Wise Creatures by Deirdre Sullivan: Review

There were multiple points in my initial reading of Wise Creatures that I assumed I knew what was going to happen next. Not once was I correct. Deirdre Sullivan’s latest novel is full of moments that had me flipping back through the pages to re-read brilliant foreshadowing that I had previously overlooked. In this darkly thrilling tale of the otherworldly, she expertly evokes a growing sense of wrongness and paranoia while exploring the residual impact of repressed childhood trauma.

We are told the story from the perspective of Daisy, a girl who appears to most to be a typical Irish teenager. But beneath her carefully constructed facade is a broken girl who remains terrified of her past, a very tangible past that returns to haunt her sister in all but blood, Nora. She is forced to bear witness as Nora succumbs to the haunting from Them (as Daisy refers to them) following a deeply traumatising experience. In order to help Nora, Daisy must face her fears and confront the truth of her past that she has fought to bury for so long.

Throughout the narrative, Daisy and Nora remain unapologetically Irish teenage girls. Daisy’s bisexuality is accepted as fact. It is a nonnegotiable part of her identity rather than a source of angst or conflict within the plot, as is so common in YA novels. The realistic elements of teenage life and Irish colloquialisms sprinkled throughout the text add a level of relatability.

This novel is a work of art and an absolute pleasure to read, from the clever chapter names to the effective use of italics to the short and sweet chapters that heightened tensions. The complex intensities of sisterhood and the mother-daughter relationship are deftly handled, and the increasing yet addictive dread keeps the pages turning.

Aoife McCarron, 18