The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
The Author:
Margaret Owen is the NYT and Sunday Times best-selling author of two series: The Merciful Crow and Little Thieves. I actually discovered Owen through the audiobook edition of Little Thieves. I picked it up on a whim, knowing absolutely nothing of story or writer, and have been addicted ever since. If she writes it, I’m going to read it. Period.
You can connect with Owen on Instagram at @what_eats_owls and you can find her books at your favorite bookstore (request them through your local indie shop!).
The Book:
I want to start by saying The Merciful Crow is one of my all time favorite books. Ever. And the sequel? Gutted me. It’s an edge-of-your-seat, throw-your-book kind of adventure which is exactly what I love. Add the cat and I’m done. I’ve listened on audio, have the paperbacks on my shelf, and, in my wildest dreams, I will get that copy signed.
The Merciful Crow takes place in the fictional land of Sabor: a country divided by a viciously rigid caste system - one of the most unique I’ve ever seen. While I loved listening to this on audio (seriously, so good), the physical copy has SO many good extras! There’s a detailed outline of the caste system, a gorgeous map, and the chapter headers? Stunning.
The caste you’re born into determines what kind of birthright (magic power or proficiency) you have. There are a bunch of them, but for the purpose of this discussion I’m going to boil it down to the Phoenix caste, whose birthright is fire and ruling the throne, the Hawk caste, whose birthright is blood and defending the crown, and the Crow caste, who have no birthright and are treated like the scum of the earth.
The Crows’ home in Sabor are the roads. They’re always on the move, with no inherent powers of their own except that they can temporarily summon and utilize the birthright of another caste with a deceased person’s teeth.
Oh, and they’re single-handedly responsible for keeping the Sinner’s Plague from wiping out the entire kingdom by mercifully cutting the throats of the afflicted and burning their corpses. Hence, the title: The Merciful Crow.
When Fie, a Crow chieftain in training, finds herself bound to protecting the Phoenix prince from a power hungry queen, she has to choose between honoring her vow to the prince and looking after her own.
The Beastie:
Barf the cat, presented by another character as essentially worthless, goes on to underline Fie’s underlying softness, redeem a selfish prince, and foster a forbidden romance. No big deal.
We first meet Barf in chapter two, when she is presented by the Queen of Sabor as payment for the Crows coming to take away her plague afflicted (and supposedly deceased) son - the crown prince. It’s a simple scene that sets up the entire plot. The Queen’s offering underlines how low the Crows are on the totem pole of Sabor. Meanwhile, Fie’s refusal to accept it shows her raw tenacity as a young chieftain. And then when Fie gets the payment she deserves from the Queen, she demands the cat anyway. And every single person in that room knows who has the true power - and it is NOT the woman sitting on that throne. You’d think this would play into the Crow’s favor, but it doesn’t (more on that later). As they depart the palace together, the cat purring in her arms, Fie decides she likes the creature because “anything happy to leave the royal palace had good taste.”
The status of the kingdom, the status of the Crows, and the true merciful nature of Fie, are all exposed in this scene through a cat.
Bonus? This scene exposes as much about the Queen as it does about Fie. Daring to offer the Crows such unfitting payment shows that she, the ruler of the kingdom, the one meant to keep balance and harmony between the castes, hates the Crows as much as anyone. It shows what she thinks of their service, their purpose, and their role in her kingdom. By naming the Crows as worthless as a stray tabby cat, she shows the reader just how short-sighted and self-centered she is. The Queen cannot see the worth of the Crows, but Fie can. The Queen cannot see the worth in a stray, but Fie can.
Owen sets up this entire dynamic in a single scene, pawing the line in the sand between the Phoenixes and the Crows with a cat. It is masterfully done.
This makes the Phoenix caste look…pretty bad. So who, I wonder, is also the sole source of redemption for the Phoenix caste? Who is at the center of putting Fie firmly on the side of the should-be-dead prince? Surprise, it’s BARF.
There’s a saying in Sabor: “On nights you burn sinners, sleep with your sandals on.” The night Fie and her band leave the royal palace with the “deceased” crown prince and his look-alike guard, the Oleander gentry (a Crow hater association with individuals from every Caste) corner the Crows with force. Unable to outrun them, the Crows take to the trees, and Barf is accidentally left behind - trapped in a carriage the Oleanders set on fire.
Fie is faced with the heart-wrenching decision of saving her people or her cat. Which is only made worse by the fact it’s really no choice at all. She can’t justify sacrificing the safety of the Crows, sacrificing their lives, to try and rescue Barf. So she holds her ground, holds her tongue, and looks after her own. She does exactly what a good chief is supposed to do, even if it breaks her heart.
But the un-dead prince of Sabor isn’t a Crow. Fie isn’t his chief. And he’s not content to let Barf burn. So, risking his own life and, ultimately, the fate of the entire kingdom with it, Jasimir rescues Barf.
This moment makes everything else Jasimir, Fie, and the bodyguard Tavin, accomplish in the duology possible because this forges their bond. They’re all from different castes, they have different visions for what Sabor should be, and, at varying levels, despise each other. Until Barf builds a bridge.
Jasimir’s selflessness for a creature the Queen had just deemed essentially worthless shows he’s not like his mother. It shows he can think for himself, make his own decisions, and sees value in all creatures, even lost tabby cats. Maybe even Crows.
From then on, Fie’s relationship with the palace boys grows, with and without Barf’s interference, but always because Barf laid the foundation. The cat becomes a source of stability, comfort, and comic relief for Fie (who badly needs it) and, to perhaps an even greater extent, to Jasimir.
In the second installment of the duology (which is somehow even greater than the first), Barf’s role is magnified further. While the primary plot of the book deals with facing Queen Rhusana in all her newfound power, Barf is busy encouraging a bit of romance. An unlikely, forbidden, impossible romance, and not for Fie (whose heart is sorely claimed) but for the Crown Prince of Sabor. Clever little feline.
When it comes to book cats, Barf easily makes my top three. She’s the unsung hero of a nation torn apart by prejudice, plague, and pride, and Fie’s story is richer because of her.
Vet Tech Tidbit:
Fun fact: Owen shared with me (yes, I about died) that the inspiration for Barf’s name actually came from her own cat! A kitty who loves his food so much he would scarf it down too fast, and…well, you get the idea.
This is actually a common issue with cats and dogs, and something I’ve experienced with my own kibble obsessed kitties. There are a few things you can do to try and deter this, all of which revolve around one concept: slowing things down.
My favorite: make them hunt! Hiding their food around the house encourages exercise and natural hunting behaviors, AND makes sure they don’t eat all of their food in 30 seconds. Another great option is to divide their breakfast and dinner into smaller, more frequent meals. For a lot of us this can be challenging to accommodate with busy schedules, so what myself (and Owen, actually) ended up with were automatic feeders. There are a plethora to choose from and options for every budget. Mine connect to wifi and allow me to schedule quantity and frequency of meals right from my phone. It’s wonderful, and I can give them extra little treats while I’m missing them at work.
Thanks for reading! Be sure to catch the awkward, recorded version of my appreciation for Barf on Books&Beasties on YouTube. And if you think of any books or beasties you’d love to see featured, let me know!
Happy reading,
Sarah