Review: THE WREN, THE WREN

The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright explores family bonds and the effects of a father abandoning his critically ill wife and two daughters. His leaving reverberates through three generations of women in the family. When Phil McDaragh, a famous Irish poet, walks out on his family no one could foresee the long-lasting  effects, even on an unborn generation. He was known for his love poems and how he seemingly understands women yet he is capable of leaving when his family needs him the most. 

The novel gives voice to Phil's daughter, Carmen, and his 23-year-old granddaughter, Nell, in alternating chapters. Phil left his family when Carmen was quite young though she does remember that he loved her best, even writing a famous poem, "The Wren, the Wren", for her. The poem is about a bird flying away from him, out of his hand: “her ascent/away from me/in a blur of love, to love/indistinguishable/… And, oh/my life, my daughter,/the faraway sky is cold/and very blue.” While Carmen's mother and sister seem to live in a different reality that Phil would someday return, Carmen grows up to be very independent. She raises Nell by herself, proud of her self reliance. But once when Carmen and Nell have a fight of sorts it devolves into a moment of violence. This act catches Carmen up since she suddenly remembered what it was like to be the daughter of Phil McDaragh. Her father was so big and his moods were like the weather, so she learned to stay out of reach of his swinging fists. "Her father, her father. He was...Her father was bigger than the world and a lot less wonderful."

Nell has always enjoyed reading her grandfather's poems and wants to be a writer herself. She writes pieces on the Internet as a ghostwriter for a social influencer, and is constantly searching for her writing niche and as she tries to find a happy relationship with a man.  Nell ends up touring Europe and then the world. During her travels she starts to understand herself better and finds out more about her late, famous grandfather. Both Nell and her grandfather were fascinated by the poetic beauty of birds. When Nell gets to Australia she spends a lot of time bird watching, keeping her eyes out for birds with poetic or magical-sounding names: the Splendid Fairy Wren, the Sacred Kingfisher, and the Noisy Miner. (I enjoyed this section of the book very much because I am a fan of the bird game, Wingspan, and I'm becoming acquainted with birds I'd never heard of before. All three of the above mentioned birds are part of the game!)

Ultimately both Nell and her mother, Carmen, make peace with poet father/grandfather and find meaning and love. They acknowledged when Phil said "all poetry is about unrequited love" he was probably only talking about himself. 

This is the first book I've read by Anne Enright. She is an Irish treasure and has won many literary awards. The Wren, the Wren came to my attention because it is a finalist for the 2024 Women's Prize. Ireland is an ever-present character in the novel, as is its poetry which is interspersed throughout. In a lot of ways, the book has a very powerful and thoughtful message about family bonds and generational healing.

4 stars.

-Anne