Waited so long to read this book and it didn't disappoint. It speaks to feminity, masculinity, patriarchy, and letting go. Some heavy topics are discussed in a lyrical and subtle way. Might take some time to find the flow but just let go and immerse yourself in the Language. 

I feel about this the same way that I feel about Emily St. John Mande's Station Eleven, in that I think the writing is gorgeous, but I feel relatively misled about the type of book I was getting. I don't think I realized that this genuinely has no plot. Thankfully, the characters are engaging enough to follow, but a plot, or even just general forward momentum, really would have helped me like this book more. 

I did enjoy Zoe's chapters. I liked reading about her sister Leandra, who is probably the most interesting character in this book. Feliciana's chapters were hard, mostly because of the narrative choice to represent her interview answers as stream of consciousness. That made the pacing in her chapters quite slow and the prose extremely repetitive. I found this stylistic choice engaging at first, but after the 35% mark it just got a little tedious for me, when I realized that nothing was actually going to change or drive this book forward. 

I think if you like really character-driven stories, don't mind a complete lack of plot, and don't really need forward momentum to keep your interest, you'll probably really enjoy this. 

I think this is a book that, for lack of a better term, wasn't written for me.  There were things that I could take from it, like the feminine rage and the introspection on female relationships with their families and friends, but it just didn't connect with me on a super deep level.  I also found myself far more interested in Zoe than Feliciana, which made her chapters much harder to get through.  I'm glad to have read it, but I don't know how much I actually enjoyed the process.

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

Witches is an absolutely beautifully written (and translated!) novel told in alternating POVs. I was more engaged with the first half than the second, but still enjoyed it overall.

For you if: You like translated novels, and those that examine gender and Indigenous issues.

FULL REVIEW:

Thank you, Catapult, for sending me a copy of Witches! I’m slowly making my way into more translated literature, and I was drawn in by the synopsis right away. Verdict: This book is absolutely beautifully written (and translated!). I was a bit more engaged with the first half than the second (although I got very busy so that was almost certainly a ME thing), but I think it was a great literary fiction choice for October.

The novel is told in alternating POVs — one of Feliciana, an Indigenous Oaxacan healer (curandera); and one of Zoe, a reporter who lives in Mexico City. Feliciana’s cousin, Paloma, who is a third gender recognized by her people called Muxe and taught Feliciana everything she knows of being a curandera, has been killed. Zoe travels to interview her about it — but ends up much more changed than she ever expected.

The most noteworthy part of this novel is the language, which speaks to Brenda Lozano’s original as well as Heather Cleary’s translation. I loved Feliciana’s voice, and how Cleary seems to have preserved her looping, lyrical cadence. The whole book is very immersive and culturally rich, even in translation.

I also loved the alternating POV structure. This is one of those books where it really does the work a favor, from a craft perspective. Each narrative needs the other, plays off the other, builds off the other, until we have something greater than the sum of the parts. The story deals with sisterhood, gender and gender roles, tradition vs modernity, Indigenous vs western approaches to life and thought, and above all, the power of the stories inherent to us and how they shape our bodies and lives.

If you’re looking to read more novels translated from Spanish, or if you just love books that feel the tiniest bit witchy, give this one a shot.

This book is gorgeous. The prose is lyrical and sweeps you along like a rhythmic tide. I read the English translation - which is phenomenally well done. It’s such a beautiful book in English, I’m planning to reread it in Spanish soon to compare. Whatever you do, if you’re reading this book in English, it is essential to read the Translator’s Notes at the beginning. If you skip it, you will miss a lot of meaning and context that will diminish your experience with the book. 

This book reads like an autobiography but is interesting and moves like a novella. It touches on so many important topics: indigeneity; intuition (and how Patriarchy will separate us from it); ancestral medicine (including means of healing the inner child through herbs and mushrooms); Trans and non-binary identities; violence against women and women-aligning folx; Colonization and the shortsightedness/consumerism of modern colonization; Transphobia and the vast spectrum of the human experience.

This book is meant to be savored, not inhaled. 

My favorite quotes (grammar and punctuation copied directly from the book because it’s an intentional part of the prose):

And…

Be prepared with tissues. Be prepared to reread sections because of the unique punctuation and grammar. Be prepared for a beautiful ride.