Genre: Magical Realism
Published: Lake Union Publishing, March 2025
My Rating: 5/5 glowing stars
"My mother is a willow. She stands by a stream that burbles like a toddler’s kisses, and her leaves dip into the water whenever the wind blows, to be nibbled by fish who don’t know any better."
That knowledge is at the root of Elisa involuntary nomadic lifestyle for as long as she can remember. Since she was a child, the women in her family have been on the run for a generational curse that prevents them from ever settling down. Whenever they stay longer than 10 months at a time, or attempt to make a place their home, their bodies will transform to trees, and they will be rooted there for eternity.
After her mother’s death, Elisa reaches a breaking-point. Tired of constant goodbyes, she sets out to get to the origin of their curse, in hopes of breaking it. Her journey brings her to a small Massachusetts town, seemingly cursed with the opposite faith; its inhabitants being unable to leave. As Elisa learns about the town’s history, she understands more about the women in her family, who seem doomed to never get what they want.
The premise of The Warbler reminded me a lot of two other recent popular novels - A Short Walk Through a Wide World and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – and I was interested to see how Sarah Beth Durst would make this her own. Straight out of the gate, I loved this book by far the most out of the aforementioned ones. If you're in the market for a great magical realism story along those lines, but with a more mature (less YA-) feel: don’t pass this one up!
What I loved:
Sarah Beth Durst weaves a beautiful generational tale about familial bonds, expectations, regrets and what it means to be free. Through the perspectives of 3 generations of women (Elisa, her mother and her grandmother), we uncover the origins of their curse and the way it intertwines with the towns history. It can be difficult to craft equally compelling protagonists and their storylines, but the SBD does it with ease. I didn’t expect to be this emotionally invested in such a short amount of time, and yet…
On a surface level, there’s already a lot to love. The mysteries do a great job of pulling you in, and keeping you hooked. Then SBD does slightly magical small-town settings incredibly well – just look at The Spellshop. She also introduces her romantic- and friendship-subplots in such a gentle way that I really appreciate. Romance is not the main focus of this story, and Durst knows this. The romance never tries to steal the spotlight away from the rest of the story - which was one of my problems with Addie LaRue and A Short Walk - but supports and adds to what its truly about.
At its heart, this story is about family and these three women’s yearning for freedom, for themselves and their daughters. Tragically though, they all have a different image of freedom, and the hammers they use to smash their own cages are the same that forge the bars of their daughters’.
Inheritance in all its forms plays a big role in this story. A trigger warning might be in order for (genetic) cancer, which is at least part of the metaphor. This made it a hard hitter for me personally, but I really loved the way the story explored all its different aspects. Especially the way these three women all dealt with the dilemma between full commitment and self-preservation in loneliness, all in different- but relatable ways… Let me just say: there were tears in my eyes, which is so rare that it almost guarantees a favourite-of-the-year-spot when it does happen.
What I didn’t love:
If I had to mention a single downside, it would be its timeline. The story takes place over the course of a couple of days, which feels like far too short of a timeframe for the development that is being made. I’d have kept the story exactly as is, but made it so a little more time would pass between chapters, making the developing relationships and insights a bit less insta-lovy and a bit more realistic.
Overall, can’t recommend this one enough. If you want an outrageous blurb to take out of context, here you go: In my opinion, this was like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue but better.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
You can find this book here on Goodreads.
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