Although difficult to follow at times due to the meandering style, I recommend THE WREN, THE WREN to fans of literary fiction. As always, Anne Enright's writing is wonderful and thought provoking. There's just enough plot here to keep the reader turning the pages, especially because the characters are complex and multi-layered. I especially enjoyed Nell and Carmel, the touches of poetry, and the philosophical world view.

I received a complimentary e-galley from NetGalley and the publisher; all opinions are completely my own.

The Wren, The Wren is a story of Irish born Nell, her mom Carmel, and her deceased dad Phil who was a poet. Intermixed in the story are snippets of her dad's poetry which were beautiful. However, I had a difficult time connecting with this book and the characters. There were times I was engaged in the storyline and then other times I felt like it was dragging along.

Thank you NetGalley and WW Norton & Company for the ARC.

No one writes like Enright, and while the structure and topics of this novel are not strikingly different from earlier work, she again triumphs in this three generational tale of women connected by a single man. A gifted, blustering, unreliable figure of a man who disappears, leaving his mark. I wasn’t surprised by the book, but I relished it all the same.

Enright's latest novel could have easily been titled after one of the character's story ideas: "Anxious travelers." It follows mother and daughter, Carmel and Nell, as they grapple with the legacy of living in the shadow of famous poet Phil McDaraugh. Carmel's father abandoned her when she was a child and this act (equal parts selfish and in service of his art) haunts her and her child. Though I appreciated the premise and of course the writing, it was hard to care as much as these women did about Phil. He's a philanderer, and since he's never fully drawn, his absence is hard to feel. Still, the novel is accomplished and readers will applaud Enright's storytelling.

This was my first book by Anne Enright even tho I plan to give her another chance.

First and foremost I have to admit that I am not a big fan of poetry. I find it hard to connect with in any real way beyond the appreciation of beautiful sentences. So I am not someone that can relate to poetry being a huge part of people's lives, and that is definitely the case here. I always find it hard to buy into.

This was a story about 3 different generations of women, and I enjoyed each little storyline but they felt very separate from each other. I just felt like they never managed to make that greater connection that I think the author was aiming for, I was never bored, I enjoyed each character's storylines but I just came up short of totally loving it.

The prose tho is another matter entirely, the prose is absolutely stunning and atmospheric and was the redeeming factor throughout everything. I have a feeling that Anne Enright is the type of author that regardless of your interest in the story, her writing will always be beautiful enough to propel you forward and keep reading.

I didn't fall head over heels with her as I expected to, but I definitely can recognize and understand why it is that she has become such a big name in the literary world, her writing is the the type of writing that doesn't come along often. I like to say that there are great storytellers, and great writers, and every once in awhile there is someone who is both those things (John Steinbeck, Salman Rushdie, Stephen King) From just this book alone I know I can say that she is at the very least a truly great writer, but I have yet to be convinced of her skills as a storyteller.

3.5 stars for me rounded up.