Which Witch?

With the threat of another, more powerful wizard approaching, Arriman the Awful decides to secure his lineage by holding a contest to decide which of the Todcaster witches will be his wife. There are only a handful of eligible contestants, as Arriman wants a wife who practices black magic. He finds, after his announcement, that those tend to be the dirty old crones and one young witch who fails every time she tries to do something evil, until she befriends an orphan boy. Suddenly, insignificant Belladonna can turn flowers into eyeballs.

First published in 1979, this book feels a lot like the quirkier parts of the early Harry Potter books. The creepier and more horrible the actions, the more the admiration for the character. It's fun yet show more not childish. show less

This is one of my favourite children’s books ever. Wizard Arriman the Awful needs an heir to continue all the blasting and wuthering so holds a competition to marry the witch with the blackest magic. Unfortunately for him, all the local witches are the revolting warty (incompetent) kind except for the enchantress Madame Olympia who already has the teeth of five previous husbands around her neck. Or there is the young and beautiful Belladonna, but she has no chance in the competition because her magic is white. Unless the orphan Terrence and his powerful familiar Rover (a worm) can help her win by fair means or foul.

A wonderful story with comedy, drama, romance, a kraken, an aardvark, mouse-blood poultices, necromancy, and true love.

Imagine being new parents and realizing your darling baby boy is not normal. He was actually born a wizard. George became Arriman Canker and he grew up a solitary dark magic maker. When it came time for Arriman to finally find a wife he decided to hold a contest the week of Halloween. Which witch would make the perfect mate? Only a competition could tell him the true dark witch for him. He wanted a witch who could create the most vile, the darkest, the most powerful and evil magic imaginable. Meet the witches vying for Arriman's hand in marriage:
Mabel Wrack, the sea witch. Her familiar is an octopus. Her magic for the competition was to raise the Kraken and my favorite magic of the whole lot.
Ethel Feedbag, the country witch with the show more pig as her familiar.
Nancy and Nora Shouter, twin witches with chickens. Their magic
Mother Bloodwort who occasionally turns herself into inanimate objects and then cannot remember how to change herself back.
Madame Olympia, with an aardvark as a familiar. Her magic for the competition was the most impressive. She created a Symphony of Death Performed by a Cast of Thousands.
Belladonna, a young witch with no familiar.
Needless to say, the competition does not go as planned but Arriman finds a wife and they all live happily ever after...sort of. show less

Re reading is not among my inclinations or priorities. However, I had to make an exception for Which Witch?. I read it first about 20 years ago, and I liked it so much that I didn't forget the small details for a long time. But recently I have had the urge to revisit past favorites. That's why I broke my habits and read this book again.

The author's style is ebullient and twisty. Her imagination was spot on. She knew, by instinct, what was appealing and whimsical. The book is not of the fantasy genre. The world is real. And though there are magical people in it, there are no portals to other dominions. The magical creatures and wizards and what have yous keep to themselves, mostly. They don't look for a fight, or a battlefield to settle show more grievances. There is little world building, which is what attracted me towards this delightful and slim and lean book. There is no bloating, no extra filler. It's rare to find a quick and memorable read. Which witch? is definitely a work that manages to combine these two ascriptions.

I managed to find one plot hole here, about the oldest witch being eligible for the contest. And I thought Arriman's volte face towards Sir Simon unlikely. He, who never showed signs of guile, manages to come up with a plan out of the blue. These are minor nitpicks. This is an under appreciated book, both by children and adults. Among all quick reads, this book has more substance than most. It has fallen into semi anonymity. But I have the feeling it will never go out of print, as there always will be people to pass on the fact that the book is a keeper. show less

This was such a fun book to revisit. It made me laugh all over again, and though short, it's got such rich details and frankly really impressive pacing for a book for kids. The characters are so vivid, they jump off the page. I'm not sure how much nostalgia is coloring this, but I really did have a good time, so if you need a relaxing fun read, definitely recommend this one.

To the reviewers who complain about the wishy-washyness about why the pretty white witch is good, whether dark magic is evil, whether the blackest of all the witches should win the dark magic contest, let me just say this. Real life is full of contradictions, exceptions, gray areas, and people who have trouble figuring out what they truly want. Good books reflect that. This is a good book.

The interior illustrations are much more fitting and interesting than this jacket. The yuck factor exists, but I'm sure most children age 8 up could handle it. (After all, children need a little bit of Grimm in their lives.) The ending is awesome.

I just loved one line and I want to share. Note that in this case we're talking about a non-magical person, show more so this quote applies irl, too. Happiness is almost as good as magic for altering a person's looks." (I admit, though, that I wish Ibbotson had said 'improving' for 'altering' - and I'm sure that's what she meant.)

A fun, and somewhat thought-provoking, tale for 'tweens and the young-at-heart." show less

Re-read this today on a whim because I remembered that I loved it, but I couldn't remember why. Turns out, my whim was a good thing, because I needed this sort of whimsical fun for today! Good for younger readers, but still a pleasure for adults to read as well. (And now another reason for why I've always wanted a pet bat of my very own to curl up in my nest of hair... Without the mess, of course.)