The modifier in this book's title points us to the most important part of Glen Duncan's remarkable novel. Jacob Marlowe, the werewolf in question, may struggle with accepting himself as a supernatural creature, but that won't matter much when he's gone--and his time left may not be limitless.
As the story begins, Jake (as he calls himself) hears that the penultimate werewolf has been killed, and he is wanted by the World Organization for the Control of Occult Phenomena (WOCOP), which polices supernatural creatures cohabiting with human beings. He goes on the run.
From the first paragraph, you'll be mesmerized by Jake, a combination of erudite academician and big horndog. Even later, when the action is wilder, his vital and original voice carries The Last Werewolf out of the supernatural-beasts genre and into the realm of literary fiction.
There's plenty of fun to be had, especially when Jake sniffs out Talulla Demetriou, a gorgeous creature (it couldn't happen with a female vampire; vamps smell disgusting to a wulf). As Marlowe tries to outwit the WOCOP agent who seeks vengeance (Marlowe killed his father), Jacob's wolfishness has down-and-dirty animal appeal. I do mean "dirty"; this is a book for grown-ups, preferably those who don't mind the darker sides of sensuality. Along with the naughty bits we also get plenty of literary allusions--everything from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Nabokov and Eliot.
Reading Jacob Marlowe never gets old because he literally doesn't. Duncan has sustained a young man's view of history not only through the years that Marlowe lives, but past them, into his volatile present. It's an authorial feat that works and will give many readers a smart, sexy, satisfying summer read. --Bethanne Patrick, editor, Shelf Awareness
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