Book Reviews

‘Martyr!’

There’s something special about reading a debut novel. When that author is a beloved poet, however, I get a little worried. Poetry in long form doesn’t always translate well, and sometimes substance gets lost in a whirl of words. I shouldn’t have worried. Akbar has a true gift in whatever form he chooses to display his craft.

Cyrus is an Iranian immigrant to the U.S. who is struggling with that age-old question, how can I make my life matter? Different voices weave through the narrative, some real, some ghostly, some entirely fictional. Themes of the power of being present, of hope, and, of course, love, surround the disparate chapters and tie them together. Often very funny and more profound than it should be, especially when Cyrus is talking to Lisa Simpson. 

At first disjointed and seemingly unconnected, this is a rich and sad and powerful story that ties so many threads together with a bow of magical realism and vibrant longing. The poetry Akbar is known for bleeds into the pages. The writing is stellar, but there’s a story here that transcends itself, coalescing around the near universal feeling of being both stuck and untethered at the same. I haven’t been this excited about a new author in a long time. n — Review by Julie Goodrich

‘Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials’

I was a little surprised when I picked up this book. I expected a scholarly retelling of the famous witch trials in the U.S. and the U.K. from ages long past. I had no idea there were trials in Norway, specifically to accuse and bully indigenous populations. I had some vague notion of witchcraft in historical African countries, but I had no knowledge of the lengths the colonizing British forces would go to control the populace. I should have known better and am so glad I’ve read this book.

Viewing the history of witchcraft and its political uses through the lens of the legal systems, scholar and expert Marion Gibson tells 13 very different tales of witches all across the globe and what their prosecution, and persecution, says about the times and places they lived. These are engaging, intriguing and often very sad tales that put a misunderstood feature of human history into sharp relief. 

The span of time and the implications of “othering” take us right up to modern times and the new ways in which people are ostracized and shunned. This is an important book for scholarship, but equally applicable to our lives now, and the struggles of women and minorities everywhere. — Review by Julie Goodrich