For two centuries Jacob Marlowe has wandered the world, enslaved by his lunatic appetites and tormented by the memory of his first and most monstrous crime. Now, the last of his kind, he knows he can't go on. But as Jake counts down to suicide, a violent murder and an extraordinary meeting plunge him straight back into the desperate pursuit of life.
The Last Werewolf
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'Loaded with beautifully constructed lunatic ravings ... A sublime study in literary elegance. It is bloody (and) brilliant.' --Independent
'Duncan's monstrous narrator makes for memorably rambunctious company' --TLS
'The Last Werewolf is written with such scandalous ferocity and such grizzly humour it feels like the literary equivalent of howling at the moon' --Matt Haig
'Remarkable for its humour, eloquence and self-aware intelligence. A deeply human narrative about the nature of story itself' --Stella Duffy
'Absolutely brilliant. A surreal, dark and unsettling tale that really did put the bite back into the supernatural.' --Russel McLean
'Duncan's monstrous narrator makes for memorably rambunctious company' --TLS
'The Last Werewolf is written with such scandalous ferocity and such grizzly humour it feels like the literary equivalent of howling at the moon' --Matt Haig
'Remarkable for its humour, eloquence and self-aware intelligence. A deeply human narrative about the nature of story itself' --Stella Duffy
'Absolutely brilliant. A surreal, dark and unsettling tale that really did put the bite back into the supernatural.' --Russel McLean
About the Author
Glen Duncan was born in Bolton and studied philosophy and literature at Lancaster University. His first novel, Hope, was published in 1997, and has been followed by five further novels: Love Remains; I, Lucifer, shortlisted for the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize; Weathercock; Death of an Ordinary Man; The Bloodstone Papers; A Day and A Night and A Day; and The Last Werewolf. He lives in London.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful
By Book 1981
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As the title suggests, Jakob Marlowe is the last surviving werewolf in the world. Headed by Grainer, a steely unemotional character with a persona vendetta gainst Jake, WOCOP ( World Organisation for the Control of Occult Phenomena) has been exterminating werewolves with brutal efficiency, and Jake is their final catch. The chances of escape seem slim.
He is faced with a choice: Keep fighting for survival against the odds, or meet his executioner in defeat at the next full moon. The question is, does he want to keep living all alone in the world? What would be the point?
So begins the book which instantly sucked me in - From the first description of newly fallen snow I knew I was on to a good thing.
First of all, it is pure, rampant fantasy - there are werewolves, vampires, secret organisations, basement vaults, ancient documents, sub-plots and sub-sub-plots. It is outrageously, blatantly, unapologetically fantastical, and it is done in such a matter-of-fact and natural way that I bought it hook, line and sinker.
But that's not all - in addition to the rollocking fantasy, this book is a joyous celebration of English articulacy. Duncan is a master with words and sentences, every page providing a new angle or a totally original observation. He is delightfully playful with words, which are often used as much for their sound as their meaning. It is acutely observant and introspective, detailed, sensitive and very often brilliant.
And it is this skill which allows Duncan to add another, very dark, level to his story. The understanding of what it is to be as werewolf is complete: Man as an animal, and what happens when the biological, natural process of predation conflicts with being human. Hunger is described as a living, thinking thing, an adversary to be fought but never defeated. There is a refreshingly detached view on mortality and humanity I have never seen before.
This sharply intelligent book is at times funny, heartbreaking, deliciously perverted, grotesque and always, always brilliant.
He is faced with a choice: Keep fighting for survival against the odds, or meet his executioner in defeat at the next full moon. The question is, does he want to keep living all alone in the world? What would be the point?
So begins the book which instantly sucked me in - From the first description of newly fallen snow I knew I was on to a good thing.
First of all, it is pure, rampant fantasy - there are werewolves, vampires, secret organisations, basement vaults, ancient documents, sub-plots and sub-sub-plots. It is outrageously, blatantly, unapologetically fantastical, and it is done in such a matter-of-fact and natural way that I bought it hook, line and sinker.
But that's not all - in addition to the rollocking fantasy, this book is a joyous celebration of English articulacy. Duncan is a master with words and sentences, every page providing a new angle or a totally original observation. He is delightfully playful with words, which are often used as much for their sound as their meaning. It is acutely observant and introspective, detailed, sensitive and very often brilliant.
And it is this skill which allows Duncan to add another, very dark, level to his story. The understanding of what it is to be as werewolf is complete: Man as an animal, and what happens when the biological, natural process of predation conflicts with being human. Hunger is described as a living, thinking thing, an adversary to be fought but never defeated. There is a refreshingly detached view on mortality and humanity I have never seen before.
This sharply intelligent book is at times funny, heartbreaking, deliciously perverted, grotesque and always, always brilliant.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By copicuk
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Glen Duncan is a staggeringly good writer. And The Last Werewolf is a brilliant re-invention of the gothic novel, as well as an explicitly exciting and erudite exploration of the powerful animal forces and human morals that drive us.
What is the nature of good and evil? What would you do?
It is beautiful, sexy, comic, dirty and viciously insightful. It is also a perfect vehicle for Mr Duncans wealth of talents. The writer's dazzling use of language and his frighteningly lurid insight into man's psyche and the wild sexual animal within, allows the story to inhabit every word, every syllable. Just as a great film director frames and edits every shot to contribute to the sense of the whole and allows each image and each scene to carry the overall message of the film, so too does Mr Duncan. With his wonderfully perceptive and delicately brutal use of language there is not only insight but a rich sense of feeling inked into every page.
I absolutley love this writer.
Having said that, even as I loved the book, there remained a niggle. And nobody likes a niggle. As other reviewers have mentioned, although I found myself almost entirely absorbed, there were also moments when I became aware of a certain labouring in the plot that would drag me out of the tale. The story starts on such a high level that it is a noticeable shame that, as it progesses, Mr Duncan is seemingly unable to maintain that quality.
For this I would have dropped half a star from the 5 if I could.
My feeling is what makes this niggle niggle is the sense that Mr Duncan is so close to getting it exactly right that you notice when it is just off. Like a concert pianist who plays almost perfectly only to hit a couple of bum notes at the end.
Still a book absolutley worth reading, still a book that would be a shame to miss. I do not know of any other current British writer of this calibre. And after "I Lucifer" then "The Last Werewolf" would probably be my next favourite Glen Duncan book. I absolutely ate it up.
In fact, if you love good writing, I urge you to read "I Lucifer" too, only I would recommend giving yourself a gap between the 2 books, because that would be two filthily rich meals. One every full moon will do.
What is the nature of good and evil? What would you do?
It is beautiful, sexy, comic, dirty and viciously insightful. It is also a perfect vehicle for Mr Duncans wealth of talents. The writer's dazzling use of language and his frighteningly lurid insight into man's psyche and the wild sexual animal within, allows the story to inhabit every word, every syllable. Just as a great film director frames and edits every shot to contribute to the sense of the whole and allows each image and each scene to carry the overall message of the film, so too does Mr Duncan. With his wonderfully perceptive and delicately brutal use of language there is not only insight but a rich sense of feeling inked into every page.
I absolutley love this writer.
Having said that, even as I loved the book, there remained a niggle. And nobody likes a niggle. As other reviewers have mentioned, although I found myself almost entirely absorbed, there were also moments when I became aware of a certain labouring in the plot that would drag me out of the tale. The story starts on such a high level that it is a noticeable shame that, as it progesses, Mr Duncan is seemingly unable to maintain that quality.
For this I would have dropped half a star from the 5 if I could.
My feeling is what makes this niggle niggle is the sense that Mr Duncan is so close to getting it exactly right that you notice when it is just off. Like a concert pianist who plays almost perfectly only to hit a couple of bum notes at the end.
Still a book absolutley worth reading, still a book that would be a shame to miss. I do not know of any other current British writer of this calibre. And after "I Lucifer" then "The Last Werewolf" would probably be my next favourite Glen Duncan book. I absolutely ate it up.
In fact, if you love good writing, I urge you to read "I Lucifer" too, only I would recommend giving yourself a gap between the 2 books, because that would be two filthily rich meals. One every full moon will do.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By a lordy
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Excellent read, the use of language is a joy. The twists and turns along with the different perspective make Glen Duncan an author of considerable depth. Its the first book of Glen Duncans I have read and will definitely working my way through the rest.
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3.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
last werewolf
I read this on a whim and it's kind of OK. I then tried I, Lucifer but gave up. Duncan in both books seems obsessed with anal sex. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Leither
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-Read Werewolf
I have never known Canongate Books to produce a bad book, and Glen Duncan's "The Last Werewolf" is no exception. Read more
Published 27 days ago by V. G. Harwood
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
I had this book on my list for some time before I eventually got round to ordering it.
The book description seemed intriguing and promised an interesting take on the... Read more
The book description seemed intriguing and promised an interesting take on the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. Davies
5.0 out of 5 stars
superb
Totally enthralling read. I could hardly put it down. Pure and extreme fantasy. Very well written. I figured out the ending some way back but it did not detract from the read one... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ray from Radar
2.0 out of 5 stars
bloated and tiresome
This was a bit of a disappointment. The last werewolf spends roughly 50% of his time in navel-gazing philosophising and the rest of it thinking about sex. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Misty
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Lucifer.......but with werewolves!!!!!!!!
Dark, but with buckets of wickedly funny black humour and Duncan's wonderful writing style that feels as if the book was written just for you. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Matthew Evans
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad at all!!!
Very very well written. Never a dull moment. A most unusual choice for me but one that I am so pleased to have made.
Well done Mr Duncan
Well done Mr Duncan
Published 2 months ago by steve ryan
1.0 out of 5 stars
Offensive Content
This book contains some sexual and very gory content-most of which I skipped through as I didn't like the tone and it felt gratuitous but one part made me feel physically ill as it... Read more
Published 3 months ago by kaijai
5.0 out of 5 stars
LOVED this book.
Please don't put this down as another pop-horror spinoff novel. This is a fantastic new approach to the werewolf novel. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Miss J. Wilson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Someone make a film please!
I haven't finished this yet book,but am loving it and keep thinking what a brilliant film it would make. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lynn Dean
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