Anne Enright is another of my favourite Irish authors, with The Gathering and The Green Road absolute standouts for me. Her latest novel, The Wren, The Wren (Penguin Random House 2023) is certainly a great achievement (although for me, The Gathering remains my number one).
The Wren, The Wren is an intimate and complex exploration of the relationship dynamics of women, of mothers and daughters, and sisters, all overshadowed by the inheritance and fame of their well-known father/grandfather, a celebrated Irish poet. This is a generational saga of trauma, love, loss, disappointment, pain and resilience.
Narrated throughout by Carmel and alternately her adult daughter Nell, the book tells their stories in tandem – Carmel as a young woman dealing with an absent but famous father (the poet Phil), relationships, and navigating what she wants from life; and the same with her daughter Nell, from a different generation, with different desires and expectations. The shadow of Phil and his words – forever immortalised – hovers over both of them.
The narrative is interspersed with poetry and some letters, both interesting diversions.
Mostly, of course, Enright is known for her absolutely beautiful writing, her ability to put together a sentence so perfect, so lovely, that you read it again and again just for the pleasure of hearing it in your head. And so it is with The Wren, The Wren. Sentences and paragraphs beating with beauty, some meditative or curious, some transcendent or incandescent with pulsing life.
Anne Enright fans will love this book, as will anyone who enjoys a deep and meaningful, yet highly readable, account of love, relationships, genetics and family. While the words are achingly evocative, the narrative itself is engaging and thought-provoking.