The Bewitching
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Description
“In Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s sure hands, every uncovered secret is fraught with intrigue and creeping horror.”—Tananarive Due, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of The Reformatory
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, Elle, Kirkus Reviews, Book Riot, Library Journal, Crime Reads, She Reads
“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 story: 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.
Book Information
Posts
Tolle Atmosphäre trotz schwierigem Lesefluss
Hexen, verschiedene Frauengenerationen deren Schicksale verwoben sind und ein akademisches Setting? Da bin ich sofort dabei! Die Atmosphäre des Buches hat mir wirklich gut gefallen. Am Anfang hatte ich etwas Schwierigkeiten, in die Geschichte und die drei verschiedenen POVs reinzukommen. Nach jedem Kapitel wechselt die POV, was ich zwischenzeitlich als sehr störend empfunden habe: Immer, wenn es spannend wurde, war das Kapitel zuende und wir haben wieder eine andere POV gelesen, an dessen voriges Ende ich mich erstmal wieder erinnern musste (weil ja zwei andere Erzählungen dazwischen lagen). Dadurch, dass jede Sichtweise in einer anderen Zeit spielt, gab es bis zu etwas mehr als der Hälfte des Buches kaum Überschneidungspunkte zwischen den drei POVs. Es hat sich angefühlt als würde ich drei unterschiedliche Geschichten gleichzeitig lesen. Die Verbindung der drei Handlungsstränge fand für meinen Geschmack etwas zu spät statt. Ich mochte die Protagonistin Minerva sehr und auch Bettys POV hat mir sehr gefallen. Albas Geschichte… puh ja, fand ich etwas schwierig in Bezug auf Verwandtschafts- und Beziehungsverhältnisse. Das hat mir mehrfach einen ick gegeben. Die Hauptgeschichte um Minerva fand ich aber wirklich gelungen, wenn auch ein bisschen vorausschaubar.
Ab der 2. Hälfte besser 🐦
Das Buch zieht sich in der ersten Hälfte etwas, nimmt aber dann ein wenig Fahrt auf. Es war spannend den drei Zeitlinien zu folgen, auch wenn man manchmal erstmal wieder herausfinden musste, was zuvor passiert war. Passend für die kalte Jahreszeit 🍂 Schreibstil ist angenehm und die weiblichen Charaktere interessant und stark.
I've read two books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia before: Mexican Gothic, which I liked (I couldn't put it down from a certian point onwards), and Certain Dark Things, which... I had a hard time picking up and continue reading. If it hadn't been for the bookclub, I probably would not have finished it (you can find my review here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/ff134b18-cb0f-49be-8c0a-85c88f11da62).But to tackle two achievements for the 2025 Fall Challenge here on Goodreads with one book, I gave The Bewitching a chance (and it acutally counted towards three achievements).I liked it a lot, I think I liked it even better than Mexican Gothic, and I really enjoyed following Minerva around on campus. There were some moments when I thought to myself "Why is she doing x or y like that?" and then I remembered that it takes place in 1998 (of which I have very little memory, since I was only five years old back then). It's a weird time for me, because I remember it somewhat, but not really. It felt at the same time relatable and very far away.The double/triple timeline worked for me (1910 and 1934 felt definitely far away and historical), and I liked all three characters the same.<spoiler>The incestious encounter between Alba and her uncle</spoiler> I saw coming from chapter two, I think the plot would have worked without, <spoiler>keeping it at a mutual infatuation</spoiler>, but that's probably part of the horror.
I've read two books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia before: Mexican Gothic, which I liked (I couldn't put it down from a certian point onwards), and Certain Dark Things, which... I had a hard time picking up and continue reading. If it hadn't been for the bookclub, I probably would not have finished it (you can find my review here). But to tackle two achievements for the 2025 Fall Challenge here on Goodreads with one book, I gave The Bewitching a chance (and it acutally counted towards three achievements). I liked it a lot, I think I liked it even better than Mexican Gothic, and I really enjoyed following Minerva around on campus. There were some moments when I thought to myself "Why is she doing x or y like that?" and then I remembered that it takes place in 1998 (of which I have very little memory, since I was only five years old back then). It's a weird time for me, because I remember it somewhat, but not really. It felt at the same time relatable and very far away. The double/triple timeline worked for me (1910 and 1934 felt definitely far away and historical), and I liked all three characters the same. The incestious encounter between Alba and her uncle I saw coming from chapter two, I think the plot would have worked without, keeping it at a mutual infatuation, but that's probably part of the horror.
Gutes Buch über unterschiedliche Mythen der Hexen
Im ersten Drittel vom Buch hab ich mir ein wenig schwer getan mich für die Story zu begeistern. Hauptsächlich wegen den vielen Zeitsprüngen zwischen den Protagonisten. Das hat mich Anfangs ein wenig irritiert und es mir schwer gemacht mich in der Geschichte zurecht zu finden. Um so mehr ich jedoch gelesen habe, desto spannender und fesselnder fand ich die Story! Am Ende war ich vollkommen gefangen von den Mythen und Legenden der Hexen, die so anders sind wie das typische narrativ a das man typischer Weise bei dem Wort “Hexe” denkt. Alles in allem ein gelungenes Buch, wobei ich manche Plot twists bereits sehr schnell erahnen konnte.
Description
“In Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s sure hands, every uncovered secret is fraught with intrigue and creeping horror.”—Tananarive Due, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of The Reformatory
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, Elle, Kirkus Reviews, Book Riot, Library Journal, Crime Reads, She Reads
“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 story: 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.
Book Information
Posts
Tolle Atmosphäre trotz schwierigem Lesefluss
Hexen, verschiedene Frauengenerationen deren Schicksale verwoben sind und ein akademisches Setting? Da bin ich sofort dabei! Die Atmosphäre des Buches hat mir wirklich gut gefallen. Am Anfang hatte ich etwas Schwierigkeiten, in die Geschichte und die drei verschiedenen POVs reinzukommen. Nach jedem Kapitel wechselt die POV, was ich zwischenzeitlich als sehr störend empfunden habe: Immer, wenn es spannend wurde, war das Kapitel zuende und wir haben wieder eine andere POV gelesen, an dessen voriges Ende ich mich erstmal wieder erinnern musste (weil ja zwei andere Erzählungen dazwischen lagen). Dadurch, dass jede Sichtweise in einer anderen Zeit spielt, gab es bis zu etwas mehr als der Hälfte des Buches kaum Überschneidungspunkte zwischen den drei POVs. Es hat sich angefühlt als würde ich drei unterschiedliche Geschichten gleichzeitig lesen. Die Verbindung der drei Handlungsstränge fand für meinen Geschmack etwas zu spät statt. Ich mochte die Protagonistin Minerva sehr und auch Bettys POV hat mir sehr gefallen. Albas Geschichte… puh ja, fand ich etwas schwierig in Bezug auf Verwandtschafts- und Beziehungsverhältnisse. Das hat mir mehrfach einen ick gegeben. Die Hauptgeschichte um Minerva fand ich aber wirklich gelungen, wenn auch ein bisschen vorausschaubar.
Ab der 2. Hälfte besser 🐦
Das Buch zieht sich in der ersten Hälfte etwas, nimmt aber dann ein wenig Fahrt auf. Es war spannend den drei Zeitlinien zu folgen, auch wenn man manchmal erstmal wieder herausfinden musste, was zuvor passiert war. Passend für die kalte Jahreszeit 🍂 Schreibstil ist angenehm und die weiblichen Charaktere interessant und stark.
I've read two books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia before: Mexican Gothic, which I liked (I couldn't put it down from a certian point onwards), and Certain Dark Things, which... I had a hard time picking up and continue reading. If it hadn't been for the bookclub, I probably would not have finished it (you can find my review here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/ff134b18-cb0f-49be-8c0a-85c88f11da62).But to tackle two achievements for the 2025 Fall Challenge here on Goodreads with one book, I gave The Bewitching a chance (and it acutally counted towards three achievements).I liked it a lot, I think I liked it even better than Mexican Gothic, and I really enjoyed following Minerva around on campus. There were some moments when I thought to myself "Why is she doing x or y like that?" and then I remembered that it takes place in 1998 (of which I have very little memory, since I was only five years old back then). It's a weird time for me, because I remember it somewhat, but not really. It felt at the same time relatable and very far away.The double/triple timeline worked for me (1910 and 1934 felt definitely far away and historical), and I liked all three characters the same.<spoiler>The incestious encounter between Alba and her uncle</spoiler> I saw coming from chapter two, I think the plot would have worked without, <spoiler>keeping it at a mutual infatuation</spoiler>, but that's probably part of the horror.
I've read two books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia before: Mexican Gothic, which I liked (I couldn't put it down from a certian point onwards), and Certain Dark Things, which... I had a hard time picking up and continue reading. If it hadn't been for the bookclub, I probably would not have finished it (you can find my review here). But to tackle two achievements for the 2025 Fall Challenge here on Goodreads with one book, I gave The Bewitching a chance (and it acutally counted towards three achievements). I liked it a lot, I think I liked it even better than Mexican Gothic, and I really enjoyed following Minerva around on campus. There were some moments when I thought to myself "Why is she doing x or y like that?" and then I remembered that it takes place in 1998 (of which I have very little memory, since I was only five years old back then). It's a weird time for me, because I remember it somewhat, but not really. It felt at the same time relatable and very far away. The double/triple timeline worked for me (1910 and 1934 felt definitely far away and historical), and I liked all three characters the same. The incestious encounter between Alba and her uncle I saw coming from chapter two, I think the plot would have worked without, keeping it at a mutual infatuation, but that's probably part of the horror.
Gutes Buch über unterschiedliche Mythen der Hexen
Im ersten Drittel vom Buch hab ich mir ein wenig schwer getan mich für die Story zu begeistern. Hauptsächlich wegen den vielen Zeitsprüngen zwischen den Protagonisten. Das hat mich Anfangs ein wenig irritiert und es mir schwer gemacht mich in der Geschichte zurecht zu finden. Um so mehr ich jedoch gelesen habe, desto spannender und fesselnder fand ich die Story! Am Ende war ich vollkommen gefangen von den Mythen und Legenden der Hexen, die so anders sind wie das typische narrativ a das man typischer Weise bei dem Wort “Hexe” denkt. Alles in allem ein gelungenes Buch, wobei ich manche Plot twists bereits sehr schnell erahnen konnte.