 6mo
ImperfectCJ @TheBookHippie I'm still working on it (it was only a couple hours flight), but I'm enjoying it so far. 6mo
60 likes3 comments
review
TrishB
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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Pickpick

Very surprised at all the meh reviews here (have only looked now once finished!).
I thought it was great.
Dysfunctional family, with one mega dysfunctional son. Decide yourself what made him this way.

squirrelbrain I loved this one too! 6mo
TrishB @squirrelbrain thought it was really well done 👍🏻 6mo
92 likes4 stack adds2 comments
review
azulaco
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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Pickpick

Wow, this one was heavy. I can see why it was a finalist for the Pulitzer. Family saga that spans the second half of the 20th century. And really, what‘s more American than baseball and serial killers? 😂 This family keeps having eerie brushes with serial killers over the course of their life struggles,of which there are many. I listened to the audio, and I think the matter-of-fact narrator suited the material well. This is a good one.

review
BarbaraBB
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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Mehso-so

Mixed feelings about my first 2025 read. The writing, the ingredients, this strange family: all was there to create a great story. But we only follow two of the siblings and we don‘t even get to know them that well, let alone the other family members. There are no real answers and while this may resemble real life, it‘s not what I expect after almost 500 pages. #ToB25Longlist

CBee Happy New Year, my friend ♥️♥️♥️ 7mo
Cathythoughts Oh I bailed early on this one. I just didn‘t like the whole vibe of it. 7mo
BarbaraBB @Cathythoughts I should‘ve known! 7mo
See All 11 Comments
BarbaraBB @CBee Thank you! You too my friend! 🩷🤍 7mo
Cathythoughts But there was some good writing, it was promising…. Except for some characters 🙄 7mo
Megabooks Yes!! Thank you!! You took the words out of my mouth!! Happy new year dear B! 7mo
Hooked_on_books I‘m waffling on whether or not to read this one. My library doesn‘t have it, so I have it saved in my Libro wishlist in case I decide to use a credit and go for it. We shall see. 7mo
BarbaraBB @Megabooks I read your review and feel exactly the same. It didn‘t deliver - while it absolutely could have. 7mo
CarolynM Crossing this off my list, then🙂 7mo
BarbaraBB @CarolynM Many people loved it so maybe you would too! 7mo
Lesliereadsalot I‘ve had this book out of the library twice and couldn‘t seem to get into it. Now I know why! Thanks for your review and I‘ll forgo a third try. 6mo
67 likes11 comments
review
squirrelbrain
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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Pickpick

Another book from the #toblonglist that I like better than many / most that made the short-list. 🤷‍♀️

It follows 2 out of a family of 5 siblings from childhood to adulthood, and one of their children too. It was a fascinating look at the nature / nurture question and how things we do or things that happen to us as children can reverberate throughout our lives.

It‘s long, but worked well for me on audio.

TheBookHippie I read this as an ARC for the publisher and I agree!!! 7mo
Bookwormjillk I can't wait to read this. The cover looks so menacing somehow. I am intrigued. 7mo
TrishB Sounds good 👍🏻 7mo
See All 14 Comments
TrishB This is only Qb.99 on kindle- but (d3 hardback. I may have brought it. 7mo
CarolynM This one sounds very interesting! It‘s expensive here even as a kindle book, but I‘ll keep a look out. 7mo
squirrelbrain Glad you agree with me! @TheBookHippie - it doesn‘t get any good reviews on here apart from me and you! 7mo
squirrelbrain Of course you did! 🤣 @TrishB I think you‘ll really like it! 7mo
squirrelbrain @Bookwormjillk - it‘s a very appropriate cover! 🤔 7mo
squirrelbrain @CarolynM - that‘s a shame - hopefully it will come down in price sometime soon. 7mo
TheBookHippie It freaked me out but it is very well done and written! 7mo
TheBookHippie @TrishB I think you‘ll like it! 7mo
TrishB @TheBookHippie I‘ll look forward to giving it a go! 7mo
youneverarrived Stacking. Always interested in books with that sort of theme. 7mo
66 likes2 stack adds14 comments
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Kimbono
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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2024 favorites.

BarbaraBB Looking forward to Wolf! 8mo
Kimbono I hope you like it. 😊 7mo
13 likes2 comments
review
Megabooks
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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Mehso-so

I just finished this and I‘m so angry!! It‘s the story of 5 - make that 2 - siblings, and he focused on the 2 I was least interested in. One sister is disabled and gets no story. Two more you hear from in the beginning and never again. One you don‘t even know what happens to at the end. I‘m calling BS!! You had almost 500 pages!!

That said, the writing is beautiful. The characters who are explored are captivating. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Mixed bag for me.

Megabooks #tob25 #toblonglist And FYI - if he had given me the tiniest crumb about these other sisters in the end, I probably would‘ve bumped it from 3⭐️ to 3.5 or 3.75. If he had given more voice to them throughout (as he did in the beginning), it would‘ve easily gone to 4.25 or more. If you dream up characters, use them!!! (edited) 8mo
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 8mo
BarbaraBB Interesting review! I‘ll be reading it soon 8mo
DogMomIrene I‘ve got this one on Kindle, but I‘ve read lots of mixed reviews like yours. Keeping it on the back burner for now. 8mo
66 likes5 comments
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Cathythoughts
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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Bailedbailed

This one started off so well. I was loving it. But as the characters took shape , I liked some of them less and less. Usually that wouldn‘t bother me , in this case I bailed, or at least I‘m taking a long pause. I can‘t really see myself returning to it.

BarbaraBB O wow, somehow I am now real curious 13mo
Cathythoughts @BarbaraBB It starts off great ! 13mo
dabbe #hailthebail! 🤩🤩🤩 13mo
See All 13 Comments
Cathythoughts @dabbe I‘m running for the hills 😂 13mo
Lesliereadsalot I bailed on this one really fast! 13mo
Cathythoughts @Lesliereadsalot That‘s interesting ! I don‘t think I like this writer ! 13mo
dabbe @Cathythoughts Excellent! 🤩😂🤗 13mo
Tamra Win some lose some. On to the next! 13mo
LeahBergen The premise does sound good. I can see why you took a chance on it! (edited) 13mo
emmasm08 To be avoided then 😂 13mo
Cathythoughts @Tamra On to the next 😁 13mo
Cathythoughts @LeahBergen The premise does sound great. Serial killer and all ! Oh well , I really didn‘t like it. 13mo
Cathythoughts @emmasm08 Oh I think so 👍🏻❤️ 13mo
53 likes13 comments
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Kimbono
Wolf at the Table | Adam Rapp
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I finished this a week ago cant stop thinking about the Larkin family. It is dark and complex and so well written. 5 ⭐️

17 likes4 stack adds