Conjure Women

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Conjure Women by Afia Atakora.

Conjure Women is a sweeping story that brings the world of the South before and after the Civil War vividly to life. Spanning eras and generations, it tells of the lives of three unforgettable women: Miss May Belle, a wise healing woman; her precocious and observant daughter Rue, who is reluctant to follow in her mother's footsteps as a midwife; and their master's daughter Varina. The secrets and bonds among these women and their community come to a head at the beginning of a war and at the birth of an accursed child, who sets the townspeople alight with fear and a spreading superstition that threatens their newly won, tenuous freedom.

Magnificently written, brilliantly researched, richly imagined, Conjure Women moves back and forth in time to tell the haunting story of Rue, Varina, and May Belle, their passions and friendships, and the lengths they will go to save themselves and those they love. {goodreads summary}

The writing in Conjure Women is beautiful. I will immediately order whatever Atakora writes next as her storytelling is sublime. 

Miss Rue has followed in her mother's footsteps as the healer on a plantation of former slaves. She births babies, cures fevers and offers hope and support to those around her in their time of need. 

Her settled, newly-free community is troubled first by the arrival of 'Black Eyed Bean' a pale baby with entirely black eyes who cries when he's bathed and makes those around him uneasy. It is disrupted further by the return of Bruh Abel, a travelling preacher who shakes the villagers' faith in Rue and leads them to questions whether she and Bean can be trusted. 

Rue knows she isn't guilty of the whispered charges laid on her by the increasingly superstitious community, but she does have dark secrets she'll go to great lengths to maintain. 

Reminiscent of Toni Morrison, Conjure Women is split across multiple timelines, following Rue and her mother, Miss Mae Belle through slavery, the American civil war and the tentative 'peacetime' that follows it, which is still fraught with danger. 

Conjure Women is a multi-generational tale of magic, gender and race. It explores faith, rapidly changing times, witchcraft and superstition, against a backdrop of racism, slavery and brutality that makes for uncomfortable, but important reading. It is historical fiction at its finest. 

The novel is full of magical realism, with Rue and Mae Belle's conjuring blurring the lines between lies told to ease pain, and other worldly curses and cures. 

Rue is a character you immediately root for, both as an adult and a child. She has a complex relationships with almost everyone in her life - from her mother, to her white mistress Varina, Bruh Abel and Bean. My favourite was her troubled, almost-friendship with Bean's mother, Sarah, and the lasting effect they have on each other's lives.

You can continue the Conjure Women tour until the 18th April at these brilliant blogs!