THE FIVE WOLVES

Five wolves create and discuss art during their adventures in this stream-of-consciousness narrative.

The format defies easy categorization. Its episodic structure, roguish characters, and philosophical commentary suggest a picaresque tale; the page turns and abundant illustrations evoke a picture book. The verbal storytelling, spun from dialogue and an offstage narrator, unfolds in hand-lettered sentences that form swirling, mostly blue wavy lines filling compact spaces on the white pages. Larger, darker text demands to be read first. Highly textured ink renderings, many in gray (among other colors, used monochromatically), punctuate the pages of text. An early scene portrays the wolves on a Viking-like ship, painting on canvases. A shark leaps to steal the portrait the wolf has drawn of it, activating the plot, which involves five competitive, artistic cats, who fire their vessel’s cannon, as well as a shipwreck, flying creatures, a fiery encounter with a dragon regarding an impromptu mural, a princess in a hanbok, and a climactic battle. Many of the remarks and asides deal with the nature of art: what can be seen, what role identity plays, if serious art is superior or some subjects are unworthy, the role of permission in creating art, and whether some artists can be considered failures. McCarty pulls some lines from children’s books and popular culture, including The Runaway Bunny and Star Wars. This utterly original book respects its readers, asking them to display patience, have comfort with ambiguity and rereading, and exercise the ability to construct meaning.

Striking and provocative.