“Kornwolf,” by Tristan Eglof, is one of those novels that are so cheesy-terrible in theory, that it’s downright super. An Amish werewolf on the rampage in the town of Blue Ball? I’m in!
Ephraim, a shy Amish lad, morphs monthly into a whiffy, revolting werewolf with a taste for Satanic thrash-metal. Pursued by a cynical reporter, a sympathetic boxing coach with a mysterious past and a mob of vigilantes, Ephraim unleashes mayhem on the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside and the sprawling subdivisions encircling it. Alter-egos crawl to the surface of the otherwise orderly, pacifist Amish, as their quiet existence is thrown into upheaval.
“Kornwolf” is both a hilarious, well-written take on the classic horror tale, and a social satire that ponders the wonders of suburban sprawl and closed minds.
Eglof died in 2005 at the age of 34. His writing style has been compared to the likes of Kurt Vonnegut, John Kennedy Toole, and Tom Robbins. If you are a fan of any of the above, or have ever fantasized about how to shake up small-town monotony, then “Kornwolf” is for you.
— Keena KimmelOwner of White Rabbit Books and Curiosities
