The Wehrwolf

A Short Story

By: Alma Katsu

Narrated by: Jim Boeven

Alma Katsu, the visionary author of The Fervor, The Hunger, and The Deep, brings readers a terrifying short story about monsters among men—and the thin lines that divide them.

Germany, 1945. In the waning days of World War II, the Nazis have been all but defeated. Uwe Fuchs, never a fighter, feels fortunate to have avoided the front lines as he cared for his widowed mother.

But Uwe’s fortune changes when Hans Sauer, the village bully, recruits him to join a guerilla resistance unit preparing for the arrival of Allied soldiers. At first, Uwe is wary. The war is lost, and rumor has it that Hans is a deserter. But Hans entices him with talk of power, brutality, and their village’s ancestral lore: werewolves.

With some reluctance, Uwe joins up with the pack and soon witnesses their startling transformation. But when the men’s violent rampage against enemy soldiers takes a devastatingly personal turn, Uwe must grapple not only with his role in their evil acts but with his own humanity. Can he reclaim what this group of predatory men has stolen from him?

Or has he been a monster all along?

©2022 Alma Katsu. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, In., all rights reserved.

A bleak look at human nature

I believe I got this from prime reading, which also made the audio available, so I have it a go.

In continuously shrinking Nazi Germany, 1945, the arrival of Allied soldiers is all but guaranteed. Uwe just seeks to keep his town safe, so when the town’s bully, Hans, offers him the ability to protect his family, as well as grow powerful, the allure is too great to say no.

In a short story that apparently follows the typical styling of the author (this is a first for me from them) we see the true transformation between man and monster. What drives man to evil, and how sometimes the transformation isn’t all that difficult. Everyday citizens turn into monsters, in this one, literal werewolves. In no time, regardless of what ‘skin’ they’re wearing, the transformation is permanent.

Personally a 4/5* for me. The German accent for the narration was great.

Scary & Real

This is a work of fiction.

However once you start to listen and I mean listen, it becomes a message from our past of how easily humans can & are transformed into Monsters.

There is so much to absorb in this short novel. The afterwords made a huge impression!

Listen/Remember

A cautionary tale for our times

A great story and a great listen. A reminder that if we fail to learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. It serves as a reflection on our times, failure to head the voices of compassion and care, anyone can be a monster.

Enjoyable short story.

I really enjoyed the narrator. I think he did a great job. I also enjoyed the story. It has a fast enough pace and kept me interested throughout.

Profound story

Original spin on werewolves and a chilling condemnation of America sinking into fascism. Fantastic story all around