The River Has Roots, Amar El-Mohtar, author
Esther and Ysabel Hawthorn live in an imaginary place called Thistleford. They are sisters, two years apart in age. Esther is older. They sing by the twin Professor willow trees. Willow trees are the grammarians that are responsible for disseminating the grammar that travels through the water, sometimes changing, sometimes remaining the same. It seems to bind the community together.
Esther and Ysabel are so close they are almost one person, instead of two. Like the Professor trees, whose roots intertwine in the River Liss, which begins in Arcadia, the sisters are devoted to each other and vow to never separate. They nurture the willow trees on their family’s property with their songs.
A neighbor, Samuel Pollard, wants to court Esther to improve his wealth and standing in the community. He wants to marry her to merge his willow trees with the Hawthorn’s and further prosper, but he is selfish. Esther is not interested in increasing the family’s wealth. The family loves their own trees. Esther prefers Rin because they communicate in an exchange of words, songs, riddles and poems, not money and possessions. She rejects Pollard in favor of Rin who is kind, but Rin comes from another place called Fairie. If she goes there, she cannot return home. Will Rin come to her and remain in Thistleford? Thistleford is a simple and orderly place, but there are places that are disorderly, as well. Those places are dangerous. In the end, the choices made by all of them brought about real justice and supported their devotion to each other. True love won out and pure evil paid a high price. The rewards and the penalties were appropriate.
I was very impressed with the author’s frequent use of figures of speech that reminded me of the similarities of real life with the lives of the characters. She painted a picture of family and culture that was different, yet also very similar. She uncovered the confusion that we often face, and she seemed to offer, with this little fantasy, a kind of peaceful or simple approach to solving our problems. This is a book about magical solutions, the bonds of friendship, true love and loyalty, sacrifice and the consequences of actions. It will remind us of our own needs and choices. The book is about learning to deal with differences and boundaries, of responsibility and devotion. Because Rin used the pronouns, they and their, however, it was as it is in our current lives, sometimes confusing.
I really liked the use of the idea of grammar as a tool that was life-changing, of music and trees and water playing such an important role in life. I hope the message I got was one the author hoped to send. This is an extraordinary little book. When I stopped distracting myself by overthinking and trying to figure it out, it seemed to reveal itself as a touching story about promises made and promises kept, true love and real desire, the bonds of family and friends, and also, the nature of pure evil and greed.