Pride for Tony Santorella's Bored Gay Werewolf
"I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that."
Atlantic Books: London, 2023.
All right, so you can tell from the get-go we’re not about to discuss some highfalutin prose. You weren’t here for that, anyway.
The bored, gay werewolf in question is Brian—an alcohol-dependent 20-something stuck in a self-destructive cycle of drunken benders and doom scrolling on his phone all day.
Unfortunately, he’s an even sloppier werewolf.
After his most recent blunder of tearing apart some bloke in the park, Brian is confronted by his worst nightmare: a blonde, entrepreneurial werewolf bro (bro-wolf?) hellbent on using Brian to build a monetized self-help community of other lycanthropes poised to “level up” to the highest ranks of the wolf-manosphere. (As if being a literal wolf isn’t macho enough…) Brian is pleased with the results of the bro-wolf’s teachings, at first, but he quickly realizes he’s in too deep to escape with any shred of integrity. He’s going to need help.
What debut author (surprise!) Santorella excels in with the story is character development. From our shitshow of a hero, Brian, to his two friends from the restaurant at which he waits tables, each character’s personality is defined and interacts with the others naturally, which is perfect for a buddy novel. This made me realize how I’ve noticed a fair few younger authors struggle with dialogue, but hey, who actually talks to anyone anymore? Luckily for us, this author nails authentic speech.
And honestly, I can overlook a lot of shortcomings if the characters are relatable. Alas, shortcomings were indeed found. In fact, I recommend reading this one and skipping the last chapter (15) entirely if you don’t want to be triggered by what might be the most hackneyed ending I’ve ever laid eyes on. The finale comes off as an attempt to close some minor plot holes, but the very end of a story is not the place to do this. This ain’t no Murder, She Wrote.
Otherwise, Bored Gay Werewolf is a snappy, enjoyable critique of toxic masculinity and the digital manosphere (looking at you, Joe). It also gives a nod to all those “coming out” stories from the past few decades. I can imagine Brian’s father saying, "Your mother doesn’t care that you’re gay, but she just doesn’t understand the lycanthropy, son." The parallels have already been drawn between shapeshifting and sexuality, and werewolves/monsters in general have always served as a stand-in for social issues. Hell, that’s why we have horror in the first place.
Monsters are, and will forever be, a safe space.