Brendan Wolf

Who is Brendan Wolf? It all depends on who you ask.

* To the staff of a Minneapolis nursing home, he's the devoted partner of a much older man who's recently suffered a debilitating stroke.

* To the women of a conservative, Christian pro-life organization, he's the tireless volunteer grieving over the recent loss of his wife and their unborn child.

* To one gay activist, he's the unaffectedly charming, yet directionless and unemployed man that he's fallen hopelessly in love with

* To his brother and his brother's wife, he's the lynchpin of a scam that will net them enough money to start their lives over somewhere new.

* To the general public, he's an armed and dangerous fugitive

All of these people - and yet none of them - Brendan Wolf is an ambivalent lover, reluctant conspirator, counterfeit Christian, and, most of all, an unemployed daydreamer obsessed with a dead man.

From the author of the award-winning The Year of Ice, this is a tour-de-force - a compelling, hilarious, heart-breaking novel about one utterly typical, and completely original, figure: Brendan Wolf.

Who is Brendan Wolf? It all depends on who you ask.

To the staff of a Minneapolis nursing home, he's the devoted partner of a much older man who's recently suffered a debilitating stroke.

To the women of a conservative, Christian pro-life organization, he's the tireless volunteer grieving over the recent loss of his wife and their unborn child.

To one gay activist, he's the unaffectedly charming, yet directionless and unemployed, man that he's fallen hopelessly in love with.

To his brother and his brother's wife, he's the lynchpin of a scam that will net them enough money to start their lives over somewhere new.

To the general public, he's an armed and dangerous fugitive.

All of these people--and yet none of them--Brendan Wolf is an ambivalent lover, reluctant conspirator, counterfeit Christian, and, most of all, an unemployed daydreamed obsessed with a dead man.

Publishers Weekly

A hard-luck Minneapolis guy hits the skids in a major way in Malloy's ambitious second novel (after The Year of Ice). Brendan Wolf, a gay 35-year-old perennial menial employee, can't cover rent and food on $7 an hour. His brother, Ian in prison for fraud directs him to Marv, a wealthy, withering elderly gay man. (Ian just met Marv's most recent houseboy in prison.) Though Brendan's plan is to trade housework for room and board, Marv has other transactions in mind. The setup isn't ideal, but Brendan tries to make it work as Cynthia, his sister-in-law, recruits him to play a major role in a plot to steal the proceeds of a pro-life march. The heist sounds surefire, but, sure enough, Brendan soon finds himself embroiled in a disaster that unfolds like a nightmare. The plot is dense if not entirely cohesive, and Malloy's stripped-down prose makes for quick and immersive reading; an interesting spin on classic noir. (Apr.)

Brian Malloy is the author of the award-winning novel The Year of Ice and Twelve Long Months.  Originally from Philadelphia, he lives in Minneapolis and teaches fiction writing at Emerson College in Boston.