The Crane Wife

Patrick Ness

Cannongate

Otago Daily Times, May 27th 2013

From the Greek legend of Cupid and Psyche to the Selkies of Scottish folk-lore, many cultures have cautionary tales of husbands and wives who conceal their true identities and flee when their secret is discovered by overly curious spouses. In The Crane Wife , Patrick Ness translates the Japanese version of this story into contemporary Western setting to create a moving and beautiful modern-day fable.

George Duncan is, everybody agrees, a very good man.  Always kind, friendly, and quick to see the best in everyone, he inspires intense loyalty from those around him, but not romantic love.  The trouble is, he is too nice, too amiable to be taken quite seriously.  Somewhere there’s a certain something lacking; as his ex-wife puts it, he’s about sixty-five percent, when seventy percent is her (and, it seems, every other woman’s) minimum.

Then one winter night he helps a wounded crane that lands in his garden, and the next day Kumiko walks into his shop and his heart.  Where she comes from, and why she is there is a mystery she refuses to discuss; all George knows is that she is an artist who has travelled the world for many years, but in some way he cannot explain, they complement each other perfectly. His amateur contributions to her artwork create strange and powerful pieces that soon demand considerable attention, and the very kindness that left all George’s previous lovers dissatisfied is exactly what Kumiko seems to need to heal from some past injury. The only thing she asks of him is that he respect her privacy, and trust that she will reveal herself more fully in her own time. But mystery leads to suspicion, insecurity to jealousy, and George finds her conditions harder and harder to accept.

For all the inevitability of the story’s ending, The Crane Wife is far from a tragedy.  Kumiko’s transitory presence in the lives of both George and his daughter Amanda is transformational in a way that would have been impossible had she stayed, and the novel’s final note is of hope rather than sorrow. My only criticism of what is otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable read is the opening few pages, which contain a detailed description of George’s urinary habits.  I very nearly gave up at this point, but in the end I’m glad I persisted. 

https://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/books/mystery-leads-suspicion-insecurity-jealousy