The Werewolf of Paris - Guy Endore
"And thus was the silver bullet cast."
I had read a synopsis stating this book can be read in two different ways – from a supernatural bent or from a psychological one. While I took pains to cull supernatural detail from the novel, and there are numerous examples, in the end this book seems more of a study in mental illness to me. It’s likely I read the book this way as much because I’ve been steeped in horror for the last few years as because it’s actually written that way. By contrast to my normal faire, the supernatural is downplayed.
That being said, The Werewolf of Paris is a fascinating read and easily worth the investment of time and money. It’s considered a classic werewolf story and Dennis Wheatley included the work in his famous Library of the Occult.
Betrand is born of rape and from a young age exhibits some strange physical characteristics like hairy palms, connected eyebrows and a lack of wit that held him back from his peers. He was constantly ridiculed and picked on growing up, and one day succumbs to a rage that he not only can’t remember clearly the next day, he believes what he can recall to be dreams. It begins with the taste of blood, then graves are disturbed, and eventually the bodycount begins to mount as his uncle and caretaker begins to realize something is terribly wrong with the boy. A wolfhunt ensues with no real success, traditional weapons seem useless, and soon the wolf is shot by (Uncle) Aymar with a silver bullet. The body of the wolf is not recovered, and the next day Aymar digs his silver bullet out of the leg of young Bertrand. Bertrand learns able to keep the wolf at bay by partaking of the blood of his willing young lover Sophie, but soon loses himself in Paris amidst the turmoil of civil war and moves toward his fate.
One of the most interesting facets of the novel is not just the reader thinking on his own, but the character of Aymar, with a love/hate relationship with Betrand, musing to himself multiple times by the end that yes, Bertrand is a monster, yes he kills those around him, but Betrand’s sins are nothing compared to the death toll humanity inflicts on itself daily, and especially during the conflict Paris is currently undergoing. Is Betrand really that bad? The internal struggles by both Aymar and Bertrand serve to highlight how we abhor certain things, but accept much, much worse as par for the course of life.
"All wounds heal over time, and those that are not healed are covered by the grave."
3+ stars
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SAM_2854.jpg
SAM_2866.jpg
SAM_2868.jpg
SAM_2871.jpg
SAM_2873.jpg
"And thus was the silver bullet cast."
I had read a synopsis stating this book can be read in two different ways – from a supernatural bent or from a psychological one. While I took pains to cull supernatural detail from the novel, and there are numerous examples, in the end this book seems more of a study in mental illness to me. It’s likely I read the book this way as much because I’ve been steeped in horror for the last few years as because it’s actually written that way. By contrast to my normal faire, the supernatural is downplayed.
That being said, The Werewolf of Paris is a fascinating read and easily worth the investment of time and money. It’s considered a classic werewolf story and Dennis Wheatley included the work in his famous Library of the Occult.
Betrand is born of rape and from a young age exhibits some strange physical characteristics like hairy palms, connected eyebrows and a lack of wit that held him back from his peers. He was constantly ridiculed and picked on growing up, and one day succumbs to a rage that he not only can’t remember clearly the next day, he believes what he can recall to be dreams. It begins with the taste of blood, then graves are disturbed, and eventually the bodycount begins to mount as his uncle and caretaker begins to realize something is terribly wrong with the boy. A wolfhunt ensues with no real success, traditional weapons seem useless, and soon the wolf is shot by (Uncle) Aymar with a silver bullet. The body of the wolf is not recovered, and the next day Aymar digs his silver bullet out of the leg of young Bertrand. Bertrand learns able to keep the wolf at bay by partaking of the blood of his willing young lover Sophie, but soon loses himself in Paris amidst the turmoil of civil war and moves toward his fate.
One of the most interesting facets of the novel is not just the reader thinking on his own, but the character of Aymar, with a love/hate relationship with Betrand, musing to himself multiple times by the end that yes, Bertrand is a monster, yes he kills those around him, but Betrand’s sins are nothing compared to the death toll humanity inflicts on itself daily, and especially during the conflict Paris is currently undergoing. Is Betrand really that bad? The internal struggles by both Aymar and Bertrand serve to highlight how we abhor certain things, but accept much, much worse as par for the course of life.
"All wounds heal over time, and those that are not healed are covered by the grave."
3+ stars
SAM_2851.jpg
SAM_2854.jpg
SAM_2866.jpg
SAM_2868.jpg
SAM_2871.jpg
SAM_2873.jpg
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