I would say 3 1/2 stars. I expected more suspense from the description of "serial killer at their table".

Wolf at the Table presents the life and times of a large family, whose children grow up and make their way in the world. It presents the varied paths that each child chooses, and the consequences of those choices. The story touches on the effects of each person's personal history on those choices. The story brings to light how children raised in the same home and family can still come away with vast differences and difficulties as adults.

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 likely 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.

In the 1950s Ava and Donald Larkin and their curving children Myra, Alec, Lexy and Fiona begin their somewhat sprawling family tale in Elmira, New York…..and one (or more) serial killers run through it.

Odd, but interesting little book, your fairly standard family saga with an older sister who holds things together, a ne’er do well son who disappears, the one who must stay home, an upwardly mobile sister and the college dropout/free spirit. But then…..serial killers. Everywhere, serial killers. Not really sure what it’s trying to say about society or maybe just that the Larkins have really bad luck? Anyway, I liked it.

I'm not sure that Adam Rapp's Wolf at the Table is a book that you can like, exactly. But it is a book that you will read and think about for days afterward. It's essentially a family saga told from multiple perspectives with this poisonous core that damages every member of the family. It's about religion and it's about abuse and schizophrenia and, oh yeah, serial killing (though that enters the story later than one would expect from the blurb). The characters are generally well-drawn, though I found the women less successfully written than the men. I'm glad I read it and I would recommend it toward a certain type of serious, dark, literary reader.

I enjoyed this book, even though it's essentially terribly sad. We follow a few members of the Larkin family over the course of several decades, and each character has a pretty bumpy ride through life. The encounters with John Wayne Gacy were chilling, especially in the case of Alec, who was deeply affected by it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Fascinating. It felt as if I was reading a family memoir instead of a novel. I appreciated the premise of the book and the few unexpected turns throughout the lives of the characters. I was missing the POV of several key players and that's why I can't give it higher than a three. The character development felt very superficial. I wanted more of Myra, more of Fiona, more of Ronan, more of the Mrs. Larkin. I wanted to get to know Lexy. Most importantly, I wanted more of Alec and his thought processes. The book could have been so much MORE.

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 like 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, like 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.

Thank you for this ARC!

My last read of 2023 was a dud, so I was grateful to start the year off with this one. From the very first chapter, the author does a fabulous job of maintaining the tension. The examination of the family dynamics is really the focus. However, the threat of "something happening" as far as the serial killer is concerned is always right beneath the surface. Loved it!

What a book. The characterizations were so well done, and I was immersed in the worlds of each of them. I don't always enjoy shifting perspective books, because they tend to have flat characters. Not so with this one. It's a winner.

I've never read Adam Rapp before so I can't compare it to his other works. It was a bit slow to start but was a lyrical and descriptive read getting there. The development of the characters was methodical but not necessarily predictable and certainly enjoyable! He did a really good job setting each chapter in it's time as the story moved forward.

The description and concept for this book was captivating, however, I think the author tried to tell too many stories and somehow forgot to completely finish them. I enjoyed reading the book but I got lost and confused many times and would like closure on some of the characters - Fiona, Lexy, Ava. There was just too much jumping from character to character.

Breathtaking writing.
True art, as I think of of it: show with words, don't tell.
An arc that works.
Every story has been written, however, it is the telling of a story that elevates the author, and Adam Rapp is levitating.
I will joyfully handsell this book to my customers.

"Wolf at the Table" by Adam Rapp is a haunting memoir that delves into the author's tumultuous relationship with his father. Rapp's narrative is a poignant exploration of a dysfunctional family marked by violence and emotional neglect. The prose is visceral and unflinching, painting a stark portrait of the scars left by paternal absence and abuse. As Rapp grapples with the impact of his father's erratic behavior on his own life, the reader is drawn into a deeply emotional journey of self-discovery. "Wolf at the Table" is a raw and cathartic memoir that confronts the shadows of the past with a raw honesty that is both unsettling and compelling.

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.

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.

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

"Wolf at the Table" by Adam Rapp is a harrowing multigenerational saga that blends elements of "The Corrections" and "We Need to Talk About Kevin." Set in late summer 1951 in Elmira, New York, the story revolves around the Larkin family, specifically thirteen-year-old Myra Larkin. Myra encounters a young man whom she believes to be Mickey Mantle, and this chance meeting becomes significant when a triple homicide occurs near their home that same night.

The repercussions of this violent event haunt the Larkin family for decades as the siblings leave home to pursue their individual versions of the American dream. Myra becomes a prison nurse while raising her son, Ronan. Her sisters, Lexy and Fiona, find themselves on opposite sides of class and power. Alec, once an altar boy, is banished from the house and drifts into a life of loneliness. As Alec becomes increasingly isolated, his mother starts receiving postcards with ominous messages, leading to a shattering revelation and devastating reckoning for the family.

Through the lens of one family's pursuit of the American dream, "Wolf at the Table" delves into the consistent proximity to violence and its enduring effects over time. Adam Rapp, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, writes with gorgeous acuity, exposing the reality beneath the veneer of a seemingly good society. The novel explores themes of family dynamics, violence, and the impact of trauma, offering a gripping and thought-provoking narrative.