Book Review: "Carrion Crow" by Heather Parry

I'm so happy that I've been able to read some of my books on my phone. It is usually not a possibility because as soon as you sit there on your phone everyone assumes you're being anti-social and doomscrolling. But, because I haven't been out and about lately, I've been able to get some books going on my phone and read them. One of these books was Carrion Crow by Heather Parry. Back when I read Orpheus Builds a Girl by the same author, I did say I wasn't sure whether I was going to give Parry another chance because the book was a bit of a let down for me. However, I did get snatched away by the fantastic opening chapter to Carrion Crow. Let's hope it stays this good...

Marguerite wants to marry a man 35 years older than her whom she has fallen quite deeply in love with, but her mother doesn't approve of his social class and requirement to save money. Then man's name is George and he frequently gives to the poor, doesn't charge the poor for his services in law as much as he does the rich and spends frequent time with his nephew. He seems like a good enough man but, Marguerite's mother reproaches her when she agrees to marry him, stating that she must be trained to live in a household of so little. For this, her mother locks her in the attic for 'marriage training' which includes reading a book on household management and eating the smallest portions possible to survive as no man wants a fat and greedy wife.

The start of the book establishes our characters well. Though parts of the interspersed memories tell us about the past where Margueritte may sit at the end of a cook's table waiting to be fed scraps of pastry that her mother would never let her eat, they aren't shocking and I think that is intentional. Throughout history, mothers of daughters have always been cautious against them gaining weight or being ugly or marrying down etc. The same rule is definitely not there for sons, but I think that is exactly what Parry is trying to show us. As Marguerite seemingly makes acquaintances with a black crow in her attic, she grows paler and frailer by the day, waiting to marry the man she loves.

As the book goes, we are introduced to Alouette, whom Marguerite almost thinks too. But before this, we have the rather macabre recipes in the housekeeping guide Marguerite has been given, symbolising her physical decline and her psychological upset. She starts to go mad in that attic, definitely reflecting a trope found in Victorian Literature much like the character of Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre. Sooner or later, we learn that Alouette is actually a halucination and, alongside the crow, is starting to represent things that Marguerite desperately wants. The author does an excellent job at slowly showing us how Marguerite steps into madness, representing it through different things.

One of these things is the memories she has and whether they are real or not. The other is the terrifying recipes found in the guide. Another is the crow representing freedom, then the last is Alouette who symbolises that click of isolation that Marguerite begins to feel as she is malnourished and her hair starts to fall out. These are all representative and so, there is far more 'show' rather than simply 'tell' in the book. Heather Parry has done an excellent job at making us love the main character as well, so we are constantly attached to her story throughout.

The ending is a culmination of all of this madness as it is explored through social class and generations. It was honestly much better than her previous novels and the author has definitely tried to put us in that attic with Marguerite. I thought it was brilliantly written, very clever and it really had a brilliant atmosphere. The details concerning madness and health definitely made for a great read and on top of this, there were many themes that could definitely spill over to the modern day when it comes to the way mothers treat their daughters. It was just incredible and very, very dark.