REVIEW

The Crane Wife by Max China

 Drawn to read this book due to the reference to it not being a fairy tale, I had to read it. I loved fairy tales when young and many retellings of them that I have read have provided nice escapes. Once finished with the last page of this book, I looked up the myth-fairytale this story referred to and read what it was about. There are some similarities between this and the Japanese tale that include a crane, a beautiful woman, weaving, sacrifice, love, and loss. That said, this is and is not like the original though it might be likened to a rather dark and grim modernized Grimm’s fairytale.

 Dream, nightmare, illusion, imagined or real…what happens in the telling of this story has Jericho Mathers dealing with and eventually working his way through a heavy load he has been carrying. His military missions sounded difficult and psychologically traumatizing to the point that he suffered PTSD, closed himself off from those he loved, and isolated himself after his wife’s death. I felt sorry for him as it felt reality at times eluded him or became something else entirely while at the same time illusion seemed all too tangible and real. I wondered at the end of the book how much was and was not real and yet in Jericho’s mind…all of it was exactly as he experienced it.

 There were a few times the thread of the story switched characters without notice but I was quickly able to follow what was happening. I might have liked a bit more at the end to let me know who the man on the mountain was that Jack met and a hint of how the lives of Jericho and his children would be in the future.

 This was a sometimes dark and gritty intriguing story that had me wondering what would happen next and hoping that all would work out positively for Jericho and his family.

 Thank you to NetGalley and IBPA for the ARC – This is my honest review.

 4-5 Stars

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