Meet the Brothers Wolfe. Elliot Wolfe: ambitious, ruthless and living for the thrill of the deal. Athol Wolfe: a young man trying to find a place outside his big brother’s shadow. Include a maiden aunt with a long memory, a mild-mannered father reluctant to bring the family menswear business into the modern world. Bind them together in a family trust, and throw them into a melting pot of greedy entrepreneurs and high-flying criminals. Add a sexy French girlfriend with dreams of her own and a big, dark family secret – and watch it all explode.
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The Brothers Wolfe is largely set in the heady wheeler-dealer years of WA Inc., in the 1980s. It is the story of two brothers, born twelve years apart. Elliot, the older brother, is thrilled by the deal-making (and money-making) paths open to him and new relationships with people of power. Athol, not yet finished school at the beginning of the book, is not sure what he wants in life but knows that he doesn’t want to go into the family business, a men’s outfitters started by his grandfather with money dishonourably appropriated, we find, from its rightful beneficiaries.
Steve Hawke is a good storyteller, with interesting characters – Elliot, a fish swimming with sharks, and Athol, drifting without purpose, Mitzi, Elliot’s French partner, and Marta, whose land Elliot acquires. There were a couple of storylines that I wish had been fleshed out more, particularly that of Marta. But the relationship between Elliot the operator and Athol the thinker is well written and interesting. The spirit of the WA business environment is eye-opening, with real-life characters mentioned among the fictional, contrasting sharply with the softer momentum of Athol’s story.
An Australian story that is a good read. I’m still thinking about the ending.
Wow. In my years of teaching I have met many kids who wished they had a different family but I’m sure not too many would put their hand up to join this one. A beautiful told family saga of relationships and the impact family members have on each other. Tragic, breathtaking, haunting! Highly recommended.
Brother’s Wolfe is written by the son of Former Prime Minster Bob Hawke. The storyline is set in Perth Western Australia during the turbulent 80’s with a quick reflection forward in 2009. Elliot is ambitious and won’t stop at anything to get what he wants. Athol his brother doesn’t find it easy to figure out how to live his life next to such a dynamic person. The story is full of the hustle and deal which eventually catch up with the family and in the end the story shows how this type of life will always catch up with one in the end. I struggled to like any of the characters and the story felt very drawn out and incomplete most of the time.
I found this book fascinating in terms of how it is often said in business that it is the first generation that creates and the third that tears down. The novel portrays this well – it makes the novel as compelling as a story of the Fairfax family.
I found it pleasing that the entire character development – including an understanding of the different generations of the family – was contained in the first part of the novel. That the development was in the first part allowed the story to run very easily through the remainder of the book. There was also very neat use of chiasm with the first and last chapter mirroring each other.
I didn’t know much about WA Inc before I started this novel and am glad to benefit from a local’s insight.
I rated 4 out of 5 stars as I reckoned that the father, Alfred, was portrayed too listlessly. While the mother Cynthia was a very strong character it seemed that Cynthia was doing far too much heavy-lifting in terms of keeping the boys on track. To a lesser degree, I found it unnecessary for the novel to include insight into Perth’s lesbian scene (Ida).
The Brothers Wolfe is a somewhat gritty story of family and business in WA spanning the 1930’s to the 2000’s mainly focusing on Athol & Elliot. Initially we are introduced to the Wolfe family via flashbacks, as the book jumps from characters, times and locations which is as confusing and disconcerting as the family itself.
It took me until Part II to start to engage with the characters and, even then, I never really warmed to any of them but felt some interest in their inter- relationships.
I found the personal relationships of the characters more interesting than the entrepreneurial wheeling and dealing and the political machinations in the story. These made some sections of the book ponderous to read but they are crucial to the plot so I persevered. The conclusion of the book left me feeling a bit unsatisfied as I wanted Athol to do something more with his life.
Overall, an interesting look at the differences between two brothers and how their lives played out. I enjoy reading books written by Australian authors and, even though this was not my cup of tea, I still enjoyed the Australian content.
A family saga about sibling rivalry and family secrets, bound together by a family trust.
Two brothers with completely different personalities. Elliot loves the thrill of the chase, money-making and is ruthless with other people’s money while Athol is more laid back and goes with the flow, living in his brother’s shadow but with a more relaxed attitude to life. It took a while for me to get into the characters of the book but once I got to part 2 it was hard to put down.
Great descriptions and characters that you can imagine in real life. I could really make out all the characters as they were described.
I would give the book 4 stars as it took me a while to get into therefore a while to read.
A dysfunctional family saga, based in WA in the 1980’s, about two brothers Elliot and Athol Wolfe, born 12 years apart, who have different personalities and ambitions. They are stiving to find their own identity and place in the family business.
It explores themes such as greed, family secrets, scandal, aboriginal rights, morality, lesbianism, loyalty, identity and belonging.
I found the 1980s high flying entrepreneurs and their corrupt business dealings tedious and the self-serving politicians, were sadly, accurately portrayed.
I appreciated the wonderful story telling but I rate this story 3 stars out of 5 as I really didn’t like any of the characters although some partially redeemed themselves by the end of the story.
I do think it would be an interesting Book Club book as it would generate lively discussions.
Anyone that lived in West Australian during the 1980’s will remember the soaring highs of the State’s big business economy. What starts out as a simple, honest family business, is exploited by one son who is determined to become a financial tycoon. The novel takes you into the rise and fall of some of WA’s biggest companies and politicians. At the same time, witness the impact one person’s actions has on the entire family.