Book Review of the wren, the wren by Anne Enright
Name of Book: the WREN, the WREN
Author: Anne EnrightISBN: 978-1-324-07603-2
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Type of book: mother/daughter relationships, time, abandonment, poetry, travel, curiosity, practicality, birds, nature, modern times, Ireland, lovers
Year it was published: 2023
Summary:
Characters:
Main characters are Carmel and Nell. Carmel is Nells mother, an extremely practical woman who closed herself off to emotions. A lot of times she has trouble understanding about why certain things can be enjoyed by others. She is also attempting to discover her father's legacy and what impact that legacy has had on her. Nell is perhaps best described as her grandfather personified; she is extremely careless, emotional, travels everywhere and seems to be without roots. She also is unable to get along with her mother.
Theme
What feeds into modern day you?
Plot:
Author Information:
Opinion:
It's definitely one of the interesting books I have read: part literary tale part generational trauma part unresolved conflicts and part poetry, there is a lot to unpack in this slim 273 page novel. What I think was definitely the highlight for me was the use of poetry at almost every end of chapter which gives some context on what characters were discussing, and which also changed my perspective on Ireland. There is definitely an interesting juxtaposition between the use of birds and nature versus the daily life of the McDaragh women. Another unexpected highlight for me were unresolved conflicts between the women and the patriarch, Phil. With minor spoilers, Carmel and her mother were abandoned by Phil at a certain low point in their lives, and they must contend with that absence in various ways: namely Carmel shutting down the parts that would cause her to become like her father, her emotions, creativity and feminity. The conflict between Phil and the women went unresolved and it becomes up to the women to either resolve it or ignore it.
This was given for review
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
Theme
What feeds into modern day you?
Plot:
It definitely depends, but most of the novel is either from Nells or Carmels point of view. One chapter does have Phil's point of view. Nell is first person narrative without quotation marks while Carmels is third person narrative with quotation marks. Phil's is first person narrative. The novel also explores with generational legacy that Phil has left the McDaraugh women and it focuses a lot on their attempts to live, love and travel. While there are some references to time, but for me it was hard to say when the story took place.
Author Information:
Opinion:
It's definitely one of the interesting books I have read: part literary tale part generational trauma part unresolved conflicts and part poetry, there is a lot to unpack in this slim 273 page novel. What I think was definitely the highlight for me was the use of poetry at almost every end of chapter which gives some context on what characters were discussing, and which also changed my perspective on Ireland. There is definitely an interesting juxtaposition between the use of birds and nature versus the daily life of the McDaragh women. Another unexpected highlight for me were unresolved conflicts between the women and the patriarch, Phil. With minor spoilers, Carmel and her mother were abandoned by Phil at a certain low point in their lives, and they must contend with that absence in various ways: namely Carmel shutting down the parts that would cause her to become like her father, her emotions, creativity and feminity. The conflict between Phil and the women went unresolved and it becomes up to the women to either resolve it or ignore it.
This was given for review
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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