Here's why Kari chose The Witch Elm...
Despite her massive popularity, I had never read anything by Tana French. Now I get it. What I love about The Witch Elm is that it does so much at the same time. Not only does it have the page-turning qualities of a mystery, but it's also a family drama, a teen drama, and a social commentary --all with the character depth of good literary fiction. I recommend the audiobook!
About the book
The Witch Elm
by Tana French
Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who's dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life: he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family's ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden - and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed. The Witch Elm asks what we become, and what we're capable of when we no longer know who we are.--Goodreads
“Tana French is at her suspenseful best in The Witch Elm...[her] best and most intricately nuanced novel yet...Get ready for the whiplash brought on by its final twists and turns.” —The New York Times
The talks about her stories
About the reader
Kari Kiernan, Assistant to the Head of School
Kari previously recommended:
- Room With a View by E.M. Forster
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- Washington Black by Esi Edugyan