A mother and daughter with a shared talent for healing—and for the conjuring of curses—are at the heart of this dazzling first novel WINNER OF THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN HISTORIANS PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times • NPR • Parade • Book Riot • PopMatters“Lush, irresistible . . . It took me into the hearts of women I could otherwise never know. I was … of women I could otherwise never know. I was transported.”—Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of White Houses and Away
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.
LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
“[A] haunting, promising debut . . . Through complex characters and bewitching prose, Atakora offers a stirring portrait of the power conferred between the enslaved women. This powerful tale of moral ambiguity amid inarguable injustice stands with Esi Edugyan’s Washington Black.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An engrossing debut . . . Atakora structures a plot with plenty of satisfying twists. Life in the immediate aftermath of slavery is powerfully rendered in this impressive first novel.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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A beautiful, haunting story of the power of womanhood. The realism of history and the natural world is expertly interwoven with the mysticism of healing. A fabulous debut novel.
Last night I started CONJURE WOMEN by Afia Atakora and it is amazing, an absolutely astonishing first novel. Drop everything. Get on the phone or your computer and BUY THIS BOOK. It’s deeply researched and beautifully written. I read nonstop for three hours and only put the book down because I felt utterly suspended by the story and her prose and needed to process.
Conjure Women is a magical historic fiction. Author Afia Atakora researched the lives of the survivors of slavery to create compelling characters. The plot takes place during “Slaverytime” before the US Civil War, told by Miss May Belle, and “Freedomtime,” told from the perspective of May Belle’s daughter, Rue. These two “conjure women” know secrets. The secrets of plants. The secrets of childbirth and reproduction. Most importantly, they know the some of the secrets of human nature. And they can bargain in “hoodoo” if the need arises.
Told in a sort of dreamy amble, Atakora roots the action with some uncomfortable truths of the times. Man can be cruel to man, can distrust and misuse, especially if one is placed above another. The magic pops in as a matter of happenstance, an aspect of life.
When Rue delivers a child born beneath a caul, a child called “Black-eyed Bean,” the emancipated slaves grow uneasy, especially after a sickness claims their children – except Bean. Charismatic “Bruh” Abel stops by to share his religious beliefs and his dreams, and he warns against “conjurations” and the “haint” Rue’s visited in the woods surrounding their home.
Atakora’s writing has a drifting quality of grasped memories from earlier ages. Instead of dealing strictly in facts, she allows interpretation of some key points, especially the ending, which some might find annoying.
I was drawn to this book because of the cover (yes, I do judge a book by it’s cover!) and the title, since I really enjoy books involving witches, voodoo, and hoodoo. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, although I usually like it when I do, but one of my reading goals this year is to read more historical fiction, so I really wanted to give Conjure Women by Afia Atakora a read. And I am very glad I did since this book is very well written and stayed with me for days after I finished.
Atakora writes very complex characters that show how deeply they are flawed and how full of life and hope they are filled, during a horrendous point in history. May and Rue work helping fellow slaves and the plantation owner’s family through herbs, midwifery, and hoodoo, but they are human and have wants and needs that benefit only them. Miss May Belle wants to shield Rue as much as possible, but in doing so makes Rue’s life harder in ways. And after May is gone, Rue continues on with her mother’s work, but she too has people she is trying to shield from harsh realities and this does not always work out in a good way.
Atakora also takes a look at how village’s wise women have been held in esteem until something can’t be fixed with herbal magic (a plague that starts killing the children) or when a man (in this case, a preacher named Abel) starts making the people question the wise woman via religion or a western approach to medicine. This is something that has been happening for thousands of years and still happens today.
This review doesn’t even cover a tenth of what takes place in the book. I highly recommend you read it and discover the amazing story for yourself.
Mystical yet realistic
I LOVED THIS BOOK! I listened to the audio book which is read by the absolutely fantastic Adenrele Ojo. This is a 5 star performance! She did a great job of bringing these characters and story to life.
This is told in 3 storylines: 1867 Freedomtime (post Civil War), Slaverytime 1854 (pre Civil War) and Surrender 1865. There is the story of Rue, daughter of May belle. They are slaves, owned by Master (Marse) Charles. May Belle is known for her hoodoo and doctoring. She keeps the slaves healthy, long living and the babies alive and then there is Varina, daughter and disappointment of Master Charles and her mother. There are so many other great characters in this book that I loved a lot- Jonah, Ma Doe, Airey, Ol’ Joel..They are all wonderful.
The story goes back and forth between these 3 main characters and weaves the most heart breaking, tragic and beautiful story. I have an extremely hard time with slavery, racism and all the horrors that go along with that. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to handle or finish this book. I picked it up for the Hoodoo, I stayed for the characters. There was parts that were hard to hear (or read)but Rue and May Belle got me through it.
These characters are so beautiful. They are so real and human and complex. The struggle of daily life and the challenges they face, the relationships they form, Afia Atakora spins it together so beautifully and creates such a rich story. I can’t wait to see what she does next. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this author.
No matter how much I read about slavery – my respect especially for the women that survived grows exponentially. This was not what I would call an easy read. It shouldn’t be. Human to human cruelty whether to Africans, First Nation, religious grounds etc. is breathtaking. But goodness does come around. Hope
3/4 of the way thru, the story was difficult to follow. Parts were unrealistic
I LOVED this book!! This is the author’s first novel & I sure hope she writes more because she is a terrific storyteller!! But this format is a MESS! I’ve read books before that jump back & forth between time periods but usually there are only 2, past & present, & they flip chronologically. This book has multiple ones, most of which are named, not dated but the dated ones can go back to a date then the next time it is even earlier. It just makes for confusion. Each chapter changes time periods & often end with a cliff hanger but by the time I got back to where that chapter picks up I’ve forgotten what went on before. She’s pretty good about getting you caught up but it is just annoying. I also think the ending could have been better. Was Bean her doctor & he just didn’t recognize her? I am choosing to think so. Despite the annoyance of the flipping I highly recommend this.
At first I was unsure,but as I continued reading I found the characters interesting and couldn’t wait for the next chapter. Very interesting and a very emotional book
I know this was fiction but it portrayed life before the Civil War right up to the arrival of the dreaded KKK as I can imagine it might have been for those in this somewhat isolated plantation. With the superstitions and and the tent revivals clashing and ultimately joining forces to survive and try to escape, I was captivated and did not want to stop reading. I highly recommend this book.
Characters and story believable.
This is a story that haunts its readers. I couldn’t tell which direction it was going in at first, but once I read a bit more it was hard to put down. I definitely recommend Conjure Women.
Educational.
I loved this book in terms of exposure to the culture of slavery and plantations as well as the healers.
Conjure Women is a complex historical saga.
The compelling narrative alternates between dual timelines of pre-Civil War and post-Civil War as it follows the life of a young slave girl and her plantation community.
With so little information about women in history, I appreciate the historical value of this novel. And I applaud the author’s ability to successfully weave the lives of the very complicated characters and time period.
But, for me, there were too many characters to follow in the two different timelines, and I found it to be a bit confusing.
If you read this book, I recommend that you watch the author’s interviews on Barnes & Noble’s Instagram. She goes into much detail about this novel and the factors that led to it’s fruition.
*Thank you to Random House for my free review copy*
So I am not really a fan of historical fiction novels but the cover and blurb made me want to check this story out. This story was told in slavery time and freedom time and both parts were hard to read. I thank God I was born when I was because I wouldn’t have lasted as a slave. Certain parts in this book were heartbreaking and depressing. The slaves endured so much and had no choice but to keep on going. Then when they are finally granted their freedom, they are still slaves to the old way and don’t know how to be free which also saddened me. This book is on the long side but at no point was I bored with the story. The author grabbed my attention from the beginning and never let go. The description to detail was so vivid and I felt like I was in the story and saw everything unfold as I read. This was a well written and thought provoking debut novel by Afia Atakora and I can’t wait to read what they write next.
Lush, irresistible… It took me into the hearts of women I could otherwise never know. I was transported.
Afia Atakora brings the Civil War South to life so beautifully with Conjure Women, a heartbreaking joy to read.
If you are grieving for Toni Morrison, Afia Atakora is the young writer to read now: the kind of historical novelist who makes you believe she must have somehow seen the places she describes and known these characters herself. Her astonishing debut takes the reader to a Reconstruction-era Southern plantation, where two little girls — the enslaved child of the local healer and the planter’s cloistered daughter — become unlikely friends. Conjure Women illuminates an unfamiliar corner of Civil War history and brings to life an indelible character whose talents, from midwifery to voodoo, will yield her own unconventional path to power and freedom.