Wolf Worm + Parasites

Reader, I have been on an absolute tear through books this week. Beyond cleaning up my headspace and doing my best to adhere to a really excellent daily regimen, I have been diving into my books like never before. As a result, I’m reading at a pace much more akin to that I used when I was a teenager- and the proof is in the fact we have a second post going up this week. 

When I first started Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher, I’ll admit, I did not have high hopes. In the years prior, I have tried to get into her novel What Moves the Dead but wasn’t sure of her writing style, and now reader I find myself wholly ready to jump into her full catalog. At moments Kingfisher has a style that is quite difficult to pin down, not quite modern but the thinking style of her characters in an era where these thoughts would not perhaps organically grow takes some getting used to. Many of the references our protagonist makes internally throughout Wolf Worm are relatable to a modern woman in a fashion that a woman in 1899 might not consider, and so before jumping into this sweet novel it is paramount to understand that it is not an accurate representation of the time period. That being said, while I am usually a stickler for such details, I did not find that it took away from the story in any meaningful sense, and in fact seemed to add to it in places, so for T. Kingfisher- I will make an exception to my usual stringent policies.

Wolf Worm is, at its core, the story of a wayward scientific illustrator that begins with Sonia Wilson taking a job painting the specimens of a renowned parasitologist. This is a subject dear to the hearts of many of us that have one foot equally in a creative field alongside science, as the greatest dream one might aspire to at times is to have a career wholly focused around cataloguing anatomical abnormalities and rendering them as works of beauty to be seen in textbooks or used as reference in medical practice. As many of you know, I have grappled for years with the after effects of a horrible parasitic infection that threatened to kill me, so the topic at hand hits doubly close to home. Then, the protagonist of this novel immediately endeared herself to me by being: 33 years old, a renowned scientist’s daughter, and prone to bouts of overthinking. Recognizing the mirror I was being handed by Astaroth for what it is, I rolled my eyes, stifled a giggle, and jumped in headfirst.

It has been a very long time since I stayed up late into the night clutching a book, fighting sleep so that I could log more pages, but reader- Wolf Worm did that. From the moment Miss Wilson steps onto the Halder estate to the story’s epic conclusion, this book brought me through a range of emotions that I am surprised to say included some joyful tears pricking my eyes by the end. Call it my luteal phase, or me being sensitive beyond all reason, but by the time this novel ended I was both sad to see it go and delighted by its conclusion. For all the world I thought that I understood what Southern Gothic had to offer with respect to vampires when I saw Sinners and fell head over heels for it- but I was wrong, there is more yet to discover and I plan to uncover every stone that my favorite immortal beings are hiding beneath. 

At its core, every vampire story is one of parasitism- and I understand this deeply as the love affair that I have with creativity demands that I am often around all forms of parasitic creatures that are fellow artists. We all feed off each other, mining inspiration and regurgitating the results into our own mottled versions of something we deem “new”, and as I am just coming off another story about the parasitic world of influencing- Wolf Worm dumped antiseptic into the wound and managed to give me room so it could be neatly stitched up. There were parts of me that didn’t realize they needed healing from this phenomenon, or a metaphor that would later act as a voice for my own thoughts, and yet that’s exactly what this novel provided so swiftly and cleanly that it felt as if I went beneath the surgeon’s blade. My head feels bizarrely clear of the dour thinking that was polluting it for weeks prior, and there is relief flooding in. Perhaps, we all really need a book that sees us and arrives just at the moment we need it most, and I do believe Wolf Worm is just such a one for me. 

Miss Wilson is nothing that you expect her to be, she’s gangly and socially awkward, we hardly get a physical description beyond the barest of notes regarding her stature- and yet I think that in all of us we can generate our own version of her. We’ve all formed in our minds the great heroines of literature, from Elizabeth Bennet to Catherine Earnshaw, and Sonia Wilson as the daughter of a scientist sits somewhere between the two tropes firmly. Sonia has moved from Wilmington, North Carolina to this post out in the country, and the adjustment period is rough as she adapts to everything from powerful local superstition to finding segments of dead insects in the water she’ll use to bathe. The year is 1899, and we are well reminded of the lack of luxurious modern plumbing that existed during this time period by the regular references to Wilson’s near obsessive washing. Though it seems a trifle unimportant, the details of Wilson’s washing are essential for us later in this horror novel as we uncover the full dearth of what has been transpiring on the Halder estate. 

These obsessive instances begin to coalesce for us when we remember that the doctor she is working under is a renowned parasitologist whose subjects regularly feed on carrion and live flesh. While I wouldn’t expect most of you to know what that means, the implication is that at any time a human being could be seen as a viable host in which the parasite will lodge, lay eggs, and eventually feed upon until the subject is dead. Though I hardly think it bears a google search, one simple search for screwworms or botflies is revolting enough to explain Wilson’s aversion to uncleanliness and any manner of infestation. As someone who has lived through precisely what Sonia Wilson is terrified of, please accept my testimony when I tell you that it hardly bears thinking about to any intense degree- most of you would collapse flat out upon making the discovery. It may simply be my morbid scientific curiosity, but I couldn’t look away either when it happened to me or as the novel unfolded.

Further, as an artist myself, I found the fact that our protagonist describes the world in the shades that she would paint it refreshing, enlightening, and deeply endearing. Though we do not get a sample of any such illustrations in the novel, I admit that I would have dearly enjoyed it if Kingfisher had provided them, as she mentions in her acknowledgements that she used to illustrate professionally. It has been a long time since I’ve brought out my watercolors and applied myself to using them, but as a result of this novel I just might have to- the details and descriptions of the illustrations are inspired and truly leave one desiring a visual accompaniment to the text that might demonstrate some of the pages Sonia is meticulously crafting. 

There is something deeply magical about this text, it is as refreshing as watching Sinners again and yet the tale is so completely different in its scientific tone and claustrophobic settings. The very notion of being in a confined space with any of the specimens Dr. Halder is storing would make one’s skin crawl, and this book is aptly timed for me as I have overcome my lifelong phobia of wasps only the week prior. So much has lined up here for me on a personal level that, as I sit here typing this review, it is hard to aptly describe how well the novel hit places in me that I wasn’t aware needed to be addressed. It is therefore not lost on me that I was the prime subject to be taken in by such a novel, though I daresay that it would take an entirely cheerless and humorless companion not to feel similarly. Whether it is the charming cast of delightful side characters like Rose Kent or Ma Kearsey, Jackson or even perhaps the mysterious Saul- or the simple joy of Sonia being an absolute ditz in her own right- Wolf Worm stands out to me as one of my favorite quick reads this year. 

In short, my dear reader, if you are looking for a horror novel that will satisfy both your desire for scientific expansion in the botanical and entomological pursuits- Wolf Worm will do that for you. If you’re a vampire lover, a southern gothic fan, or any manner of hobbyist with eccentric varieties of horror, Wolf Worm will do well for you. However, if you are someone who prioritizes historical accuracy, please be warned, the novel is not trying to attempt that and really shouldn’t be digested in that light. Measuring a fish by its capability to soar through the air is not going to do you well here, so you had best buckle in for a simple and magical ride that transports you somewhere a little dank and dark for a moment.

And yes, of course, just for a treat here's one of the lovely parasites that was infecting my body. Enjoy!