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A review by sincostami
Weyward by Emilia Hart
2.0
Probably 1.5 stars, but I’m feeling very nice.
The main problem here is that this book is quite graphic and extreme, so warrants a graphic or extreme reaction, but it manages to desensitise you so much that it just feels mediocre in the end. I think this ultimately fails as an empowering feminist novel, or whatever, because I felt very demotivated and, most heinously, bored after finishing it. If anything, after being bombarded with so much gender essentialism and pregnancy, I was starting to hate these women too.
I’ll say that, contrary to popular opinion apparently, I think the author had a very pretty writing style. Her descriptions specifically were gorgeous and the way she spoke about very typical foresty settings was unique and atmospheric. I don’t think this extends to the characters, necessarily, but it does shine through in some scenes. There are parts that are meant to very obviously be uncomfortable, and I think she really got that point across, perhaps a little too well, and all the heavy lifting was done by her descriptions, seeing as I had no emotional connection to anyone and was very aware of everything that would happen well before it did.
The pacing in this book confused me so much, because I truly don’t think I could tell you what the story is about. In fact, I doubt there even IS a plot. The first half of the book is spent doing nothing and every time we switch POV, we get about a paragraph of something in the present then spend the rest of the chapter describing a childhood experience and being told how it shaped the characters. The second half is spent doing absolutely nothing but instead of the protagonists’ own childhood memories, they read about other people’s. None of these anecdotes felt very relevant either, but I think this is more of a character issue than a plot one; these girls are absolutely indistinguishable so nothing they experience feels formative, since I have no concept of them as individuals. In fact, all the women in this book are very monolithic: we have The Witches who like bugs, and the Other Women who aren’t strong empowered feminists because they don’t like bugs, serving as cardboard cutouts for our already-two-dimensional protagonists to talk to.
Also, multiple POV stories are meant to have enough links to keep you engaged but enough mystery to warrant each perspective. This book only really needed one protagonist: the 1600s witch trial isn’t suspenseful because we KNOW she gets chapters for the rest of the book, and we don’t need to spend half the book learning how she committed the murder because we’re told that very explicitly in the trial. We don’t need anything in Violet’s POV because we KNOW she goes on to achieve her dreams, or whatever. The switches were far too frequent and substanceless when we should’ve really spent that time developing the lore or magic system(?) of the Weywards, since they just exist for seemingly no reason other than carrying on ~Their Legacy~. Which is… having daughters?? I think it’s a very serious offence when your book championing female individuality and autonomy has the moral that a woman’s only purpose is having a child. Not to mention the gratuitous violence against women that just seems relentless and, as I said, desensitising. I’m meant to believe that these girlboss witches exist just to get abused, have an unwanted child, and condemn them to this cycle? Why is the whole moral of the story that they can literally foresee their daughters will suffer, but that’s okay because worms listen to them? It just feels like a key piece of information is missing here. It’s also very much not empowering to suggest that women are only resilient because they’re abused and are powerless to stop it.
Every bit of revenge they ever get feels so flat, probably because the plot itself is so dull that it seems to just drag everything down into this pit of blandness. Their whole thing is being wild, let them have some unhinged revenge!! It almost feels like the author herself is stifling these girls, and the story as a whole, by trying to beat us over the head with black/white characters. It’s OKAY for protagonists to be flawed and a little insane. I would be, if my entire life was liking bugs and not liking men.
I’m also very sick and tired of books so heavily about pregnancy not once mentioning that it’s a key theme. I do NOT want to read about children!! also, why are all the pregnant women swelling. That’s not the positive descriptor you want it to be. deflate the women please. and write them a better book while you’re at it.
The main problem here is that this book is quite graphic and extreme, so warrants a graphic or extreme reaction, but it manages to desensitise you so much that it just feels mediocre in the end. I think this ultimately fails as an empowering feminist novel, or whatever, because I felt very demotivated and, most heinously, bored after finishing it. If anything, after being bombarded with so much gender essentialism and pregnancy, I was starting to hate these women too.
I’ll say that, contrary to popular opinion apparently, I think the author had a very pretty writing style. Her descriptions specifically were gorgeous and the way she spoke about very typical foresty settings was unique and atmospheric. I don’t think this extends to the characters, necessarily, but it does shine through in some scenes. There are parts that are meant to very obviously be uncomfortable, and I think she really got that point across, perhaps a little too well, and all the heavy lifting was done by her descriptions, seeing as I had no emotional connection to anyone and was very aware of everything that would happen well before it did.
The pacing in this book confused me so much, because I truly don’t think I could tell you what the story is about. In fact, I doubt there even IS a plot. The first half of the book is spent doing nothing and every time we switch POV, we get about a paragraph of something in the present then spend the rest of the chapter describing a childhood experience and being told how it shaped the characters. The second half is spent doing absolutely nothing but instead of the protagonists’ own childhood memories, they read about other people’s. None of these anecdotes felt very relevant either, but I think this is more of a character issue than a plot one; these girls are absolutely indistinguishable so nothing they experience feels formative, since I have no concept of them as individuals. In fact, all the women in this book are very monolithic: we have The Witches who like bugs, and the Other Women who aren’t strong empowered feminists because they don’t like bugs, serving as cardboard cutouts for our already-two-dimensional protagonists to talk to.
Also, multiple POV stories are meant to have enough links to keep you engaged but enough mystery to warrant each perspective. This book only really needed one protagonist: the 1600s witch trial isn’t suspenseful because we KNOW she gets chapters for the rest of the book, and we don’t need to spend half the book learning how she committed the murder because we’re told that very explicitly in the trial. We don’t need anything in Violet’s POV because we KNOW she goes on to achieve her dreams, or whatever. The switches were far too frequent and substanceless when we should’ve really spent that time developing the lore or magic system(?) of the Weywards, since they just exist for seemingly no reason other than carrying on ~Their Legacy~. Which is… having daughters?? I think it’s a very serious offence when your book championing female individuality and autonomy has the moral that a woman’s only purpose is having a child. Not to mention the gratuitous violence against women that just seems relentless and, as I said, desensitising. I’m meant to believe that these girlboss witches exist just to get abused, have an unwanted child, and condemn them to this cycle? Why is the whole moral of the story that they can literally foresee their daughters will suffer, but that’s okay because worms listen to them? It just feels like a key piece of information is missing here. It’s also very much not empowering to suggest that women are only resilient because they’re abused and are powerless to stop it.
Every bit of revenge they ever get feels so flat, probably because the plot itself is so dull that it seems to just drag everything down into this pit of blandness. Their whole thing is being wild, let them have some unhinged revenge!! It almost feels like the author herself is stifling these girls, and the story as a whole, by trying to beat us over the head with black/white characters. It’s OKAY for protagonists to be flawed and a little insane. I would be, if my entire life was liking bugs and not liking men.
I’m also very sick and tired of books so heavily about pregnancy not once mentioning that it’s a key theme. I do NOT want to read about children!! also, why are all the pregnant women swelling. That’s not the positive descriptor you want it to be. deflate the women please. and write them a better book while you’re at it.