Dusting Off Those Brooms
Witches abound in halloween spoofs, pop tv, and pulp fantasy. But I think these ladies are much more interesting:
Books
Click on any of the cover images to purchase from an indie bookseller local to you.
The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry:
Towner Whitney hails from a family of Salem women who can read the
future in the patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of
secrets going back generations - secrets that are only now coming to
light. This "[u]nusual and otherworldly" tale is "a
gorgeously written literary novel that's also a doozy of a thriller,
capped with a jaw-dropping denouement that will leave even the most
careful reader gasping" (Kirkus Reviews, Dallas Morning
News). "Evocative, smart, layered, and astonishing," with a
vivid sense of place and strong, complex, and "intriguingly real"
characters, this book is an ideal choice for
book clubs (Joshilyn Jackson, San Antonio Express-News).
The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett:
Armed with only a frying pan and her common sense, young witch-to-be
Tiffany Aching must defend her home against the monsters of Fairyland.
Luckily she has some very unusual help: the local Nac Mac
Feegle—aka the Wee Free Men—a clan of fierce,
sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men. A
novel of Discworld.
Technically a young adult book, this is great for grown-ups too, and
made me laugh out loud on a crowded trans-atlantic flight.
There are two more books to the trilogy, and to see the other
Discworld novels involving witches, click here.
Film
Let's start with:
Chocolat: Magic, chocolate, and Johnny Depp: I have no complaints!
When beautiful, unmarried Vianne Rocher sweeps into the
pinched little French town of Lansquenet on the heels of the carnival
and opens a gem of a chocolate shop across the square from the church,
she begins to wreak havoc with the town's Lenten vows. Her uncanny
ability to perceive her customer's private discontents and alleviate
them with just the right confection coaxes the villagers to abandon
themselves to temptation and happiness, but enrages the powers that be,
certain only a witch could stir such sinful indulgence and devise such
clever cures! (To buy the book by Joanne Harris, also
wonderful, click here.)
Music
Let's start with:
Away Ye Merry Lasses: (by Georje Holper. Lyrics here. I first heard on this CD, by Herdman, Hills, and Mangsen. Crow Women mp3 here.) "'Cause it's the girls' night out, away ye merry lasses
Get your brooms, get 'em out, we'll ride the wind tonight
Oh, it's the girls' night out, away ye merry lasses
Get your brooms, get 'em out, we'll ride the wind tonight"
With a chorus like that, this song's just plain fun.
So You Want the Real Story?
Nonfiction about real, live witches and the idea of witchcraft.
A History of Witchcraft, by Jeffrey B. Russell:
The authors discuss the definitions of witchcraft, and chart
witchcraft's historical, anthropological, and religious manifestations
from ancient times to the present. This book also includes an analysis
of the importance of the internet and films in the dissemination of
modern witchcraft - and the personal tensions as a secretive,
initiatory cult becomes an open and recognized religion.Verdict: Readable, and of a modest length. Appears to be well-researched. A nice, thorough introduction to witchcraft past and present, as well as to the power of the idea of witchcraft. Recommended for anyone interested in this subject.