Brother & Sister Enter the Forest – Richard Mirabella
Expectation: A modern retelling of Hansel and Greta but with PTSD being the villain.
Reality: An engrossing and complex story about forgiveness and self-love. It’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, but it’s worth the read.
My Take:
How do you help someone beyond reach? That’s the fundamental question at the heart of “Brother & Sister Enter the Forest,” which is explored over decades of estrangement and reconciliation between two siblings, Willa and Justin.
Our characters inhabit the same disquieted world of literary fiction as Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” and Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life,” a place where happiness does not spring abundant.
Yet debut author Richard Mirabella doesn’t wallow in the misery, rather he uses the various timelines and POVs to show us how it evolves and changes over time. Some years are happy, some are not. Sometimes the past dominates the present, other times it’s locked away in memory.
The trauma may have happened to Justin — surviving a violent attack by a lover as a teenager, which manifested into a lifelong battle with addiction and psychosis — but he’s not the only one who has struggled in the aftermath.
There’s a shared shame and resentment that makes it difficult for the core family (Willa, Justin and their mother Grace) to move forward. Rather than support and overcome, each one performs a self-designated role that keeps them in limbo and destroys any chance at a functional and satisfying life.
While I didn’t necessarily connect with any of the characters — except maybe Shivam — I was struck by how engaged I still remained in the story. This is in part due to Mirabella’s understated and accessible writing style, and the fact the relationships felt real.
While Willa and Justin are the dominant POVs, the perspectives of other characters — Rene, Shivam and Grace — helps round out what could’ve otherwise felt a little one note. There’s a balance between how many times we can experience the same situation without growing bored, but Mirabella found it.
I also appreciated that he showed restraint in his portrayals, specifically of Justin. It’s easy to turn a story like this into torture porn or a cautionary tale of “shoulda, woulda, coulda.” Instead he presents a complex narrative that doesn’t beg for sympathy but shows why we shouldn’t be so quick to judge.
This isn’t the type of novel for everyone. It’s slow. It’s frustrating. There isn't a complete resolution. Yet, it’s the type of novel that immerses you into a world so deeply that you feel discombobulated when it’s over. If you’re a person who’s tried to help “fix” a friend or partner, you’ll likely find reading it cathartic.
Rating (story): 4/5 stars
Rating (narration): N/A
Formats: ebook (library loan)
Dates read: April 15 – April 22, 2023
Multi-tasking: N/A
