Review: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Overview:
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Harrow brings a fresh perspective to the women’s’ rights movement through her re-imagining of classic archetypes and writing styles. My biggest complaint with this book is her underdeveloped approach towards topics of intersectional feminism.
Content Warning:
The Once and Future Witches contains misogyny, sexism, racism, child abuse, domestic abuse, police brutality, torture, death, abortion, homophobia, transphobia, addiction, death of a family member, and general violence/gore.
Book Description:
The Once and Future Witches is an adult fantasy/historical fiction standalone. The year is 1893. A paranormal event brings the Eastwood sisters back together after their complicated childhoods. Finding each other in New Salem, the three women decide to join the town’s suffragist movement. They soon find that the path to equal rights is not so simple, and turn to ancient words of magic to help secure the vote. Dark forces sense their growing power and attempt to squash the movement altogether. They must heal the rifts between themselves and other factions of the town in order to survive.
On the Character Development:
An obvious use of symbolism in the book is the representation of Juniper, Agnes, and Bella as the Maiden, Mother, and Crone archetypes. This is an often overused metaphor in witch stories, but Harrow infuses its application with an analysis of womanhood during the suffragist movement. Through each of the 3 sister’s different phases of life and motives, we see how different experiences of womanhood affect one’s views of civil rights. For example, Juniper being young and rebellious, she is more willing to jump into the movement full force. Agnes and Bella, having a child and job to worry about, see their participation as suffragists as a potential danger. Overall, the inclusion of this metaphor added greater depth and complication to a historical event that we might otherwise view with less nuance.
On the Writing Style and Perspective:
While anything but bland, Harrow’s writing style will likely be an acquired taste for many readers. Once and Future Witches is chock full of rich historical detail, extended metaphors, and poeticized language. This, combined with the 3rd person perspective the book is written in, creates an aesthetic similar to old-timey western fairytales (think the Brothers Grimm). Despite such a distanced style of writing, there are also many moments of raw emotion and quirky dialogue that allow the reader to get up close and personal with characters. It takes some getting used to, but the balancing act of these two contrasting tones results in story that is hilariously relatable, deeply whimsical, and haunting to its core.
On the Themes of Intersectional Feminism [spoilers] :
I appreciate that Harrow explores the Suffragette movement through a lens of intersectional feminism. This book includes witches of different ages, abilities, sexual orientation, race, and gender. Harrow also makes an effort to acknowledge how power and privilege is determined by these varying identities. HOWEVER, the main characters of the novel are very much white, and the witch lore is predominately based in western European fairytales. Furthermore, the presence of black characters, such as Cleo and her mother, are used more often as plot development for the three sisters — as opposed to standing as developed characters with their own arcs. For example, magic based in African-American Antebellum folklore is only introduced as a hail Mary at the end of the book when Juniper, Bella, and Agnes are in need of saving. As a white author, Harrow obviously doesn’t have the experience to write on topics of race and racism from the perspective of black characters. Still, her haphazard usage of black characters as a tool to advance the story without allowing them to exist fully as characters outside of that usefulness seems inappropriate and warrants further discussion.
NOTE: As a white book reviewer, I am not an authority on subjects relating to race and racial equality. While I believe it is my responsibility to acknowledge and hold space for these topics in my reviews, everything I write comes from a perspective of privilege. I HIGHLY encourage you to read and prioritize own voices reviews for this and all other books.
On Who Might Enjoy The Once and Future Witches:
I recommend you read this book if you:
are a fan of Arthurian retellings (yes, there is a bit of that in here!)
enjoy stories with strong themes of family and sisterhood
want a spooky, dark read that gives off major fall vibes
PLEASE NOTE: Image sources for the photo edit on this post can be found here.