The Bewitching

The Bewitching

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva—stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that’s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.


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  • storyhungrysarah
    Apr 01, 2025
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

    An excellent witchy story. In The Bewitching, we follow three perspectives set at three different points in time. Alba tales her part of the tale from 1908, Beatrice (Betty) from 1934 and Minerva from 1998. These three women are connected by both familial and familiar ties. The most common overlap between these women and what drives this story is their shared interest in and experiences with witches. And not witches like in a fantasy tale or as pop-culture often depicts them. 

    If you are a fan of stories about witches, this is one worth picking up. 

    I found the use of perspective changes well done and helped drive me to continue reading, even though often times I was afraid to continue out of concern for the characters. (If you don't turn the page nothing can happen to them right?) I appreciated the use of New England as the setting because I think setting the story there and reminding me early on of my preconceptions of the region created by other notable horror writers helped to set the mood for the rest of the story. I will read a story with witches any time of year, but this would make an excellent spooky season read too. 

    Also, could Minerva burn me a CD or at least share a playlist? The story often included what she was listening to on her Discman and had me wishing I could listen along with her. 

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