Now She is Witch: ‘Myth-making at its best‘ Val McDermid

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Among many things, probably one of my favourite aspects of the story was the main character; Lux’s evolution throughout the story.

Wordsmith extraordinaire Kirsty Logan has written what is possibly her best novel yet in a tale that feels as old as the hills but sparkles with formal inventiveness. But things in Logan’s vision are almost always excruciatingly unlike how they seem, and Lux’s dreamy idyll is cut short when beauty reveals its awful underbelly.But there’s something about Kirsty Logan’s writing that seems to transcend the story itself; that reaches into the heart of a deep, dark, hidden history and pulls out a truth that resonates down the ages. The synopsis of the story is fairly straightforward -- Luz, a young woman, thrown from a monastery she never chose to go to, is chased out of her hometown by odious townsfolk accusing her of witchcraft. I think the big topics were given due respect and breathing room for the most part, although of course that feels like a very personal rubric.

In the many stories that fall shrieking from the pages of this brutal, bracing novel, we encounter maidens forced to become mothers and mothers, if they live long enough, punished as witches or scorned as crones. Irgendwo zwischen magischem Realismus, historischem Roman, literary fiction und ein klitzekleines bisschen Fantasy.Kirsty Logan became one of the authors whose work I would definitely follow in the future and catch up on her past. Now She Is Witch is part historical, part fantasy, an entwined mix of the two genres, such that you find yourself not quite sure.

But the one that I felt in my bones every time when she said; ‘If the owl is screeching under your window it means somebody is going to die. Lux, recently ejected from a religious sanctuary meant to put her right with God, chafes at the fate that would seem to await her as just “a girl, and small, and nothing more” in this cauldron of misogynistic madness. It throws you in at the deep end and slowly unravels a story around you -- whilst simultaneously weaving a tapestry of imagery and very modern observation that really draws the imagination in.It’s not a rehashed version of another witch trial, it’s taking the notion of witches and demonstrating the roles women have been forced to play for centuries, and the level of violence and scorn thrown their way by men and society throughout history. But what I really love here is Kirsty’s vivid and folkloric imagination - I’ll never get tired of it! Honestly, what I wouldn't give for a sliver, a morsel, a grain of sand in the oyster of this woman's writing-capability. I did not connect with the characters, and I found the plot both a bit too drawn out and quite repetitive in places. That’s where this book touched my aching burning forehead and brought me cool relief with its icy long fingers; the only thing I ever have to be; is myself.