The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

The Crane Husband
by Kelly Barnhill

Literary | Magical Realism | Fiction
128 Pages
Released February 2023

Rating: ★★★★★
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Content Warnings

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At a mere 128 pages, this novella is a quick and gorgeous read, so much so that I bought the book shortly after devouring it. The book is a dark reimagining of the Japanese Folklore tale of The Crane Wife, which I was not familiar with prior to reading this book.

This story follows an unnamed girl burdened with running her household and raising her little brother - her father has passed away and her mother is a whimsical artist specializing in weaving. One day, her mother brings home a giant Crane (yes, like the bird!) and the girl quickly releases there is something wrong, that this is different from the other times her mother has brought men home after the death of their father. As her mother falls deeper into this horrifying relationship, the girl must do everything she can to keep the fraying threads of her family from completely falling apart.

This story was so fascinating! First, the atmosphere was really interesting because the book felt both timeless but also dystopian, which made for a really unusual atmosphere. It’s a lyrical depiction of a whimsical artist-mother falling prey to a toxic relationship, as seen through the eyes of her teenaged daughter, who is trying to pick up the pieces in her wake.

There were definitely some similar aspects to Barnhill’s other novel, When Women Were Dragons, but I enjoyed this one much, much more. It’s a quick and lovely read and I highly recommend it if you are a fan of magical realism.