Title: Conjure Women

Author: Afia Atakora

Publisher: 

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Monthly Theme - June

Conjure Women is a sweeping story that brings the world of the South before and after the Civil War vividly to life. Spanning eras and generations, it tells of the lives of three unforgettable women: Miss May Belle, a wise healing woman; her precocious and observant daughter Rue, who is reluctant to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a midwife; and their master’s daughter Varina. The secrets and bonds among these women and their community come to a head at the beginning of a war and at the birth of an accursed child, who sets the townspeople alight with fear and a spreading superstition that threatens their newly won, tenuous freedom.

A very atmospheric look at three women in the mid 1800s. I was captivated by the dreamy descriptions of life in the south. May Belle and Rue were amazing and interesting women. I definitely wanted to see where their lives went. At times, the book was very difficult to read, depicting horrific situations and occurrences. Important, but definitely hard to read. Ultimately, I was bored with Varina’s story and would rather have had those sections reworked to focus on May Belle and Rue instead. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to feel about Varina. Those hesitations kept me from rating this with 5 stars.

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