Mongrels: A Novel

This is a novel of vignettes, told mostly in the first person. However, the narrator occasionally switching to the third person as a distancing technique. It’s the story of a family, most of whose members are werewolves. The narrator hopes that he will grow up to be a werewolf too, and much of the book addresses him learning more about what that means.I don’t normally read horror, and I have no interest in werewolf stories. For me, the themes of outsiders, family, and the lies we tell one another are the enduring strengths of the novel. Jones did a good job allowing his characters to unfold the truth about past lies, or perhaps just to develop new lies to replace the old, as the story moves along. That said, the main narrative here probably could have been shorter, as central elements of the road trip story end up repeating more than unfolding.To my surprise, the reviewers on Amazon seem not to have noticed that Jones is a member of the Blackfeet tribe, and that he has a bit of a wanderer history. That certainly matters here, as our wandering narrator wants to take ownership of a difficult heritage, one that excludes him from mainstream American society.It’s also interesting to me that the story takes place throughout the American South, a region where it’s probably harder to be “different” than in other parts of the United States. That subtext of difference gives this werewolf story wider appeal than it otherwise would.

The plot of this book is hard to follow because the narrative jumps around so much that it's hard to keep up. The story from what I can understand having just finished it is an unnamed narrator comes from a family of werewolves and is apparently conflicted on whether he will turn into one like his family or not.I will admit the premise is different than most mainstream werewolf books, and it tries to give an edgier real world feel. The protagonist and his Aunt and Uncle travel around the southeast frequently to avoid drawing suspicion to themselves after turning into beasts and causing trouble for themselves. But the writing was not all that coherent, and I feel it really needed a better job done of editing. And as unique as the author tries to make this werewolf story, I just found it boring and repetitive.Nothing really fast paced or intense happens at any point of the novel, the author instead tried to make a bizarre coming of age tale with a werewolf paint job. I think it fell flat, there were moments of interest to be sure but because he jumps around so much it's hard to connect with any of the characters. Also, he mentions the word "werewolf" so many times throughout the book that it becomes redundant.I was hoping for a good read but this sadly was a disappointment, I would recommend the novel "Those Across the River" if you want a better werewolf book.

This is not a sexy, CW style werewolf story. Mongrels is the real deal. Part white trash memoir, part modern folklore, part gritty urban fantasy, Jones keeps you engaged with strong characterization, a believable family dynamic, wild imagery.What stands out most for me about this book is how much though the author must have put in to what it must be like to live as a werewolf. Lifestyle, customs, and survival utilitarian survival strategies are all examined, and it makes you wonder how many conversations Jones must have had while watching the Werewolf films about what did and did not make sense.Additionally, the language is beautiful and honest. Nothing feels forced or artificial here.Highly recommended!

In Stephen Graham Jones’s Mongrels: A Novel, werewolves are real. Our young teenaged protagonist listens to his grandfather’s crazy stories about being a werewolf, and later realizes there were secrets and lessons hidden in each of those stories. He’s together with his uncle Darren and aunt Libby now, as they travel from town to town, trying to stay under the radar. They’re always stealing new cars and working cruddy jobs. Our protagonist is so utterly driven to be what his aunt and uncle are that he develops their behavioral traits, even as each year passes and it becomes less and less likely that he’s going to change.There are fascinating details about being werewolves. Like the fact that eating trash is a quick way to die, because items you might eat while in wolf form could kill you when you change back. There are other unusual ways to die, also, like getting used to eating fries, or wearing stretchy pants. These sound humorous, but they’re actually fairly horrific. Our protagonist also starts to realize that since every werewolf family seems to pass lessons down through stories, different lessons might be known by different families.This doesn’t really have an over-arching active plot. It’s more the coming-of-age of the protagonist through a series of events. He’s based his entire identity on the belief that he’ll shift and become a werewolf, while he stubbornly remains human. The overall story shows us what it means to be werewolves in the modern era, and what happens when you want to be something so very much while it stays out of reach. As such, there are some mysteries that don’t get solved by the time the family leaves town. I didn’t particularly feel frustrated by this, the way I might in some other books. The werewolves in this book are just so interesting that they totally kept me glued to the (electronic) page.Content note for sometimes-graphic animal harm and death. (To werewolves, most animals are prey, and they don’t always kill cleanly.)

This novel is a series of narrative bursts that give meaning to growing up outside of everything. The language, the storytelling, and each narrator, ultimately takes you to that place where you do not belong to anything and have a consuming and powerful need to belong to something. The results of that conflict are often violent, hilarious in an off beat way, or sobering.One burst is The Were Wolf of Alcatraz. Read it. He was not drinking a Pina Colada in Trader Vic's. His hair was not perfect. Mongrels, on the other hand, is simply that. Perfect.

Stephen Graham Jones has a way of not leading readers by the hand and Mongrel was a fantastic example of this. Often we’re dumped into scenes or dialogue without any prep or backstory relying on Jones to flesh things out for us later, and when the puzzle pieces all come together, it makes for such a satisfying read. This was werewolves like I’ve never seen them before. Excellent, runaway read. Loved it.

Llegó sin problemas y antes del tiempo eatimado (al día siguiente de comprarlo).

A new take on an old legend. Enjoyable and different.

Fresh and original take on the life of wolves.