Monday Mini-Reviews: Five Star Read: Weyward

 

I have been in various book clubs over the years, and even lead several book clubs at school, and yet I am not always a very good book club member.  The one thing that I do appreciate about book club, though, is that it makes me get out of my comfort zone from time to time.

I've been seeing Weyward all over instagram, but the cover doesn't really do much for me and when I was told it was about witches I had no real interest in reading it.

But, it was our latest book club selection and whoever told me it was about witches, is really stretching things.  This is a fantastic story about three different women in one family.  They do have some sort of "power" but this reads more like realistic fiction with a touch of magical realism thrown in.  

In 2019 Kate flees London to get away from an abusive husband.  She takes refuge in her great aunt Violet's house that was left to her when Violet died.  Kate begins to explore the cottage and tries to understand the secret her great aunt was keeping.

In 1619 Altha is waiting to stand trial for the death of a local farmer who died after being stampeded by his cows.  Altha and her mother used herbs and plants for helping people and she is suspected of witchcraft.

And in 1942 Violet is living with her father and brother in the family estate.  Trapped by her controlling father, Violet wonders what happened to her mother who died when she was young. Her only clue is the word "weyward" scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

These three stories intersect seamlessly.  Sometimes in books with multiple narrators there is one story that I don't like quite as much, but in this book, I enjoyed all three stories and was anxious to pick up where each chapter left off. 

I am looking forward to book club this next month so I can talk about it with some other people.