Ami McKay

What an excellent book—a huge shoutout to the power of women over misogyny early last century, mostly set in Canada but a few important moments in Boston. The main character was raised to be a midwife. When a male doctor comes to town, he insists the old ways are dangerous and his newfangled ways (including forceps) are safer. There is so much to unpack about this book a short review cannot do it justice. In general, it speaks to the power of women in the face of a culture that deems men show more smarter, stronger, saner, safer, etc. And it does it, for the most part, in a beautiful and subtle way. The book is set during World War I and the Spanish flu. The author doesn’t miss a beat with current events in Canada and Boston at the time. Easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. show less

Here's my thing about magic in fiction: I am not a fan of explicit magic use. I prefer things to be subtle -- the glimpse movement caught out of the corner of your eye that could be a ghost or could be just a drafty house.

So this book -- had it been about three women reading body language, selling tea, using ouija boards... Had the paranormal aspect been more understated and left to the imagination... This would have been my favourite book ever.

But the magic, the spirits, they're undeniably show more there, so this book turned out to be not exactly up my alley.

However, it's a testament to Ami McKay's amazing writing that I still found this book enthralling. Really, I loved it -- the characters, the word choice, the descriptions, the examination of how women were treated. Ami McKay is always a delight to read.

So, I'll say this. If you love literary fiction AND ghosts, absolutely pick this up. And if you're kind of dubious about the paranormal element... hey, give it a shot anyway. It might surprise you like it did me. show less

The Gilded Age was a fascinating time in history, on the cusp of so much discovery and invention and a whole new way of life (sometimes positive, sometimes negative). Witches have traditionally been women who have had a power and a knowledge that wasn't supposed to be available to them. Society, when not punishing them to death, often shunned them, except for those furtive moments that they needed these wise women's counsel or skills, herbal and otherwise. Combine the Gilded Age in New York show more with witches and you have the potential for an amazing novel, which is exactly what Ami McKay's The Witches of New York is.

Eleanor St. Clair and Adelaide Thom run an apothecary/tea shop in New York called Tea and Sympathy. They are both witches. Seventeen year old Beatrice Dunn is looking for an escape from her boring life when she sees an advertisement looking for a shopgirl for the aforementioned store with the intriguing caveat that "those averse to magic need not apply." Beatrice is a witch too, although she doesn't know it yet. What she does know is that this job is meant for her so she heads to New York City at the same time that Cleopatra's Needle is making its way down the rail line. Tea and Sympathy is a cozy and appealing place but also quietly subversive, a place where women are on the verge of being able to show their power, to claim suffrage, to wear less restrictive clothing, and to manifest their own autonomy among other things. Because it is this, it is also the target of hatred, especially in the character of a local reverend intent on stamping out his perception of "evil" even as he brings evil with him.

The story is a charming mix of history and magic. It believes in communing with the dead, ghosts and spiritualism, potions and palmistry. In other words, it captures beautifully the spirit and atmosphere of the Gilded Age. Eleanor, Adelaide, and Beatrice are intriguing characters and Perdu the raven, who is something more than a raven is a marvelous touch. The plot is mesmerizing and the tension rises apace, taking this from a quaint, witchy tale to a desperate howl against the patriarchy. It's an engrossing story of the power of friendship and of a modernizing world that has to make room for powerful women in a whole new way. My book club was divided on it but I thoroughly enjoyed it. show less

I DNFed this after sitting on it roughly 50% finished for a long while. I just didn’t want to dive back in. As compelling and interesting as parts of the book are, there’s also a lot of suffering for the women in the story and more ahead as I’ve been told by some friends I trust. I just don’t want to read about women suffering and being abused. I hear about that enough as it is, so I’m letting this one go. I love stories about strong and powerful women but I hate that so often show more it’s attached to horrors and abuse.

This is a trend I’d like to leave behind. I wish more authors would try to find other ways to make compelling stories about women. show less