Review by Kelly Jarvis:The Hawkman: A Fairy Tale of the Great War by Jane Rosenberg Laforge

“This is a story about a man who thought he was a bird and the woman who helped him find his humanity again.”

With this stunning opening, Jane Rosenberg Laforge plunges readers into a heartwarming and heartbreaking story that weaves fairy tale with historical romance. The Hawkman: A Fairy Tale of the Great War explores the relationship of two people who have faced illness, bloodshed, and poverty. Eva Williams, an American schoolteacher and writer working at a small college in Bridgetonne, England, initiates contact with Michael Sheehan, an Irish veteran of World War I who is suffering from the memory of his harrowing experiences in the trenches. Michael is disheveled in his appearance. His long, matted hair and coat that billows like feathers have led the townspeople to paint him as The Hawkman, a hybrid creature who scavenges like an animal and preys upon unsuspecting children. When Eva offers Michael her hand, taking him back to her cottage to feed and bathe him, the two begin a relationship steeped in wonder and truth.

Rosenberg’s prose is lyrical and her narrative is layered. Readers are given flashbacks into Eva’s childhood experience and Michael’s war days, and at several points throughout the novel, the characters engage in storytelling which adds meaning and poignancy to their growing relationship. Although Rosenberg is primarily reworking “The Bearskin” by The Brothers Grimm, a fairy tale which explores animal-human hybridity and metamorphosis, the text is filled with other fairy tale and folkloric references as well. Readers who enjoy magical realism tales like David Almond’s Skellig or Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings are sure to enjoy Rosenberg’s exquisite prose and exploration of humanity.

The Hawkman is a fairy tale set in a real world environment, and its beautiful ending will leave readers dreaming about the power of compassion and love. This is a book I will remember always. You can find it here.

Kelly Jarvis is the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her first novella, Selkie Moon, comes out in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/