The Crow Margaret Owen is a debut and a young adult, which means it’s easy to miss. Meanwhile, it’s a great story written in a light, inventive style.
Crows of Mercy
When the first sentence of the novel is “Daddy’s too much lamented about cutting boys’ throats,” and the next one becomes more and more interesting, I know it will be fine. The translator (Marek Cieślik) is not afraid of more colorful words, and the author immediately throws us into the deep waters of the complicated world, alien to the everyday sensitivity of the 21st century reader. It is a great joy. I reach for light, adventure fantasy, I get sparkling text and thoughtful world-creation. Yes, this review will be personal! This is not just another job …
… Just like Fe and her herd, which is now bringing mercy to two young people of high bloodline. This is the first case of a plague at court in centuries. The titular Crows are a kind of a traveling funeral home, but they only deal with, as we would say in Europe, the plague. The entire aesthetics of the first volume of the Owen series is based on gothic or steampunk elements, which are deeply justified here – someone who deals with death on a daily basis will not be afraid of bones, blackness or darkness. He will take it all as his own.
“Fate has prepared them a lot for a minor”
Młynarski liked crows, and so did we. Especially if they wield magic. I am a bird bird, so I cannot help but be nosy on this occasion – everything is fine, but crows are not black! As their species name indicates, they are gray birds. Darker than them are ravens, rooks, even jackdaws – and black crows, a species also called crow in English , like many other representatives of ravens. We are dealing here with an untranslatable difference in the meaning of a genre name. After all, in Poland we know that “black toto is pecking in the ground”, so they remain favorites by chance.
I woke up, let’s go back to Margaret Owen and Fe. The main character of the novel appeals to the herd leader, but this does not mean that from the very beginning she is independent and go-getter. And she certainly does not think so about herself. Her whole life is surrounded by her family, although she is formally an orphan. Crows belong to the untouchable caste, they face persecution and violence on a daily basis. No one is stopped by the fact that only they can fight the plague, because representatives of other families become infected with it immediately after contact with the sick, and then quickly die. Fe people have another feature that sets them apart from the rest of society – they are not capable of witchcraft themselves, but they can get it through the teeth of others. I said gothic and dia de los muertos? Turpism like in the baroque, but treated with less over-aestheticization and deep reflection.
In Whispers of Crow’s Teeth, they may turn out to be the key to changing the world for the better. The theme of equality is very important in this book, we are finally looking at the world from the perspective of a race for which pogrom is a common experience. At the same time, Owen is not trying to show us that this is a people like any other, the path to equality does not lie in assimilation, but in reference to social roles and the essence of humanity. When Fe’s world collides with court, politics and power, both of them face a lot of reevaluation.
The way up the hill
The main character of Wrona is on the way all her life. Her people gather the sick and the dead, stack the funeral pyres, and move on, never warming up anywhere. This time, she would have to go on a completely different mission, at some point without the herd’s care. Owen used this thread to successfully reflect on an identity that shapes and changes depending on who accompanies us on a given tour. So about discovering yourself and others.
Like any decent adventure novel, Wrona talks about growing up and responsibility. It does it in a very classic way, it is a novel of road, fire and escape, a little less of a sword. Linguistically, it is very fresh, which Cieślik managed to give concerts. Hopefully the next volume will maintain both that style and the distinctiveness of Owen and the black, busy people she has created.