A black heart, but all heart, and very fine , August 18, 2006

Reviewer:

John Domini (Des Moines, IA USA)

While I've written about this novel for print, praising not just WOLF POINT but a number of Falco's fictions (in hypertext as well as on the page), I care enough about this author and accomplishment to honor them both again in this medium. Falco's latest novel is superb. It erupts with from its opening sentence's "pulp tableau" (a hot young blonde hitchiking, not quite hiding the greasy thug traveling with her) like a perfectly timed and vividly colored fireworks display against a thoroughly noir night.

The girl is Jenny, a stubborn but tormented creation to stand with the finest femme fatales. Her tough backup, Lester, veers intriguingly between brute and clown. And the man who picks this duo up is the hurting and withdrawn "T," more troubled than either of the others in his way. The process by which the two runaways bring T to a refreshed awareness and vitality, all while merely trying to save their own skins, creates a classic set-piece of a weary mule, a carrot, and a stick.

In other words, WOLF POINT is expertly crafted, its rough trade taking place in ever-smaller spaces -- yet what lingers with you is its emotional depth. I have a few cavils about this book, off in the rarified atmosphere of High Lit. But I must acknowledge, above all, the impact of the wrenching choices this story hammers out, and the key turning points it gives voice. The title may speak of wolves, but the howl is entirely human.