Reviews

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

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readundancies's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I love Kelly Barnhill’s writing, but this novella just didn’t capture the vibe I wanted from it.

The horror wasn’t as dark and foreboding as I anticipated, the characters didn’t do anything for me, and the ending was just disappointing. It really fell apart when we as the readers find the MC’s one conviction to take care of their brother Michael completely abandoned without any sort of forethought.

A bummer based on my expectations.

scipulchre's review

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

grise's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

morgie27's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was an incredibly sad book. Well written and creative but quite sad.

csnurr's review

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1.0

Maybe I’m not smart enough for this book but man did I not see any point to this story at all. Maybe I just don’t get the flighty artist trope but the mom seems to be a poor mother regardless of the appearance of the crane. All around this just was not enjoyable and even though it’s 110 pages it felt way too long.

copascribe's review

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3.0

I went into this knowing the premise, and the first 3/ 4 delivered....but then it turned in a direction that I didn't think made a lot of sense. And then it was over, the ending feeling rushed and almost glossed over.

I knocked a star off for the last 1/4 and was bummed not to have connected more with it.

But it's a super quick read, and if you like symbolism and retellings, maybe give it a try.

Trigger warnings: Violence