The River Has Roots

A murder ballad that is as sharp and folkloric as it is devastating.

The River Has Roots pulls inspiration from and mimics the plot points of traditional murder ballads inevitably making it a short and concise novella. I flew through it in one sitting but El-Mohtar’s grammar is as sharp as a needle and her words pierce to the heart of the story to heart-breaking effect. Even as short as it is, I was in tears by the end, and cannot wait to read it over and over for years to come.

Similar to This Is How You Lose the Time War in the novella’s sense of poetry and romance but with a fairytale setting. This was a twinkling gem of a solo debut and cements El-Mohtar as an author I will continuously read from.