A Quick Note On This Review: This article includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org as a way of supporting both local bookshops and my own ability to write.
In 1894, three estranged Eastwood sisters — Bella, Agnes, and June — find themselves drawn to New Salem after Bella recites a spell incompletely and a tower directly out of a fairytale appears in the main square. Soon, there’s immense tumult, as different factions attempt to make sense of the phenomenon, but Bella, Agnes, and June start to wonder if it may not be a sign to bring witching back to the world when it’s been absent for so long already. After an attempt to work with the suffragette movement and organizing several protests for witching rights, the three sisters soon learn that their struggle isn’t just against the government of New Salem, but against an entity that’s far darker and more sinister than they realized.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow is a book that’s steeped in feminist ideals in the best way possible. The story starts with June on the run from the law for murder, and is quickly reunited with her sisters. Despite the fact that none have spoken to each other in years, the recitation of an incomplete spell centers the three sisters as the beginning of a movement that brings women from across social classes into a singular community with one another, highlighting the impact women can have when they lean into the ideals of sisterhood and community, even when there are significant dark forces arrayed against their efforts to be seen as true equals.
While the ideas of the book do center on women’s rights and power, it also provides useful commentary on the ways that intersectionality plays a role in fights for equal rights and freedoms. The sisters are the main focus of the story, but there is also a cast of characters that bridge race, social class, sexuality, and gender in some cases which highlights the value that these connections bring. Harrow may not prioritize this heavily in the narrative, but her inclusion of the themes and the critical role they play in the success of the sisters highlights the importance of these relationships and community in social impact movements, especially when contrasted with the suffragette movement that’s portrayed as largely ineffective in the novel.
For casual readers, The Once and Future Witches may be more of a niche book than some of the others that have been reviewed. There is enough magic and witchcraft to entertain anyone who has an interest in books that focus on these things, but Harrow’s work does trend a bit more explicitly towards social issues than many works that fit within that category. However, given that most books have a form of social commentary built within them, it’s still a book that would be worth a read, even if such a reader prefers less heavy-handed approaches to their lessons.
For writers, Harrow’s works are generally good to read to understand how to weave in uncanny elements into their stories. The Once and Future Witches, much like The Ten Thousand Doors of January, takes seemingly everyday tasks such as sewing, cooking, and more, and infuses it with elements of magic and mystery such that one can experience a sense of awe even in the mundane. Further, Harrow does a great job at doing the reverse as well — taking seemingly fantastic occurrences and revealing the mundane in them — so that it could offer an interesting opportunity for any writer to understand how they can toy with this dynamic in their own stories.
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What’s Next?
I am an avid reader and have quite a few thoughts on how some books could benefit both people that want to be entertained and those looking to sharpen their literary skills.
If you’re interested in finding out more about what I’ve been reading – and how it could benefit you – I will be publishing those thoughts on a weekly basis. Check back next week for a discussion of Chris Whitaker’s All the Colors of the Dark!
The Writerly Review 