This was actually recommended by Sarah Addison Allen in a newsletter. Since I love all of her novels, without exception, I took her recommendations as gospel. This was another plane read from The Great Hawaii Odyssey of 2023 (it took a long time to get home), and I was charmed by it.
Told in three distinct voices from different centuries, Weyward tells the tale of a family of women who are both at one with nature, and a little bit… conventionally unnatural. The men in their lives don’t take kindly to it.
I found it similar in tone to Garden Spells (which, if you have not read it, you should go and read. Right now. I will still be here, catching up on 30 more reviews before EOY, when you come back), although in both content and structure it was completely different. Kate, our modern-day protagonist, has moved into a cottage willed to her by her great-aunt. She’s fleeing an abusive ex, trying to restart her life and come to some sort of peaceful terms with her affinity with nature.
Her great-aunt, Violet – wow, Violet’s story was the roughest for me. Trigger warning for sexual assault/rape, as well as for freaking horrendous old-timey medical WTAFery. It’s worth powering through, and logically I knew that she had to pull through all the bullshit, or else she wouldn’t have been able to will the cottage to Violet.
The final protagonist, Altha, was my favourite. On trial for the murder of a local farmer – essentially on trial as a witch – her story is both far removed from our current-day experience as women, but also a familiar world of mansplaining, dismissiveness and domestic violence from men who can’t handle a strong, smart woman.
The three timelines weave in and out without the pace suffering at any point, with all three stories resolving with just a hint of everyday, down to earth magic. Just a lovely read.
A strong debut from Emilia Hart, who I will follow going forward.