Alyson Hagy

Disclaimer: this book draws from traditional folktales from Appalachia of which I have zero knowledge. Maybe I could have forgiven some of the narrative choices with this insight.

I enjoyed the general atmosphere of the book—independent witchy-ish woman living in relative seclusion who magics with the alphabet, dystopian setting with post-Civil War era vibes, decent and consistent dialect—but was put off once this turned into a surprise Romance novel. Not my jam, and it felt inconsistent with the main character’s entire attitude in the first half of the book.

Alyson Hagy does craft a pretty sentence though, and I’d be interested in giving another one of her books a go.… (more)

In this short book, an unnamed narrator makes her living in a lawless land by writing letters that serve as confessions for the people who request them. A man named Hendricks comes to her with a request for an unusual letter. The writing in Scribe is lovely, recalling the cadence of a folktale told aloud. I felt unmoored while reading it, not sure at times what was happening or why. I couldn't tell whether it was set in the future or the past or an alternate America, although it was clearly the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia. The story had the sense of a legend, with a touch of magical realism. Interesting, but not grounded in a reality I recognize.… (more)