The Year of the Witching is the first in a series by Alexis Henderson. The story is based in Bethel, a fictional town. It is a holy city, cut off from the neighboring heathen cities by its law and order. The inhabitants are strictly controlled by the church, with instructions to follow the Holy Writings of the Father. The cost of sinning, any action not in alignment with the application of the Holy Writings in Bethel, is penance and purging. This penance can take the form of pain and punishment, from beatings to burnings, and possibly even death. Purging happens through burning on a pyre.
If you’re read the book and want to read my summary, including how the book ends, see my Spoil the Ending blog.
Darkness and Light
The people of Bethel live in proximity to the Darkwoods, but while Bethel belongs to the Father, the Darkwoods belong to the Dark Mother. The people of Bethel have been trained to steer clear of the forest, and those who enter it are often not seen again. Life in Bethel revolves around the church, which is run by the Prophet. The Prophet, like other men in the community, has many wives. Although the process of selecting a bride is not clear, brides are easy to distinguish from single women. Brides wear a seal carved by their husband into their forehead during the wedding ceremony.
The Prophet has the gift of vision and his apostles have various gifts as well. Women may also have gifts, as is the case with Martha, Immanuelle’s grandmother. There are rumors that Immanuelle may also have a gift. Yet, Immanuelle is not like the rest of her family, the Moores. She is the result of an illicit affair between her mother, and a (dark) man from the Outskirts. Her skin is darker and her hair is unruly. She may be half Moore but the Ward half of her, from her father, makes some people consider her beneath them.
Immanuelle’s Quest
The Year of the Witching is Immanuelle’s story, her origin story and her coming of age story. She was born an orphan, her father having been burned on a pyre before she was born while her mother died in childbirth. Although she’s brought up in the church, she feels the allure of the Darkwood. The first time she enters it, she doesn’t think that she has a choice. Yet, what she finds there alters the course of not just her life, but that of Bethel. Did she ever have a choice in the matter or was she only fulfilling her destiny?
After that first visit, Immanuelle is called to the Darkwood again, like a siren song. Her history is carved from Bethel, the Outskirts and the Darkwood, and her future, as well as that of Bethel’s, depends on her tracing that history to determine the future. On her quest, she will need some allies.
Are Immanuelle’s fortunes and those of Bethel tied to the Dark Mother, the Father, or is it dependent on the choices and decisions that each person takes? Who pays for the sins of the ancestors and what responsibility do the descendants have for the wrongs of the past? How do fate and free will play with each other and does the end justify the means?
The Year of The Witching
While there are many familiar elements, the polygamy, the cult-like existence, the sinful leader, the reformed heir, I found this book captivating. I cried for Immanuelle at times, and cheered her on. She’s a likeable heroine. Love is also a strong theme in the book. There is romantic love as well as love between family members. Love is tempered by fear, punishment, revenge. The inheritance of power and responsibility and how those dynamics play out in a community draw parallels to events in our present day world.
“Good people don’t bow their heads and bite their tongues while other good people suffer. Good people are not complicit.”
Vera, speaking to her granddaughter, Immanuelle.
In the final chapters, there is a great battle and we see the ascension of a powerful woman in a male dominated society, a woman of the type who “went unmentioned, unseen” in the Scriptures and in Bethel.
Henderson does an excellent job of describing the characters and building the worlds of Bethel and the Darkwood. Before I knew this was the first in a series, I was disappointed about my unanswered questions. There were some characters introduced that I look forward to learning more about. I imagine they will be significant later on. I also want to see how Bethel grows out of the ruins.
Final Verdict on The Year of the Witching
This book made me think of The Chronicles of the One series by Nora Roberts. I’m also reading Parable of the Sower and the other books in the series by Octavia Butler and there are many similar themes. All of these books are concerned with building a new community, one that’s changed. Perhaps that’s what attracts me to all three books, the concept of change, progress, growth, which I am fascinated by.
All three books explore the concepts of darkness and light, and a female heroine is a pivotal part of the “battle”. Consider this paragraph a triple recommendation. Book lovers rejoice! 😀
The Year of the Witching made me laugh and it brought tears to my eyes. If you want to cheer on a heroine from the wrong side of the tracks and see how she grows and changes as she goes through multiple quests to right the wrongs in her world, give The Year of the Witching a read.
Be First to Comment