Reviews

Conjure Women by Afia Atakora

erikajoy's review

dark emotional slow-paced

2.5

birdabouttown's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.0

Jumping back and forth in time between shortly before civil war/after civil war. Healing women at a plantation. Hoodoo/curses. A story that will stay with me for a long time

mhought's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

mozbolt's review against another edition

5.0

This book was absolutely beautiful and an honor to read. Full of magical realism, it depicts the twisted trauma and secrets of a southern household of white masters and black slaves, opening up dialogue about the torturous treatment of black men, women, and children. Conjure Women also taught me a great deal about the types of healing magic used by black women to heal, protect, and sustain power and autonomy. The focus on pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and dead and living babies was difficult, but important in the context of the timeframe and society. I love and respect this book greatly and I hope to read more works by Afia Atakora in the future.

andromedafalls's review against another edition

This is not from lack of quality as it is exceptionally written: I am just not in a headspace to finish it. Would still recommend, and I definitely plan on circling back to the audio since the narrator is fantastic

hollalorenz's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

talia012's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 stars, rounded up. This is a hard book to review. The writing was breathtaking, the worldbuilding impressive, and the characters rich and flawed and powerful. But with some uneven pacing and a much stronger first half than second, the overall plot arc didn't really come together (for me anyway).

*** All of the content warnings you could imagine

jays_good_soup's review against another edition

3.5

Very well written, but very confusing how the dates were interchangeable.

cooperca's review against another edition

3.0

I needed to wait a couple days to post this review as I wanted to see if thinking back on the story as a whole, if I would view the novel differently. Sometimes you’re in the middle of a story and don’t realize the impact it had until a day or so later when your mind can marinate the individual actions and how they all played a role into the climax of the story.

The book is beautifully written and Ms. Atakora’s research of the underlying material is brought to life in such vivid detail. I could see the plantation, the people, the land. I understood the superstition and distrust and fear and love this community felt. She creates such an interesting world (the precipice between “slaverytime” and “freedomtime”) and the people who inhabit it that, for me, is let down by a story that is rather forgettable. The lack of tension and the slow pace, at times reading it felt more like a chore than a pleasure.

Sadly, my feelings for the book didn’t change. The storyline with Varina was a letdown and the ending too vague for my taste.

wiestli's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0