Review: The River Has Roots By Amal El-Mohtar

Blurb:

The River Has Roots is the hugely anticipated solo debut of the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award winning author Amal El-Mohtar. Follow the river Liss to the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, and meet two sisters who cannot be separated, even in death.

“Oh what is stronger than a death? Two sisters singing with one breath.”

In the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, dwells the mysterious Hawthorn family.

There, they tend and harvest the enchanted willows and honour an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. None more devotedly than the family’s latest daughters, Esther and Ysabel, who cherish each other as much as they cherish the ancient trees.

But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of a lover from the land of Faerie, not only the sisters’ bond but also their lives will be at risk…

Review:

I am not usually a fan of retellings, but The River Has Roots drew me in with El-Mohtar’s deliciously lyrical prose. In this tale, we follow two sisters, Esther and Ysabel Hawthorne, who tend and collect enchanted willows and sing their thanks for the magic they provide.  At its heart, this novella is about sisterly love. It also captures unconditional love. El-Mohtar deftly pulled at my heartstrings with this whimsical novella to the point where I read this twice. 

When I first picked this up, I had no idea what retelling this story was based on. As soon as I finished reading this, I quickly researched El-Mohtar’s inspiration and discovered the tale is based on traditional murder ballads, specifically “The Cruel Sisters”. I would recommend “The Bonny Swan” by Loreena McKennit, since her beautiful voice captures the ballad (at least to my ears). I will say that for someone who went in blind, you don’t need to know these ballads beforehand. They just added to my reading experience, and I enjoyed going down that rabbit hole. 

Anyway, from the beginning El-Mohtar’s writing is soulful and poetic. I also didn’t expect a language magic system, called grammar, which, like a river, meanders throughout the story. At times, it seemed nonsensical, but I loved the whimsical and fairytale vibes. Thanks to this, it was easy to accept that I likely would never understand it. Despite this, it gave me a greater appreciation for grammar and recognition that there is magic in language. 

"What is magic, but a change in the world? What is conjugation but a transformation, one thing into another? She runs; she ran; she will run again."

In terms of the sisters, I appreciated their banter and how they felt unique from one another. I am an only child, but their unconditional love melted my heart. Whenever they sang or told riddles, it made me fall further into this story. It was easy to imagine their singing as they walked through the willows. On a second read-through, I picked up the audiobook and was flabbergasted by how you can hear the sisters' songs! I was truly in awe, and it made me see this novella as a magical masterpiece. We also have a queer romance yet it never overshadows the sisterly love. At its heart, the tale is about the unconditional love they have for one another. The love interest, Rin’s aura of mystery when they appear throughout the story, was an imaginative way to depict fae.

Overall, I thought this was a perfect fairytale, which subverted the classic tropes to create a refreshing tale. The lyrical and ethereal prose captured my attention from beginning to end. El-Mohtar poured so much of herself into crafting this beautiful yet sad tale. This is also true with the audiobook, where the author and her sister perform songs throughout, along with sound effects and a brilliant narrator. I am not usually an audiobook reader, but I appreciated the high production value. With this background, I enjoyed my first read-through with a physical copy. There is interior artwork within the novel, and it gave me time to enjoy the prose. If you enjoy lyrical prose and fairy tale vibes, then you will want to pick this up as soon as you can.