A review by laurareads87
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Deeply moving and beautifully written, Conjure Women follows Rue, a young woman who, following in her mother's footsteps, grows up to be a healer and conjurer.  The story takes place on a plantation and alternates chapter to chapter between just prior to the Civil War ('Slaverytime') and just after ('Freedomtime'); the focus is on Rue, her mother May Belle, and their relationships with other (formerly) enslaved people as well as with the plantation owner's daughter.  I love so much about this book: Atakora's writing is evocative, the setting is very clearly established, the characters are complex and well-developed, and the relationship dynamics are compelling.  Atakora describes the historical research she conducted for this book in the afterword, and it really shows in the novel itself in the best possible way.  Conjure Women is an incredible novel and I cannot wait to read more from Afia Atakora.
<i>Content warnings:</i> this novel is set during and just after slavery in the American South and, as such, depicts the horrors of slavery: murder, violence, lynching, rape, torture, death of children, miscarriage, racism, misogyny, forcible confinement, medical violence
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