Book Review: “Weyward” by Emilia Hart
Female power is an unstoppable force of nature
Title: Weyward. First Published: 2023. Genre: History, Magical Realism. Publisher: Griffin. Pages: 416.
Emilia Hart was born in Sydney, Australia, where she also earned her university degree. She studies Law and English Literature and even worked as a lawyer in Sidney and then in London. “Weyward” is her debut novel. I guess her love for literature took over her career as a lawyer. I, for one, am glad it did.
“Weyward” starts with a prologue: six lines from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” about the weird sisters, who, if you remember, possess magical powers, or rather, are considered to be witches. So there’s your first clue about the book’s plot. But, of course, it’s much more complicated than that. There are also three main heroines in Hart’s novel; they are also connected by common DNA, but all three are scattered throughout the timeline:
- Altha is being tried on suspicion of witchcraft back in 1619;
- Violet dreams of breaking free from the walls of her father’s estate to study biology in 1942;
- Kate takes control of her life and runs away from an abusive boyfriend as recent as 2019.
The stories of these three women are told in turns: one chapter is about the 17th century, the following is set in the mid-20th century, and the next one is about our very own 21st. The hints about these three women being connected will be given constantly. They are connected not only by blood but also by a common trait: a natural gift for witchcraft. And the key word here is “natural.”
Emily Hart, describing her three “weird sisters,” emphasizes not so much witchcraft as we know it (and love it, one wants to add), but those ancient notions of a woman’s closeness to nature. How she hears insects, knows the plants, sees changes in animals’ behavior, feels the approaching storm — all the things that made weak, vulnerable, and frightened men start stigmatizing her and futilely trying to sever this connection, the connection between woman and nature.
We never thought of ourselves as witches, my mother and I. For this was a word invented by men, a word that brings power to those who speak it, not those it describes.
“Weyward” reminded me of “The Power” by Naomi Alderman. You can read these books one after the other: the first as a prequel, the second as a possible development of this theme in a fantastical future. Although Alderman’s story doesn’t end very well. “Weyward” triumphs here, in my opinion, because this novel, after all trials, violence, and misunderstanding, remains kind and hopeful. But it’s definitely not vanilla.
It contains a lot of love — love of oneself for oneself, for one’s nature, for one’s sisters, even those not related by blood. It’s also about acceptance of oneself and the surrounding world, the mother nature, for it really is a mother, a precious part of each of us.
P.S.: Speaking of associations, “Happening” by Annie Ernaux comes to mind; although the genre and style are completely different, the theme of a woman left alone with the choice forced upon her is also present here.
