Fiction Reviews
The River Has Roots
(2025) Amal El-Mohtar, Arcadia, £14.99, hrdbk, 134pp, ISBN 978-1-529-44336-3
This is a beautiful little book, from the dust jacket, through the illustrations and the artwork decorating the pages, to the stories themselves. As well as the title story (100 pages) there is also a tale (27 pages) from the author’s upcoming collection of short stories. I greatly enjoy well written, shorter fiction as it allows the author to tell a simpler story without having to pad it out or make an unnecessarily long adventure of it, and this book contains two good examples of such work. The previous works I have read from the author have also impressed me.
It is what I would class as a fairy story rather than a fantasy and it is set in world rather like our own, except that there is at least a little magic. The time feels like a few centuries ago and it might perhaps be set somewhere in the southwest of England as it mentions both London (the centre of culture) and Exeter (a nearer city and home of sophisticated artefacts). Indeed, the author says that she was inspired to write the story after visiting Dartmoor, and particularly the stannary town of Chagford, though this is definitely not a moorland tale.
The River Liss runs from the north to the south. It passes between two particularly large willow trees, known as the Professors as they remember, or have even grown from, two people who professed their love for each other. They are followed by more willows until the river arrives at the town of Thistleford. The river is full of grammar, and to understand that point you need to read the story (and look out for the sometimes pun-ish use of it). Immediately to the north of the Professors are the Modal Lands, a strange place where wise people enter cautiously, if at all. Beyond that is the Refrain, an assemblage of standing stones, and immediately beyond them is Arcadia (or Faerie, as some would call it). It is said that whilst Arcadians may travel south, in whatever appearance they choose, the humans who enter Arcadia never return; some say it is because Arcadia is so beautiful that they cannot bear to leave, others that it is so dangerous that they never survive long enough to return; either way, very few ever come back.
Most of the land between the Professors and the town belongs to the Hawthorn family and they tend and harvest the willows, which are enchanted by the waters flowing from Arcadia. In return, the family honour an ancient compact to sing to them at the turning of the seasons in thanks for their magic, though often they sing every sunrise and sunset for the sheer joy of it. Their two daughters, Esther and Ysabel, are particularly fond of singing and sing to the willows, and especially the Professors, as often as they are possibly able, and they are famous for their melodies and harmonies. Early in our story, the two young sisters accidentally entered Arcadia but were found by Agnes Crow, who some say is a witch, and set on a safe path home. Following that unwanted adventure, Esther finds herself slightly drawn to Arcadia whilst the younger Ysabel looks more to the safety of Thistleford.
The sisters’ singing has been heard and appreciated by those of Arcadia and, now of courting age, Esther finds herself willingly enjoying the attention of Rin, an Arcadian. She also finds herself subject to the unwelcome attentions of Samuel Pollard, a neighbour, though his interest is as much in her lands as in her. The sisters love each other more than anything else (‘Oh what is stronger than a death? Two sisters singing with one breath’) so, as this is a fairy story, there will prove be a hidden murder, an unexpected revelation, a particularly just punishment, and a surprisingly happy ending.
The second story, ‘John Hollowback and the Witch’, tells of a young man who would have been handsome were it not for the huge hollow in his back. He visits a witch and asks for her help with this terrible disfigurement. She will cure him but the price he has to pay is that he must learn and accept some very uncomfortable truths about himself.
As a child, when visiting my grandparents, I used to enjoy dipping into their copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. It left me with a taste for such stories, a taste which this book most definitely satisfies.
Incidentally, this book would make a delightful present for someone for whom you cannot think what to buy, but who you know enjoys a good read.
Peter Tyers
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