The Crane Husband - Kelly Barnhill - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR: Kelly Barnhill

GENRE: Fantasy-horror.

PUBLICATION DATE: February 28, 2023

RATING: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A horror-fantasy with elements of surrealism. Retelling of the Japanese folktale ‘The Crane Wife’. Set in an imagined dystopian near-future. Understated yet mindblowing. Love how it handles the characters, the folktale, and even the dark theme. Suspension of disbelief required. Much recommended, but not to those who steer clear of weird stories. Check the triggers listed below if needed.

Plot Preview:

A fifteen-year-old girl is forced to be the support of her family after the death of her father, taking care of the household as well as of her six-year-old brother Michael, while her mom, a talented but somewhat oblivious artist, weaves stunning tapestries to pay the bills. The mother randomly brought “guests” home, but none stayed for long. Until now. Her latest guest is a tall crane who seems to have captivated her heart even though the daughter finds him manipulative and abusive. Unbothered by his harsh behaviour, the mother ignores her work and her children, focussing solely on her crane paramour. The daughter knows that it is, yet again, up to her to save their family. But what can she do without alerting the authorities about their pathetic living conditions? Will she lose Michael to the foster care system? Can she save her mother before it is too late?

The story comes to us in the first-person perspective of the young nameless narrator.

I don’t know what I was expecting from this book, but I certainly wasn’t expecting THIS!

The story is a retelling of the Japanese folktale named “The Crane’s Wife”. But it delivers so much better!

Bookish Yays:

🖼 The story as a retelling: familiar yet different. The title indicates at the swap in the crane’s gender, but that’s not the only thing that has been swapped. The change in the identity of the manipulator, the separation of the crane and artist identities, the concept of ’sacrifice’ in love, and the ending all work in cohesion to present a much darker and more impactful narrative.

🖼 The originality of the plot. I don’t think I have read any story on domestic violence handled this way. It’s bizarre and compelling at once.

🖼 The representation of domestic violence and abusive relationships. Chilling, especially when it’s tough to figure out why the injured party is so content with the whole situation even at the cost of herself. If you are sensitive to this theme, don’t read the book unless you are in a strong headspace; it gets quite graphic.

🖼 The choice of narrator. I never thought such a story could come across as intense and unnerving given the youthfulness of the narrator, but her maturity (no thanks to her circumstances), her spunk in times of trouble, and her love for her brother and even for her mother despite the damage she does with her questionable choice of suitors, ensures that the young girl is a compelling character and the right person to tell this story.

🖼 The first-person narrative, containing barely any rambling and a good use of foreshadowing that doesn’t go too far. Brilliantly done.

🖼 Michael. A little fellow in a little role with a big impact. I sent him (and his brave elder sister) multiple virtual hugs while reading this; I just loved their bond!

🖼 The portrayal of the crane: so, so unsettling! His character detailing is outstanding despite being minimal. It’s fascinating to see how the plot makes clear his cockiness and his abusiveness though he doesn’t even have dialogues.

🖼 The depiction of the near-future timeline, which, sadly, feels like a very real possibility. 😢

🖼 All the emotions this books generates along the way: dread, concern, support, sadness, fury… I felt one with the narrative even though the narrative was so fantastical.

🖼 The questions this raises on love (of various kinds), and how far one can go for it – very thought-provoking.

🖼 The ending. No spoilers, so just know that it suits the story perfectly.

🖼 The cover art: stunning! And so perfect for the plot!

Bookish Okays:

🐦 The mother. Loved her brilliance as an artist but hated her lackadaisical attitude towards her children’s wellbeing and her blind passion for her abusive “crane husband”. She could be what youngsters these days call “delulu”, but I found her more obsessive, whether in her art or in her passion.

🐦 The lack of detailing for some of the plot points. There are many questions still buzzing in my head, which is both good and bad. Bad because I know I can get no answers for them. Good because the book hasn’t left me even after the last page – so rare these days.

🎧 The Audiobook Experience:

The audiobook, clocking at just 3 hrs 45 min, is narrated by Laura Knight Keating. She is brilliant, making sure that our heroic narrator’s strengths and vulnerabilities come across clearly through her voice. Unless you are uncertain of listening to surreal storylines and non-chronological narratives, you can easily opt for the audio version. But avoid the audio if you feel like such a whimsical plot might need you to indulge in a lot of back-and-forth while reading. I felt the need for this multiple times, so I had to loop back the audio by whole chapters at times.

Overall, I was just expecting a typical retelling that took an old folktale and jazzed it up for new audiences. But this went so far beyond my expectations that I am willing to let go of all the queries still buzzing in my head like peckish cranes.

Barnhill took me by surprise with her writing tone in this novel. I have read her only once before. ‘The Girl Who Drank the Moon’, a charming middle-grade fantasy with Christian elements, was a book I liked a lot but didn’t love because of its unanswered plot points. While this new retelling also has a lack of clarification on several inclusions, it is so different in terms of content and approach! I now feel like I must read more books by this author.

You don’t need to know the original story before reading this novel, but you will appreciate it better if you do. The novel does include the folktale in the dialogues of one of the characters, but it is the bare-minimum version.

Definitely recommended. At just 120 pages, this novella packs a whammy and can easily be read in one sitting. The book is strictly for adult readers despite its young protagonist, and will suit those who relish dark retellings with strong leads and aren’t bothered by unclarified plot points. This would also be a great option for book clubs.

4.5 stars, happy to round up wherever applicable for the audio version.

Content Warnings:

Domestic violence (mental and physical), parental abandonment, parental/spousal death, grief, child neglect.