The Crane Wife

by Patrick Ness

[kimbacaffeinate]

3.5
The tale is told from multiple perspectives and begins when we meet George an American living in London. He awakens to strange noise in the middle of the night. He discovers a beautiful Crane in the backyard. The Crane has been shot in the wing with an arrow and the two share a moment as George helps the creature. The next day a woman named Kumiko arrives at his shop and asks for help with her artwork. George finds himself falling desperately in love with this secretive woman. We also meet Amanda, George’s twenty-five year old daughter who has an incredible knack for finding and losing friends. The tale that unfolds is strange, beautiful, simple and yet complicated. There weren’t many characters and I liked this uncomplicated aspect. George is a likable enough character. He is very ordinary; a hard working divorced stiff who never quite made a relationship last. Kumiko is mysterious and perhaps only two-dimensional, but I think that was the author’s intent. Mehmet, the shopkeeper, is a hoot, and he added lightness to the tale. Amanda is a colorful character who is quite the misfit. I enjoyed her tale and found myself sympathizing with her. She trudges through life to the beat of her own drum and sadly it keeps her out of the “inner circle” with regards to friendships. She has a foul mouth and is quite open in sharing her opinions. I found her to be hilarious and outrageous at times. Her opinions are not wrong per se but different from those of her gender. For example, she loathes The Wizard of Oz.

The Crane Wife was unique with lyrical passages and beautiful prose. I found myself rereading parts and becoming mesmerized in the rightness of the words lying before me. Yet at other times I felt Ness repeated himself especially with regard to how nice a guy George was. I get it! George is nice and good. But I am still not impressed. I absolutely loved the thread regarding the artwork that George and Kumiko created and how it interlaced with the story itself. This was very clever and added a little suspense to the tale. While reading, I was reminded of novels such as the Snow Child and Lost Lake. However, I felt those were executed more smoothly and will appeal to a much broader readership. Despite that, Ness had me suspending belief and accepting all that was set before me. The tale is presented in pieces almost as if Ness is showing us parts of his newest painting. As the book draws to a conclusion we are presented with this completed picture and his message is clear. While not perfect for me, it was an easy read and one whose messages I shall ponder.

Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer