“I Am Not Wolf” by LDS author Roger Terry is a book that is equally at home on the shelf of an LDS reader or a person who prefers nationally published books. Written in a literary style we don’t often see on the LDS market, I was instantly caught up in the beautiful and rich imagery and found myself more than just a little bit jealous of Terry’s skills as a writer.
David Nelson has taken some time off from college and decides to come to Germany for a vacation. His mother was German and so he speaks the language quite well. While sitting in a café one evening, he is approached by a young German man and his girlfriend, and they strike up an immediate friendship. The German, Wolfgang Karsten, by name, is full of life and exuberance. He loves to pontificate for hours on the vagaries of life and the deeper symbolisms, and his girlfriend, Sabi, humors him. David is entranced with the world Wolfgang opens to his view, and the three start spending all their free time together.
David soon realizes that he’s in love with Sabi, and while he wouldn’t do anything in the world to hurt Wolf, he hopes that Sabi will choose him over Wolf. When Wolf goes away for a few weeks on a trip, a romance does spring up between David and Sabi, but she tells him that her heart belongs to Wolf, and David knows that deep down, he could never betray Wolf either.
But when Wolf returns, it seems as though he’s trying to get David and Sabi together. It doesn’t make any sense—David knows how deeply Wolf loves Sabi.
This book takes us through the beautiful countryside of Germany in 1975, over to the gray and bleak atmosphere of East Berlin, and into the minds and hearts of three young people who are just trying to figure out life. I truly enjoyed this novel and feel that it’s one of the best I’ve read all year. I highly recommend it.
(This book was published in 2007 by Cedar Fort.)
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