The most classic myths and fables are designed to teach readers a life lesson. Flawed, fictional characters make poor choices and have to deal with the consequences brought on by personified versions of concepts such as destiny and fate. And if we’re lucky, we readers learn not to repeat these mistakes in their more realistic forms. That’s the premise of Adam Wing’s novella, Matriarch, a story that deals with classic yet universal themes that teach readers a lesson while entertaining them with magic and mythos.
Matriarch book summary
Matriarch is a fable told by Cass Merrill’s 119-year-old great-grandmother, Ayla, on her deathbed after collapsing during her birthday party surrounded by six generations of relatives. While Cass watches over her, Ayla decides to tell her the story of how she met her husband, Cass’s great-grandfather, Ollie.
The meeting occurred one day in Turkey when 19-year-old Ayla went off to gather some figs and ended up saving an Englishman trying to cross a treacherous bridge to town. The man himself has a great story to tell involving a werewolf, genie, and buried treasure. However, his attention lies solely in trying to win the affections of Ayla. But Ayla wants nothing to do with him. What follows is a morality tale about love, free will, and the abuse of power.
The sinister story
This book is short and to the point, giving it a very concentrated, fast-moving pace guided by an omniscient narrator who takes over in between scenes of Ayla and Cass’ final interaction. There is a mysterious tone that saturates their conversation, one that pays off in its cliffhanger ending in which the innocent will inevitably pay the price for their ancestors’ past actions. However, the narration has a simple, easy-to-follow flow that doesn’t try to mirror ancient texts. Instead, it speaks to a modern audience while carrying on the traditional storytelling tropes of the past.
From fantasy to philosophy
Fantasy-lovers will appreciate the subtle tweaks to classic fantasy creatures such as werewolves and genies. However, they don’t overpower the plot. Instead, the story focuses on the two main characters: Ayla and Ollie who intersect at two very different paths. The magical elements disrupt their plans and create situations which test their moral compass.
This then pivots the story from one involving a simple fairy tale to one that causes us to question our free will and desires at the cost of others’. The love story begins to test these concepts, showing us that feelings must be reciprocal in order to work. No spells, wishes, or tricks can create authentic adoration for another human being. And any attempts to right wrongs with additional tricks only makes the situation worse.
The characters
Wing easily exhibits his ability to create well-rounded, authentic characters in a genre traditionally populated by stock characters. And the ways in which he subverts characterization doesn’t feel gimmicky or pandering to a modern audience. Instead, it’s to illustrate the fact that no one is as they seem at first glance and that there are many sides to people. We’re all capable of being the hero, the villain, or the antagonist with every decision that we make.
We have to pursue our desires but not at the expense of others. And we can’t force our happy endings on ourselves as it can come back to haunt not only ourselves but future generations who have to live with our selfish mistakes. I’m not a big fantasy reader, but I recommend Matriarch to anyone looking for a short morality tale that makes its point in original ways while staying true to its genre.
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This sounds like such a cool story about family history. It reminds us of the Notebook.
Oh, seems really interesting! I’m adding it to my “To read” list 🙂