The Wren, The Wren – Anne Enright

READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE

Three generations of women carry trauma brought upon them by the famous poet in their family. Phil McDaragh was a man of beautiful words and brutal actions. Years after his death, his daughter and granddaughter try to find their place in the world and in each other’s lives, carrying their scars with them.

The connection between us is more than a strand of DNA, it is a rope thrown from the past, a fat twisted rope, full of blood.

● My consistent thought throughout this book was ‘Wow Anne Enright writes beautifully.’ Prose, poetry, dialogue, musings on love and life and all the tough topics are presented with much consideration and care. As such the characters and their plights came to life on the page. There is no great plot in this book, which I sometimes pined for, but the characterisation of Carmel and Nell was enough to make me read on in hope there was some resolution for the mother and daughter. – Rachel

● The Wren, The Wren is haunting and and I don’t know how Anne Enright does it, but even the violence is somehow written beautifully. The fraught depiction of the familial bonds is realistic and the generational quest for meaning and belonging is perfectly done. The storyline wavers about and as a reader I often felt a bit lost in the events, but the text drew me in so much I was more than happy to go with the flow. – Suzy

Published 2023
W. W. Norton & Company
278 pages