A Wolf Called Wander

A Wolf Called Wander is written from the first-person perspective of a young gray wolf. In this novel, author Roseanne Parry creates a unique, distinctive voice for her protagonist, through which the young wolf narrates the first two years of his life, beginning with his birth and continuing through his devastating separation from his pack, his 1,000-mile saga across the northwestern United States, and his eventual establishment of his own pack in partnership with a mate. The actions, behaviors, and characteristics of all the wolves in the novel are consistent with and faithful to contemporary research on canid biology and social patterns; thus, all of Parry’s characters are authentic and act as real wolves might be expected to in similar circumstances.

However, Parry does exercise creative license in her development and portrayal of Wander’s intellectual processes, the complexity and insight with which he conveys his emotional experiences, and in the self-awareness and sophistication with which he evaluates his various relationships. The author’s use of anthropomorphism is readily apparent in the narration, for she frequently assigns human characteristics to the nonhuman characters of her story, often interpreting and portraying common animal behaviors through a distinctly human lens.