John Darnielle, the singer, songwriter, and only consistent member of the Mountain Goats, wrote a novella, released in 2008 as one of the more offbeat entries in the 33 1/3 series, about Black Sabbath’s 1971 album Master of Reality. His first full-length novel, Wolf in White Van, published last month, is evidence that the acclaimed lyricist has quickly become a skillful writer of fiction.
The novel unfolds nonlinearly, mostly in reverse. Darnielle has said the book’s structure and title were inspired by backmasked messaging in music, specifically Christian folk artist Larry Norman’s 1976 song “Six Sixty Six,” in which a lyric played backward sounds like “Wolf in white van.” The temporal jumps start to feel like moves in Trace Italian, showing how even small life events can open one door and close others forever. Sean looks back on his actions before and after the accident, and recognizes them as somehow both random and inevitable. As he says of his players, “Eventually they recognize the turns they’ve taken as segments of a path that can only belong to them.”
By John Darnielle (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Reading and signing Tue 10/7, 7 PM Lincoln Hall 2424 N. Lincoln 773-525-2501lincolnhallchicago.com $30 (includes a copy of the book)
