As a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia The Bewitching makes it into my top three. I loved this interconnected story and the horror elements. I’m not normally a horror fan, but this hit the spot! Keep reading this book review of The Bewitching for my full thoughts.
Summary
“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva—stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that’s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.
In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.
Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Interconnected stories are like cat nip to me. And it works so well in The Bewitching. If you love witchy stories with light horror elements, this is for you! I immediately loved Minerva – who doesn’t love a bookworm – and it also felt so self indulgent to be immersed in Beatrice’s POV. The Bewitching is a story about the occult, the witches, and the ghosts. What struck me in the story are the ways in which we are also haunted without ghosts. I got lost in each other stories and the ways in which part of the suspense stems from the doubts we deny. All the moments we think can’t be real, when we aren’t sure if we can recognize if it’s more than just a story.
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When do all the small incidents which pile up turn into something more than shadows on the wall? The Bewitching is the story of all the pieces that contribute to a belief. The threads of lives coming together. I ended up reading this in a few days because I was so captivated. If you aren’t a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia yet and want to read a story about women, the supernatural, and ambition this is for you! Each of their lives come alive and are a testament to the power of stories never being really over. Find The Bewitching on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.