I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Warbler by Sarah Beth Durst Series: Standalone
Published by Lake Union Publishing on 2025 March 01
Genres: Magical Realism
Pages: 335
Format: E-Arc
Source: Netgalley
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From the author of The Lies Among Us comes a magical tale about mothers and daughters, choices and consequences, and the real meaning of home when every place feels like a cage.
Ten months. That’s the longest Elisa has stayed anyplace, constantly propelled by her fear that if she puts down roots, a family curse will turn her into a tree.
But she’s grown tired of flitting from town to town and in and out of relationships. When she discovers a small town in Massachusetts where mysterious forces make it impossible for the residents to leave, she hopes she can change her fate.
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. Now she believes she’s stuck, too—is that a patch of bark on her arm? But her neighbor’s collection of pet birds sings secrets that Elisa can almost understand—secrets she must unravel in order to be truly alive.
To those whose who had known me from my previous blogs, you know that magical realism is not really my thing. Of course, there are books like Patrick Ness’ and Neil Gaiman’s that will stand out and manage its way to become remarkable reads. It’s fortunate that I was able to pick up The Warbler by Sarah Beth Durst because I enjoyed it a lot. It’s not perfect but the wave of magic that I’m craving for was satisfied.
The Warbler follows the story of Elisa who for some unknown and mysterious reason needs to hop from one place to another every ten months or so. Otherwise, she has to pay a very steep price: she’s going to turn a tree. Yes, you’ve read that right. She’s going to literally turn into a tree. A curse she inherited from her mother and the latter from hers, Elisa’s life has no way of settlement and having her own unique identity as she needs to be on the move constantly. Moreover, she could not be in a serious and long-term relationship because vanishing without a trace is just not the way to treat your partner right.
But Elisa is already tired of her situation. She wants to break the curse and be her own person for once. So despite the challenges and uncertainties she faced along the way, she came across a sleepy town named Greensborough. But as misfortunes would have it, Elisa has chosen a town that seemed to be also cursed. The residents in Greensborough seems to entice people to not leave the place. So this is when the weird shit happens…the weird shit that will hook you until you finish the story.
The Warbler may not be the best book in the market about magical realism but it entertained me a lot. The writing was lyrical and though the pacing could have been improved, the plot was somewhat unique that I had a hard time putting the book. Trust me, there was a lot of nail biting along the way because I was really anticipating the big reveal about who cursed Elisa. And what a shocking reveal it was. I did not see it coming. ☹
I think the central theme of the book also contributed a lot to why it was interesting in the first place. It’s all about choices and the consequences of it being curtailed just because someone wants to play God. On the side, familial relationships, friendships, romantic relationships were also explored. For a short book, I’d say that Sarah Beth Durst has crafted something that is worth your money.
To sum it all up, I thoroughly enjoyed The Warbler. It’s a gift that kept on giving. There’s a lot that happened but the story did not feel convoluted or confusing. There’s a little bit of everything that will surely make your reading a happy experience.