The Once and Future Witches

Book Title: The Once and Future Witches

Author: Alix E. Harrow

Date Started: June 29th 2020

Date Completed: July 8th 2020

Genres: Historical, Fantasy, Thriller

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

I did enjoy The Once and Future Witches, but there were just some things that stopped me from really being able to fully invest in it. The atmosphere was a bit offbeat, the pacing was a bit messy, and honestly, the metaphors and intentions of rewriting history were a bit... naïve, for want of a better word.

When I started, I really wasn't into it just because the book took so long to get in the swing of it. However, at around 30% things suddenly starting becoming really interesting and exciting - I'm pretty sure because Harrow started giving each of the three sisters their own storyline and struggles. That character drama was way more enjoyable and compelling than the exposition at the beginning (and honestly the tangle of things that started erupting towards the end). The plot itself is kind of convoluted, predictable, and obsessed with making references to fairytales, classic novels and historical figures (all of which are fiddled with to make sure women are at the centre of everything, but more on that later). While I like it and what it's trying to do with the whole Suffragette movement, the politics of witchery and matriarchy as an idea, it actually takes itself (in its magical-slash-historical landscape) a bit too seriously for a fantasy novel like this, lays it on too thick, and consequently actually comes across a bit silly.

I really like a lot of the little world twists in here (renaming famous authors as women etc) but when you combine it with a Suffragette movement very similar to ours, it comes across as naïve - it misunderstands some of the reasons women needed a movement in the first place. If female authors were the leading authors in this world, and female historical figures were remembered, etcetera, then the landscape of gender issues would be very different to what is demonstrated here: it's taking the consequences of our world's lack of recognition of women's work and plonking it on the end of a world that doesn't seem to have those same issues. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there would still be gender issues, but I don't feel like any thought has gone into how it would differ. And in a book trying to make statements and metaphors about that kind of politics, it's harder to buy into. I want to love it so much but there's this childishness to it. Which is mostly fine until you do the really unpleasant, dark stuff that the book just doesn't feel mature enough to tackle.

The diversity between the sisters is great, but there wasn't a sense of balance of them as an ensemble; there were points when it felt like Juniper was obviously the protagonist, but then Agnes or Bella would interject and kind of shift tension rather than continue it from another perspective. I will also say that, sure, while you have a handful of Black characters and very briefly touch upon the intersectional issues of feminism with them - it's very very brief, when actually even the story admits that their role in what this story is trying to be is monumental; we just don't really get to see it. All in all, I will praise the representation in this book, but I think it's a real shame that a lot of it is only mentioned rather than being explored. (Even the lesbian relationship I, personally, think was kind of glossed over, though arguably all of the deep details of everyone's own experiences is glossed over in favour of the over-complicated plot).

While I acknowledge my review focuses on some of the problems I had with the book, I did genuinely enjoy reading The Once and Future Witches. It was fun, sparky, and refreshing in a Disney only-while-you're-watching-it way. Ultimately, for me, it comes down to a really cool concept that ended up being more about the ideas than the execution of them. Worth the read, but I think it could've been done better.