“You’re not from these parts, so you’re excused for not understanding. Wicklow, Alabama, isn’t any old ordinary town, young man.”

One of the recurring elements in the novel is the idea that Wicklow, Alabama, draws people in and doesn’t allow them to leave. This is the first suggestion of this characteristic of the small, southern town. Not only does this suggest there is something magical about Wicklow, touching on the magical realism of the book’s genre, but it also introduces the warm, southern charm that flavors the tone of the novel from beginning to end.

“The women are guardians of a place where, under midnight skies, spirits cross from this world through a mystical passageway to the Land of the Dead.”

In her bedtime stories, Zee told Anna Kate about the blackbirds who visit the mulberry trees in the back of the Blackbird Café. This story is at the heart of the plot as it creates the connection Anna Kate has with Wicklow that goes beyond her blood relationship with the Linden family. It also explains the fantastical realism of the blackbirds and their connection to the pies Anna Kate bakes and sells at the café. This fantastical realism element makes this story part of the magical realism genre.