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twistykris's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
“On the farm,” she said quietly, “mothers fly away like migrating birds. And fathers die too young. This is why farmers have daughters. To keep things going in the meantime, until it’s our time to grow wings. Go soaring away across the sky.”
There is just something about the way that Kelly Barnhill writes that just consumes me. She has the ability to write bizarre, disturbing, sad subject matters so beautifully. I've read When Women Were Dragons, and this has a very similar feel in regards to the magical realism and the stifling emotions around motherhood and women's transformations to leave it.
I went into this vaguely familiar with the original Japanese tale of "The Crane Wife" and I found this was an interesting, emotional retelling of it from the perspective of an unnamed 15-year old girl trying to protect and take care of her younger brother, while her mother- a weaver- becomes consumed by an abusive, mysterious crane-man. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Child abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, and Gun violence
Minor: Bullying
bessmonet's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Grief, Violence, Mental illness, Death, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Cannibalism and Drug abuse
forthesanityof1's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was given a free eARC in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley. Thank you so much for the opportunity!
I was enamored with this book from the title and beautiful cover art alone. It's honestly arresting and I think it connects with the story of The Crane Husband very, very well. This is a story about generational trauma through the lens of a hard-working Midwest farming family fighting for survival. It is based on traditional Japanese folklore (The Crane Wife) looking at themes of love, sacrifice, suffering, and the associated moral cost. Both male and female aspects of this family have engaged in repeating a cycle of abuse and being subjected to poverty at times. The narrator of this novella is 15 year old girl (a strength of Barnhill as a writer) who's mother is an artist in the thrall of a crane.
Compared to the folklore, Barnhill's narrative is as atmospheric as it is disturbing at times. For me, the discomfort was an integral part of the reading experience. To me, the crane is intentionally flat as a character because of the lens of our narrator based on her background and her age. I think this works well within the story and brings in an interesting and human horror element around domestic violence and the people who suffer tangentially related to the main victim of domestic violence. We see how the cycle is going to play out and how the narrator works to subvert and break it. I think success looks very different for people, and the lack of an outright victory and happy ending is perhaps the most heartbreaking but most real aspect of this book. I loved how Barnhill centered the narrator on her upbringing in moments and her descriptors of the crane and things going on around her. Especially at the end, Barnhill was able to really show her characters without laboriously telling us as the readers that X is doing Y.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed this. I would definitely recommend it if literary fiction, trauma, resilience, and love are for you.
I was enamored with this book from the title and beautiful cover art alone. It's honestly arresting and I think it connects with the story of The Crane Husband very, very well. This is a story about generational trauma through the lens of a hard-working Midwest farming family fighting for survival. It is based on traditional Japanese folklore (The Crane Wife) looking at themes of love, sacrifice, suffering, and the associated moral cost. Both male and female aspects of this family have engaged in repeating a cycle of abuse and being subjected to poverty at times. The narrator of this novella is 15 year old girl (a strength of Barnhill as a writer) who's mother is an artist in the thrall of a crane.
Compared to the folklore, Barnhill's narrative is as atmospheric as it is disturbing at times. For me, the discomfort was an integral part of the reading experience. To me, the crane is intentionally flat as a character because of the lens of our narrator based on her background and her age. I think this works well within the story and brings in an interesting and human horror element around domestic violence and the people who suffer tangentially related to the main victim of domestic violence. We see how the cycle is going to play out and how the narrator works to subvert and break it. I think success looks very different for people, and the lack of an outright victory and happy ending is perhaps the most heartbreaking but most real aspect of this book. I loved how Barnhill centered the narrator on her upbringing in moments and her descriptors of the crane and things going on around her. Especially at the end, Barnhill was able to really show her characters without laboriously telling us as the readers that X is doing Y.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed this. I would definitely recommend it if literary fiction, trauma, resilience, and love are for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Animal cruelty, Grief, Abandonment, and Animal death
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