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A review by mediaevalmuse
The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
5.0
I enjoyed Barnhill's novel When Women Were Dragons, so when I saw The Crane Husband at a local used bookstore, I didn't hesitate to pick it up. I read it in one sitting, which shows how compelling I found it- I like Barnhill's prose and I was captivated by the magical realism of the novella. I will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author.
WRITING: Barnhill does a really good job of balancing showing and telling and excels at leaving things open to reader interpretation. In the two books I've read, I've never felt like Barnhill was overexplaining or dumping a lot of lore on the reader; she knows when to hold back and when to give readers a little nudge.
Barnhill is also really good at creating a desperate-feeling mood and sustaining it over the entire novella. I really felt the tension between the protagonist and the crane as well as the desperation when it came to caring for her brother and trying to figure out how to stay out of the foster system. It made me continuously want to see if she succeeded and made me feel for her and her struggles.
PLOT: The plot of this novella follows an unnamed 15 year old female protagonist who lives in the American Midwest with her mom and 6 year old brother. One day, her mother (who is an artist) brings home a 6 foot tall crane, and it embeds itself in their lives and upends their existence. Soon her mother is locked away in her studio, completing a masterpiece that no one can see, and the protagonist has to figure out how to care for herself and her brother while food supplies dwindle and money vanishes.
I liked the backdrop of this story not only because it's set in the American Midwest, but because there's something about the family living in a house, overlooking farmland they used to own that's really chilling. Watching machines owned by corporations tend to the fields just casts an eerie and depressing shadow over the story, and it was incredibly effective at augmenting the mood from the main plot.
The main plot was also a good balance of setbacks and wins for our protagonist. Watching her, I very much wanted her to succeed because I could tell that she loved her brother. I also sympathized with the reasons why she would decide not to reach out for help.
The magical realism with the crane was furthermore enchanting and didn't overwhelm the true focus of the story. The crane is never the main character, but it affects the protagonist's life so profoundly that you're always aware of its presence. In that, it did a good job of blending the magical elements with the rest of the world. Magic itself wasn't the focus and in fact alluded to themes that were much darker and more devastating.
CHARACTERS: Our unnamed protagonist is easy to root for. No one likes to see neglected kids, so it's not difficult to want the protagonist to succeed in getting her brother to school or finding a way to put food on the table. It's also very easy to sympathize with het because you see all the ways in which she is forced to grow up before she should, and she handles things remarkably well for a teenager in a life like hers.
Michael, the 6 year old brother, is sweet and seeing how scared he is broke my heart. I loved the bond between him and his sister - how he trusted her without question and seemed to know she was doing her best.
The mother was a complex mix. I was absolutely furious with her for the way she neglected her children. But as the nature of her relationship with the crane became more evident and her past was explored a little more, it was also easy to see her as a victim and as someone caught in a cycle.
The crane was interesting in that Barnhill never feels the need to explain his deal. I loved the magical element it brought to the story, but it was also sinister and unnerving, enhancing the mood.
TL;DR: The Crane Husband is a wonderfully-written retelling of a classic folk tale. Blending magical realism with the struggles of a young girl who desperately tries to hold her family together, Barnhill creates a compelling portrait of someone who is forced to grow up too fast.
WRITING: Barnhill does a really good job of balancing showing and telling and excels at leaving things open to reader interpretation. In the two books I've read, I've never felt like Barnhill was overexplaining or dumping a lot of lore on the reader; she knows when to hold back and when to give readers a little nudge.
Barnhill is also really good at creating a desperate-feeling mood and sustaining it over the entire novella. I really felt the tension between the protagonist and the crane as well as the desperation when it came to caring for her brother and trying to figure out how to stay out of the foster system. It made me continuously want to see if she succeeded and made me feel for her and her struggles.
PLOT: The plot of this novella follows an unnamed 15 year old female protagonist who lives in the American Midwest with her mom and 6 year old brother. One day, her mother (who is an artist) brings home a 6 foot tall crane, and it embeds itself in their lives and upends their existence. Soon her mother is locked away in her studio, completing a masterpiece that no one can see, and the protagonist has to figure out how to care for herself and her brother while food supplies dwindle and money vanishes.
I liked the backdrop of this story not only because it's set in the American Midwest, but because there's something about the family living in a house, overlooking farmland they used to own that's really chilling. Watching machines owned by corporations tend to the fields just casts an eerie and depressing shadow over the story, and it was incredibly effective at augmenting the mood from the main plot.
The main plot was also a good balance of setbacks and wins for our protagonist. Watching her, I very much wanted her to succeed because I could tell that she loved her brother. I also sympathized with the reasons why she would decide not to reach out for help.
The magical realism with the crane was furthermore enchanting and didn't overwhelm the true focus of the story. The crane is never the main character, but it affects the protagonist's life so profoundly that you're always aware of its presence. In that, it did a good job of blending the magical elements with the rest of the world. Magic itself wasn't the focus and in fact alluded to themes that were much darker and more devastating.
CHARACTERS: Our unnamed protagonist is easy to root for. No one likes to see neglected kids, so it's not difficult to want the protagonist to succeed in getting her brother to school or finding a way to put food on the table. It's also very easy to sympathize with het because you see all the ways in which she is forced to grow up before she should, and she handles things remarkably well for a teenager in a life like hers.
Michael, the 6 year old brother, is sweet and seeing how scared he is broke my heart. I loved the bond between him and his sister - how he trusted her without question and seemed to know she was doing her best.
The mother was a complex mix. I was absolutely furious with her for the way she neglected her children. But as the nature of her relationship with the crane became more evident and her past was explored a little more, it was also easy to see her as a victim and as someone caught in a cycle.
The crane was interesting in that Barnhill never feels the need to explain his deal. I loved the magical element it brought to the story, but it was also sinister and unnerving, enhancing the mood.
TL;DR: The Crane Husband is a wonderfully-written retelling of a classic folk tale. Blending magical realism with the struggles of a young girl who desperately tries to hold her family together, Barnhill creates a compelling portrait of someone who is forced to grow up too fast.