The Warblers Review
Dell McDale is a fourteen year old boy
dealing with the things fourteen year old boys deal with on a rural farm…..feeding
livestock, making sure the house and other infrastructure is in good shape, and
avoiding the terrifying bird monsters nesting in his barn.
The beauty and subtlety of Amber
Fallon’s, The Warblers, lies in the
simplicity in which the people that populate her vaguely southern environs
treat monsters. From the outset, you
will realize that there is not a whole lot of “info dump” or real exposition
about the world in which young Dell McDale lives. It is rural, vaguely southern, and seemingly
takes place in the 30’s---possibly the Great Depression.
The longer you read, the more these
seemingly solid facts become blurred. Miss
Fallon deftly weaves in tidbits of the overall world that cause readers to
question where and when the story actually takes place---little crumbs that
hint at a reality that might not be in the past at all.
Hints are all that remains! This does nothing to detract from the
story. To the contrary, I think it adds
to the mystique of a world in which monsters in the barn are treated not as
some in-human evil, (beyond the knowledge of human ken) but as a nuisance no
more otherworldly or extraordinary than a particularly bad case of locusts or
coyotes.
The Warblers themselves are rarely,
if ever seen. This adds to their subtle menace. The reader learns that they are in fact
dangerous, especially to children and young animals. Young Dale is constantly worried that the
beasts will devour his younger sister.
It is not the unseen depredations that drive the plot but instead the
means that Dale and his father will go to have them removed.
The plot drives forward at a swift
pace filled with both monsters and human struggle---all while a boy is unsure
of his place in the world while struggling with what he can do to help against
the infestation.
I highly recommend anyone who likes
the Twilight Zone or classic Goosebumps to give this a read. It is a quick one and is sure to fill your
afternoon with a wonderful sense of creeping dread. It might even make you question those little
noises you hear late at night.
The
Warblers by Amber Fallon is available on Amazon, link to follow.
