By Emilia Hart
⭐⭐⭐⭐ ¼ (Goodreads: 4.07)
GENRE: Historical and Contemporary Fiction
PART OF A SERIES? No
WORTH READING? Yes
SUMMARY:
2019: Kate escapes a difficult situation in London to move into a house left to her by her great aunt she scarcely recalls. Weyward Cottage and its surrounds provide Kate with a sanctuary and an escape, away from her abusive partner. Soon Kate realises that her great aunt harboured a secret – one hidden since 17th century witch-hunts.1619: Altha is awaiting trial, accused of murdering a local farmer who was trampled to death by his own animals. Throughout her childhood, Altha’s mother taught her their magic in which nature was the central force. Women who defy societal norms are always viewed with suspicion, though, so Altha must draw on all her strength and knowledge to fight for her freedom. 1942: Violet is trapped in her family's once-majestic estate amidst the turmoil of World War II. Wishing she could undergo the rich education offered to her brother, Violet, like Altha, is limited by societal convention. Violet misses her mother dreadfully. All she has left are whispers about her mother’s madness, a locket, and the word weyward etched into her bedroom’s baseboard.
Opening lines: “Ten days they’d held me there. Ten days, with only the stink of my own flesh for company.”
Weyward is a multi-storyline novel, which moves between three resilient women’s lives, across multiple eras. Each of the characters are different, but they are linked by similar circumstances and incidences. I genuinely cared about each of the women and often caught myself wondering what was happening for the other two characters when reading the tale of one character.
It’s an interesting, unusual choice, but Emilia Hart has only one out of the three people (Altha) telling the story in first person. I’d be curious to ask her why she made that choice when writing Weyward. Perhaps Hart uses it as a way to highlight that Altha is telling her story and the others are reading it.
I really appreciated that Weyward is not predictable. I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only reader who is frustrated when they can easily see what is coming.
Weyward is the first book I’ve read of Emilia Hart’s. I will explore others of hers now, though, as I really liked Hart’s control over language and the originality in her writing. Hart’s writing is elegant, poetic, and lyrical, marked by her exceptional use of perfect adjectives. There is a real rhythm in Emilia Hart’s sentences and her purposeful combinations of syllables and words.
I recommend this book, even if Fantasy is a bit out of your comfort zone (as it is mine).
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