Published by Orbit on October 13, 2020
Genres: Historical Fantasy
Pages: 528
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Behind every witch is a woman wronged.
Once upon a time, the Eastwood sisters—James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna—were inseparable. Their abusive father despised, possibly even feared, their unity, and he did everything in his power to fracture their bonds. One day, he found the leverage he needed to hold power over them, and he succeeded in driving Agnes and Beatrice far from home, leaving Juniper, the youngest, at his mercy.
In 1893, the sisters are grown up and divided. Juniper, the wild one, hates her sisters for abandoning her and her father for hurting her; she craves power, so that no one can restrain her will. Agnes, the strong one, feels powerless to take care of anyone, not even the life growing inside her womb; she wants to be left alone, so that no one can hurt her again. Beatrice, the smart one, hides her secrets and desires in parenthetical thoughts, so that no one can steal them from her.
When the sisters reunite in New Salem, their broken past and present fears cause misunderstandings and conflicts. But their love for one another proves stronger. Driven to create a better future—for themselves, for their peers, and for the new life growing within Agnes—the sisters search for the forgotten words and ways to give women the power to be heard, to protect themselves, to fight for their rights. In the process, they draw the attention of dark forces who seek to prevent the revival of witchcraft. To survive, the sisters will need to reawaken the oldest magics, form new alliances, and heal their fractured bond.
My Thoughts
The Once and Future Witches is set in an alternate, historical United States. One in witch there were real magic and real witches. The story is told in the present tense through the three Eastwood sisters. Interwoven through their POVs are witch-tales, aka. the true stories behind, or the alternate stories to, the fairytales and folk tales that we know. This book is told with a narrative distance that gives the semblance of a modern fairytale. It works for this book because it gives the sense that this story could happen again, as it has before, when other witches sought the lost way. And I think that’s partially the point of this book: this story is about the Eastwood sisters, it’s about suffragists, and it’s about the women today and the women of tomorrow.
“I am a witch . . . . And so is every woman who says what she shouldn’t or wants what she can’t have, who fights for her fair share.”
The women in this book are angry—and rightfully so. They suffer abuse and sexual harassment; their voices are silenced; they’re treated like porcelain vases and trophies. They slave in the mills and workhouses for little pay. To protect their own, they have to bow their heads to the people in power. They have little to no control over their lives.
I usually save my bias notes for the end of my reviews. Given the content of this novel, I think it’s appropriate to share it here: I’m a woman, and I’m a woman of color (Chinese American). I’ve been made to feel uncomfortable because of both aspects of my identity. I’ve worked in an environment where a teenage boy was addressed as a “young man” while a grown woman was still a “baby girl.” I’ve had people imply that a woman’s happiness is linked to marriage and being able to rely on a man. I’ve dated a boy who wanted me to plan my life around his life, who made me feel selfish for wanting to pursue my own educational and career goals. I’ve been talked down to, talked over, and patronized—made to feel less-than, unheard, and unvalued.
I’ve been angry. Angry enough that I wanted someone to feel my hurt, if not angry enough that I wanted to kill a man. That someone can be abused so much that they want to kill someone unsettles me, made it hard for me to relate to some of the women in this book—because I’ve been privileged enough not to be hurt that bad. Reading their stories, I can see why they want so badly to hurt a man—why some of them do kill a man. I don’t agree with all of their actions, but I think it’s important to reflect on the circumstances that fueled their desperation and rage and hate.
This book will make some readers uncomfortable—because the women in this book are angry, because traditionally women do not talk about anger, because the vision of an empowered womanhood in this book goes against what we’ve been taught about womanhood. If I read this book before I discovered my own anger, I would been disturbed by the women’s anger; I wouldn’t have understood why they go to such lengths for power, for a voice. But if you’ve been angry, or if you want to listen to women’s voices, this book will provide a safe place, through fiction, for you to hear their stories.
“I never liked being called the Crone. I’ve forgotten the name my mother gave me, but I’m sure it wasn’t that. And she’s no Maiden.” The Crone points her chin at the Maiden, who smiles in a distinctly unmaidenly fashion.
“I am a Mother, muses the armored woman. “But more, too.”
[redacted] resettles her spectacles. “But the spell to call back the Lost Way of Avalon. It required a maiden, a mother, and a crone, did it not?”
The Crone shrugs. “Every woman is usually at least one of those. Sometimes all three and a few others besides.”
The Once and Future Witches builds upon the images of the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone to depict aspects of womanhood. But it also makes it clear that we can’t confine women to a single image. The Maiden is not docile, but fierce and wild. The Mother is not weak, but brave and ruthless. The Crone is not addled, but wise and knowing. Some mothers hold their silence to protect their children; some mothers fight to protect their children. Both have their reasons. Sisterhood is not confined to one’s blood, nor is it limited by sex or race. The Eastwood sisters are blood related, but prior women who pursued the way of the Three were not. The Eastwood sisters’ circle includes and will expand to include women of color, women of various ethnicities, women of various sexualities (including women who are homosexual and women who are transgender). Men also take the oath to fight for women’s rights and the return of witches (though they, appropriately, play a supporting role in the women’s movement).
… in their eyes Agnes sees the silver shine of starlight, the damp silk of clouds, the memory of a thousand windswept nights spent soaring above the slow turning of the world.
The language is beautiful and colorful. In some books, it would feel overdone. In The Once and Future Witches, it gives the story a wild, magical feel that contrasts with the urban setting. It gives the feeling that magic lies in the words of the page, if only we had the way and the will to grasp it.
They’re going to come for all of us, for every woman who knows more than she should, who doesn’t smile when she’s told.
This book raises important points and questions. Society has certain expectations for women. We’re told that the old laws no longer apply, but do we still think that women should act a certain way? Some say they believe in equality of the sexes, but do they treat women as equals? In conversations that I’ve had about discrimination, what usually comes out is that, first and foremost, we want people to listen. We want people to listen instead of talking over our voices. Second, we want people to take affirmative action based on what they hear.
Content
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Lindsi says
I have this one but haven’t read it yet! I’m happy to see you enjoyed it. 😁 It sounds like it was really well-written with content that makes you think – – love it.
Crystal (Kester) says
I hope that you enjoy The Once and Future Witches, Lindsi. Yes, it’s a well-written book that makes you think. 🙂
ShootingStarsMag says
Sounds like a really well done book. I like that you share your personal thoughts and feelings about being a woman who has been angry. I think MOST women have felt that way at some point. Most of aren’t thinking about or actually killing men, but it’s always interesting to see how an author can have this happen and still have the women be understood and empathized with even.
-Lauren
Crystal (Kester) says
Yes, it’s a well-written book. I agree that most women wouldn’t think about or actual kill men. It’s interesting how Harrow explores the different ways women feel anger in this book–including the one that led a woman to commit murder. It was cathartic in ways, startling in others. And it made me think.