review: The Wren, The Wren

Women’s Prize 7/16

My favorite method of reading is to forget everything I know about a book before I start reading, and discover the story page by page with as few expectations as possible for what it’s “about” or where it’s going. I think it speaks volumes of Anne Enright’s The Wren, The Wren that, managing to successfully forget its premise before starting, I was fully engrossed for at least 2/3 of the text here before I had *any* real idea of The Point, and I still immensely enjoyed every moment of that confusion.

The Wren, The Wren follows three generations within one Irish family; starting with the youngest, we see first a modern woman freelancing in the internet age, falling in love with a disastrous man and searching blindly for her future. Up next is her mother, happily single and entirely devoted to her daughter, though still struggling with the loss of her brilliant but abusive father and not without her own faults. It is not, however, until we see the man himself up close- the poet, the legend- that the pieces really begin to fall into place.

This is a family saga, the story of a man who burned bright at great cost to those who loved him, and the reclaiming of their own name by the women who follow behind. It’s a poignant, gorgeous look at changing power structures, at the ripple effect of greatness and great arrogance. At who has the freedom to make mistakes. But perhaps most significantly, it’s delightfully poetic.

I’ll admit, I think I have pretty simple taste in poetry and don’t read from the genre often, but I do know know to revel at well-placed words and the power of packing wide meaning into a small space. the (original!) poems interspersed within the text here I found both compelling in their own right, and perfect accompaniment to the overall narrative- no trite filler here. I read and reread many of the poems, and was even inspired to seek out again some of my old favorite verses- always a win when a book sparks further reading!

“We don’t walk down the same street as the person walking beside us. All we can do is tell the other person what we see. We can point at things and try to name them. If we do this well, our friend can look at the world in a new way. We can meet.“

Ultimately this was a quieter novel than I tend to prefer, but Enright had me hooked from the first page. I won’t be forgetting this story or the beauty it reminded me to look for in the world, any time soon. I’m happy seeing this one on the WP shortlist!

My reaction: 4 out of 5 stars. I’ve read one previous novel from Enright, also thanks to the Women’s Prize: Actress. In both experiences it was the writing that swayed me more than the story, but overall I did prefer this one as I did feel a bit more invested in the characters and thought the poetry focus really allowed Enright’s craft to shine in a way that felt built-in to the novel rather than merely a side perk. I can see The Wren, The Wren having a bit of a niche, literary/poetry audience, but I think it does what it sets out to very well. Based on this experience, I would definitely read from the author again.