The River Has Roots, Amal El-Mohtar
The new short story from Amal El-Mohtar is laid out in a delightfully whimsical manner, with lino-cut illustrations peppered throughout to illustrate the central motifs and images. Willow boughs swing down between words and the narrative is broken up by full-page illustrations of farmyard animals, submerged harps, and the winding river which serves as central to the plot.
Taking cues from fable and fairytale, El-Mohtar weaves a story that straddles the boundary between the human town of Thistledown and that of the fae, known as Arcadia. The protagonists, a pair of sisters called Esther and Ysabel, live at the edge of a woodland space that leads into Arcadia, and they appease their mythological guardians, two willow trees, through the magic of song. Soon, they find themselves at odds when faced with the prospect of romance, marriage, and the future.
The story pays curious attention to its magic system, which El-Mohtar roots in the idea of grammar and how it bridges the space between times, allowing one to exist concurrently in the past, present, and future, as well as how missteps in grammar can create strange happenstances that can alter reality itself. Despite being interesting, this magic is slightly underbaked in the story, as the integration of the idea of grammar into the landscape of Thistledown and its border with Arcadia is sometimes unsuccessful. However, when executed well, it is exquisite, carrying the characteristic charm of El-Mohtar at her best.
El-Mohtar conjures a lively and lived-in world, and a cast of characters who are instantly memorable. The sisters lie at the centre of the novel, each desperate to cling to each other but also to pursue their respective paths that threaten to betray their relationship. Their bond is supplemented by El-Mohtar’s powerful use of music as a narrative device; it is music that bonds them and ties them to the human world, and it is music that, it seems, will save them from the threat of their diverging fates.
A lot is packed into this short, charming book, which is perfect for those looking to scratch the fairytale itch with a story which bares its heart to the reader and makes us wonder if a walk into the woods isn’t such a bad idea after all.
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