The Wolf Pit: Two Horrors of the Civil War

The story of the green children is a minor, third story in itself, with passages from Robin's book included as text for us to read. A story of 12th century Europe, a strange boy and girl show up in a medieval village and are named Edmund and Mary by the villagers. Trapped in a world they don't belong to, yet unable to return home, Edmund continually resists the new environment while Mary accepts it and becomes indistinguishable from other humans.

The Wolf Pit alternates back and forth each chapter between the two stories, in a pattern at first confusing but later easier to follow as you remember the different characters. To help follow the story, each chapter has a descriptive name rather than a mere number, along with a few phrases saying what the chapter is about. A few events in the Robin narrative are confusing, with flashback sequences lacking transition; one part in the story leaves the impression that a child had died from a fall a few years ago, but later on apparently the child was still alive after all. Such confusion seems intended to portray Robin's inner thoughts, including both reality and dreams. Above all, though, The Wolf Pit brings a powerful writing style with grand descriptions and a story that delves beyond the mere superficial action-oriented historical novel. This novel tells of the human soul, and courage and frailty in the face of extraordinary circumstances.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic