Getting a Read on Ashley: A Discovery of Witches
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
It’s my firm belief that when a person recommends a book to me, they’re handing me an inside look at their soul. In this series, “Getting a Read,” I try to uncover truth about books and their recommenders. In this guest post, Piper Sands (who previously recommended Circe) turns the tables on me. I’ve recommended A Discovery of Witches to her. Read on to see what she says about me and my book.
THE RECOMMENDER
Call it serendipity. Ashley recommended this book to me a few days after I finished reading it on my own, which I guess, in a sense, makes us both the recommender. It also perfectly describes the tone of my friendship with Ashley. We spent many hours together in the Claremont Colleges Library reading our way through our respective MAs in English, reviewing each other’s work and offering support to one another during a time of CRAZY growth and change. Even though life took us in geographically different directions after graduation, I am thrilled that we continue to support each other’s writing from different states.
HOW TO READ IT
Curled up under a fluffy duvet, a hot cup of tea in hand, while the rain falls outside. Magical familiar in the form of a cat optional (but recommended).
REVIEW: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
What differentiates a book about witches and vampires from the thousands of others cluttering the shelves of popular booksellers? If you haven’t taken a stroll down the fantasy aisle at Barnes and Noble lately, I challenge you to do so and name the color scale you see. As a teenager, I frequented my local bookshop as much as my small budget would allow. I distinctly remember the dark, chromatic shift that swept the fantasy aisle as vampire fiction sunk its teeth into the zeitgeist.
When I first read the synopsis of A Discovery of Witches I almost put it back on the shelf. I wasn’t sure I could stomach another story about a weak female lead and an overbearing vampire counterpart, which was my automatic assumption of the premise after seeing the word “vampire” on the back of the book.
To my surprise, Deborah Harkness avoids the “bump in the night” clichés that have become almost mandatory in a novel about the supernatural. Instead, she gives her characters room to grow their own identity, separate from their flat, pop-culture counterparts. Harkness definitely knows how to write a character, and even better, she knows how to make them interesting.
The main character, Diana Bishop, is extremely likable, especially for my combo fantasy loving/academic self. Our heroine, like so many others, is doing her best to live inconspicuously, choosing the life of an academic over a magical one (despite being decedent from a powerful family that traces its lineage to the Salem Witch Trials). She unknowingly stumbles across a magical book, attracting the attention of a host of creatures, including our vampiric hero, Matthew Clairmont.
What really gives this fantastical story teeth is its grounding in history. Harkness artfully weaves historical figures and events into her story. Writing these real-life characters as magical ones, she puts a fairy-tale twist on our world’s past. The Guardian may accuse Harkness of being “thrifty” for using her own academic research for her non-fiction work to set the scene for this book (more on that here) but for me, hearing real names and places in a story based in magic made this story come alive.
As much as I enjoy following these characters, the reality is that Harkness is trying to put a new spin on a tired story. I found myself more interested in the supporting characters: a cold French vampire, a farmhouse full of ghosts, even a high tempered horse. But because the formula has been written and money needs to be made, we follow the well-worn storytelling path of the vampire who was not supposed to fall in love.
Harkness sacrifices the potential of a more interesting story for the mass produced, and neatly packaged, vampire love story. I found myself having to continually forgive this novel for not doing something different with its heroine. There was a moment when I thought Harkness would throw out the stereotype completely, but the story quickly self-corrected. It seems Harkness is not brave enough to fully break free from the chains of expectation.
Now, you may say that this book was published in 2011 and Harkness should not be faulted for following the supernatural template of the time, (the Twilight series was published from 2005 to 2008). But you’d be misinformed with this argument. The vampire obsession continues--A Discovery of Witches was just adapted to the small screen, further proving that vampire love stories still sell like undead hot cakes. Though its title made me cringe, a good review of the new show by the New York Times is available here if you want to check it out.
Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. It is an interesting read, even if it means coasting through some of the relationship story line. This book left me hungry to see more of the dynamic characters, so much so that I’m already halfway through the sequel, Shadow of Night. Overall, what drew me in (and kept me reading) is that Harkness sets her love story solidly within a world that is stranger than fiction, our own.
THE RECOMMENDER IN REVIEW
It does not surprise me at all that Ashley and I would both be drawn to a book about a witch who feels most at home in a library. That was our home too for a few years, minus the magical creatures (or perhaps we just never found them? A girl can dream, can’t she?). Ashley is just as comfortable in academia as she is among fairy-tale creatures, and blending them together makes it all the more fun. I’m looking forward to her next recommendation.
WHERE TO FIND IT
I found this book through my Audible app under the Best Sellers list. If you have a long commute, like I do, the reader is excellent. I highly suggest reading the book in this format.
