The Witch Elm
 First edition | |
| Author | Tana French |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Viking Press |
Publication date | 9 October 2018 |
| Pages | 509 |
The Witch Elm (also published as The Wych Elm) is a 2018 novel by Tana French. The novel is a standalone, not related to her Dublin Murder Squad novels.
Writing and development
French was motivated to write the novel as an exploration of the connection between luck and an individual's ability to feel empathy for others.[1] French was also inspired by Bella in the Wych Elm, an unidentified woman found in a wych elm in Hagley in the 1940s.[1] French does not find true crime any more recent than the Bella case interesting, partially due to the ongoing impacts on living people caused by more recent crimes.[2] To accurately depict the protagonist's experience after a traumatic event, French conducted research about PTSD.[3]
French was also motivated to write the novel due to an interest in exploring a crime from a perspective other than that of a detective, the primary viewpoint used in her Dublin Murder Squad novels.[4]
Reception
The novel received mostly positive reviews from critics.[5] American author Stephen King, in a review written for The New York Times, praised the novel as "extraordinary".[6]
References
- ^ a b Shapiro, Lila (15 October 2018). "Tana French on The Witch Elm, #MeToo, and the Divisive Ending of In the Woods". Vulture. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ Clark, Alex (16 February 2019). "Tana French: 'Nobody with imagination should commit a crime. You wouldn't handle the stress'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ Canfield, David (5 October 2018). "Tana French on 'The Witch Elm' and why she loves writing mysteries". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ Schwartz, Alexandra (10 August 2019). "How Tana French Inhabits the Minds of Her Detectives". The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ "Book Marks reviews of The Witch Elm by Tana French". Book Marks. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ King, Stephen (10 October 2018). "Stephen King Reviews Tana French's 'Extraordinary' New Novel". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
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