Book Review: Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake

When Thayer Wren, the ‘father of modern technology’ and CEO of Wrenfare Magitech, unexpectedly dies, he leaves behind an incredible legacy. But which of his three children deserves to take their father’s place? And who is most capable of sitting upon the Wrenfare throne? Each of the Wren siblings are telepathically and electrokinetically gifted in some way, though none of them know the origin of the powers bestowed upon them. They certainly haven’t been able to harness them in a way that might make them most worthy of inheriting their late father’s life’s work.

First there’s Meredith, the formidable head of a profitable company that’s created an app with the miraculous ability to cure unhappiness. The only problem: it’s a lie. But the bigger problem is Meredith’s journalist ex-boyfriend, who’s intent on publicly exposing her as the fraud that she is. Then there’s people-pleaser Arthur, the second-youngest congressman ever, who just wants to make the world a better place. Now he’s losing his re-election campaign and his unconventional personal life is unravelling. Finally, there’s ingenue Eilidh, a former world-famous ballerina who’s still struggling after a life-altering injury ended her career. Heading Wrenfare could relaunch all three of the Wren siblings’ floundering professional lives, but what it can’t do is the one thing they all need the most, and that’s validate their father’s love for them.

Gifted & Talented takes place across the immediate days after Thayer’s death as the Wren family and those closest to them gather to hear his will and find out who he left his beloved company to. Described as ‘Succession meets magic’, Olivie Blake’s latest draws clear parallels to the satirical comedy-drama’s powerful and equally dysfunctional Roy family. You’d be forgiven for initially disliking all of the Wrens; they’re rich, entitled, self-centred and estranged – not necessarily from each other (though they’re not what you’d call a tight-knit family) but from the rest of the world who weren’t born into obscene wealth and privilege. They exist in their own stratosphere and it’s a toxic one. Yet, somehow, Blake gets readers to not only feel sorry for these characters, but to like them too. And that – rather than the extraordinary gifts the siblings have – is the real magic here. You don’t need to be filthy rich to understand the uniquely human struggles at the heart of the story.

…the first thing to know about the Almighty House of Wren is that it’s a crumbling mess of conflict and lies, with the general obfuscation of reality as a treat.”

This is technically a contemporary fantasy but it’s easy to forget the fantasy part. This is a family drama first, with the magic element more of an afterthought. The siblings’ gifts don’t really go anywhere or serve a greater purpose. They’re a symbol for how Meredith, Arthur and Eilidh are struggling to cope with their feelings of loss, failure, rejection and the pressures of prodigy. This deeply character driven pace feels achingly slow for the first half of the book. But as the tension builds towards its pressure cooker finale, you can’t help but grow invested in the outcome – not just for the individual characters but for the people on the periphery and the Wren empire as a whole. In another author’s hands, the measured, tangential nature of the book would grow tiresome. Yet here it works.

There’s a biting wit and black comedy to the story, which is told from the perspective of a seemingly omniscient narrator with very complicated feelings about the Wren family. And complicated really is an apt way of describing Gifted & Talented. It’s not all neatly tied up with a bow. Not every character gets what they want but most of them, come the end, get what they need, whether that’s forgiveness or acceptance or a greater understanding of who they are and what they should do next. And maybe that, eventually, will lead to what they want. It’s a testament to Blake’s writing, to her meticulous crafting of her characters, that readers will finish the book hoping the future for the Wrens will be a bright one.