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Thursday, 30 April 2020

WHITE IS FOR WITCHING by Helen Oyeyemi

White is for Witching
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There's nothing better than starting a new book after a disappointing DNF, and falling headfirst into the story from the beginning.

That's exactly what happened with this strange and wonderful book.

Miranda Silver has an eating disorder, as well as other mental health problems that put her in a clinic for several months. Not to mention she recently lost her mother. Or that Eliot is her twin brother and has problems of his own. Their father, Luc, is trying to keep the B&B open, but the house on Barton Road has a mind and will of its own.

And that's before Ore enters the scene...

Wow. This is one fantastic and totally unsettling book. And I loved everything about it.

There's a lot of family drama and weird sibling dynamics. Relationship issues and uncertainty. Plenty of horrific imagery to keep horror fans happy. Relevant social commentary about immigrants and refugees. An awful mental disorder the character finds impossible to beat. And a racist, malicious house who likes to control lives and trap women within its demented walls. Yikes!

The story starts out in a way that purposely confuses the reader, as much as the ending. But completely loop back to each other.

This story pushed me into a delirious, sickly state that made me question every word I was reading, and had me trapped in a feverish nightmare. What a freaky trip!

There are several POVs in this story: Miranda, Eliot, Ore and the house. Just like everything else in this book, every POV switch is disorienting. Takes a few beats to make sense of who's telling the story, when. But totally adds to the experience.

While there are a lot of mysterious questions throughout the whole thing and some aren't answered until after you've finished reading--and some will never become apparent--I loved how everything flowed. The currents in these pages aren't linear, they ebb and flow, become waves that wash everything away. It's truly excellent.

This read like a dark fairy tale set in our world and manifesting through the souls and bodies of these tortured characters. All of them are conplex and broken, unreliable even to themselves and willing to push the limits every which way. But most of all, it's a totally wicked haunted tale featuring a vile monster taking the form of a house.

Anyone who can tell a story this messed up and still pull off such beautiful and lyrical prose, deserves a lot of praise. Helen Oyeyemi is one awesome author.

Loved it!


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