The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (book review)
Words change. It may be their recognised meaning, such as ‘gay’ or their spelling. The word ‘gramyre’ has evolved into grammar and now they have completely different connotations. ‘Gramyre’ is another word for magic. Some may consider that grammar is the magic that gives sentences their order. Sometimes it is the way folk say or hear a particular word that spurs their evolution.
This award-winning novella, ‘The River Has Roots’, like the willow trees that grow along the River Liss, has magic at its roots. From the start, the reader is told that the river is brimming with grammar. The local people know so. To them, the word means magic, especially as its source is in Arcadia, the realm of the fae.
‘The River Has Roots’ concerns two sisters who live on the banks of the River Liss. Their family owns the land that surrounds it on both sides from the point where two ancient trees lean over the water, branches and roots intertwining and care for the willows growing on the banks. They make their living from the materials the willows provide and part of their husbandry is to sing to the trees. This helps the river imbue the trees with the magic that makes their wares so sought after.
The elder sister, Esther, has two suitors. Samuel Pollard is a local man whose family trade is also in goods made from willow, though his trees do not stand on the Liss. He does not understand the added quality the magic of the Liss waters impart to the willows. Her second suitor is Rin. He is fae from Arcadia. It is Pollard’s jealousy that is the pivot of the story as everything else follows from his actions.
This is a fairy tale in the traditional sense. It is also the story of the love the sisters have for each other and the keeping of promises.
The interior illustrations by Kathleen Neely have the quality of woodcuts and complement the text.
The book also contains a short story, ‘John Hollowback And The Witch’. It tells of John coming to a witch to ask her to mend the hollow that has formed in his back. During the narration, the reasons for his misfortune unfold. It gives a taste of the quality of story to be expected in Amal El-Mohtar’s next short story collection, ‘Seasons Of Glass And Iron Stories’.
Pauline Morgan
July 2026
(pub: Arcadia/Quercus Books, 2025. 129 page hardback. Price: £14.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-52944-336-3)
check out website: www.quercusbooks.co.uk