The Witch Elm by Tana French
“Lord. we know what we are, but know not what we may be.”
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Epigraph)
Tana French, the master of mood and atmosphere, returns with her first standalone piece. Separate from her popular Dublin Murder Squad series, The Witch Elm has all the similar markings of one but takes a sharp turn at the very beginning.
First, our narrator is not a detective. Toby Hennessey is your (slightly) above average guy. He’s not wealthy but by no means is poor. More or less things have been handed to him all his life: summers of youth at the Ivy House (the Hennessey family home), private school, jobs, and now a fancy flat in “an extremely nice part of Dublin.” The thing is, Toby believes he is the average guy, just with a bit of luck. Everything upturns when we, Toby included, realize what his “luck” makes of him.
At an unforeseen (to Toby) turn of events, his flat gets broken into in the middle of the night, and he is nearly beaten to death. He’s shaken to the core now that luck has seemingly left his side. As a means to cope with his newly battered physical state, his family convinces him to take some time back at the Ivy House to watch over his Uncle Hugo who has health concerns of his own.
Upon return, the Ivy House shakes free moments in Toby’s memory and creates new twists and turns to his personality as it challenges who he believed he always was. Extra time spent with his Uncle Hugo and cousins, Susanna and Leon aggravate him instead of console him as they become the catalyst of his rebuilding.
As with all things Tana French, the setting of the story never ceases to amaze and alter its characters. If her stories were a game of Clue, the environment would always be one of the suspects.
She reminds us that place is as important as purpose. As Toby reunites with Susanna and Leon in their childhood summer home, the trio’s innocent synchronicity crumbles around him. Facts revealed shift Toby’s memories into a new line of morale and bare way to new brutality on himself and others.
Rating: 3.5/5
The Genre: Drama, Mystery
The Season: Summer
The Cast: Top billing Toby Hennessey, Susanna, and Leon. Featuring Uncle Hugo.
The Mood: Unnerving, Restrictive, Nostalgic
If it were a film: the pace and fundamental trio relationship in “Never Let Me Go” (2010), the agonizing realizations in “Shame” (2011) with the unexpected character arc of “6 Years” (2015).
Films to watch to put you in a similar headspace: see above but also include “Memento” (2000), “Call Me By Your Name” (2017), and “Crimson Peak” (2015).
