How did word of The Hearing Trumpet first come to me? I do not know; I cannot recall from whence it was first raised to my ear — and how fitting for a fever dream such as this. I couldn’t escape the feeling of vague familiarity, as though the book’s contents aligned with a half-remembrance of a childhood fable I was then too young to understand. Throughout the book I was struck by the sense that surely I had heard Marian Leatherby’s tale before, walked the Institute’s grounds myself, perhaps even touched the titular hearing trumpet once upon a time.

But no, this was in fact my first foray into the world of the Winking Abbess. And what a foray it was.

If none of what I just wrote makes any sort of tangible sense, wonderful. Let it stay that way. Don’t even read the synopsis if you haven’t already: this is a book best traversed without a map. The Hearing Trumpet is surrealistic through and through, and if a surreal commentary on feminism and the Goddess mixed with a healthy serving of criticism of religion appeals to you, I recommend this eagerly. It is a whimsical occultist masterpiece.

I absolutely loved this book, and I suspect the author knew Something about the universe. I feel thankful to have partaken.

Also, if the edition you’re reading contains the afterword by Olga Tokarczuk, don’t skip it! It was incredible in its own right.

just a bunch of people manipulating each other and calling it revolution. it's cutting, absurd, purposely overwritten, and for me, a little boring. i didn't really care for the social commentary. very intentionally white feminist with a narrow focus on class, the politics felt performative and emotionally shallow. the performativity is obviously intentional, a cutting commentary on political groups that masquerade chaotic interpersonal conflict as radicalism without interrogating structural harm. it fell flat for me, mostly because the writing felt too on-the-nose to leave anything up to the imagination. but the toxic yuri was fun?

the communal experience of reading this book via the forum made it actually enjoyable. if it weren't for the readalong & the forum, i would have DNF'd expeditiously. since i'm probably one of the last people to read When We Lost Our Heads for the Spring 2026 Readalong, i want to celebrate a little time capsule of my favorite posts because the forum made it bearable. i did not enjoy this book, but i loved us reading this book together. so hold my hand and skip along with me while we revisit the bangers of the 2026 Spring Readalong - When We Lost Our Heads edition 🌸🌼🌻 (beware of spoilers!)

15% (dragonfriend) / 18% (Fantasy) / 19% (minsuni) / 21% (broenyn) / 22% (exploringthestacks) / 31% (darlingdearestdead) / 39% (Wombworm) / 40% (those_who_wander) / 42% (munitum) / 47% (linnie) / 51% (helli) / 53% (ranaofvoles) / 60% (Titania) / 61% (liareads) / 67% (CatherineJ) / 75% (Pageturner11) / 77% (bigbootylez) / 82% (emilyspages) / 82% (notbillnye) / 88% (sofiebug) / 99% (minsuni)

and of course, the cherry on top: the delicious, scrumptious review that perfectly sums up When We Lost Our Heads, by our mother, lucyPagebound

seeing everyone's thoughts and updates about this very polarizing book over the past 3 months brought me so much joy and made me laugh out loud. the lovely discussions in the forum encouraged me to think deeper about the strange choices the author made. the community genuinely made what would have been a mediocre reading experience better.

happy 2026 Spring Readalong, here's to many more!!