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Kissing the Witch
240 pages
A hypnotic, subversive unspooling of familiar folklore that centers female desire and queer awakening.
What it feels like
Reading this collection feels like sitting in a shadowy, velvet-draped room while a trusted confidante whispers secrets that unravel everything you thought you knew about the world. The pace is steady and hypnotic, mimicking the rhythmic cadence of oral storytelling but infused with a lush, sensual intimacy. It casts a dreamy, enchanting spell, wrapping the reader in an atmosphere that is both comfortably familiar and thrillingly subversive. The prose is luminous and poetic, stripping away the patriarchal constraints of classic folklore to reveal the raw, beating heart of female agency and queer desire underneath. It is a deeply satisfying experience for anyone who loves to see old, dusty narratives cracked open and radiantly transformed by women choosing their own paths.
- Mood
- dreamy
- sensual
- shadowy
- enchanting
- Tone
- intimate
- subversive
- lyrical
- reflective
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- queer awakening · female agency · reclaiming power · subverting tradition · transformative desire
- The writing
- The prose mimics the rhythmic, hypnotic cadence of oral storytelling while infusing it with lush, sensory details.
- The arc
- The journey moves from the confines of familiar, restrictive narratives into the liberating, sometimes frightening expanse of self-discovery and chosen paths.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave feminist, queer reimaginings of classic folklore told with poetic grace and quiet rebellion.
Content notes
- mild sexual content
- themes of confinement
- familial betrayal
About the book
A collection of thirteen interconnected stories that give old fairy tales a new twist.
Acclaimed Irish author Emma Donoghue reveals heroines young and old in unexpected alliances--sometimes treacherous, sometimes erotic, but always courageous. Told with luminous voices that shimmer with sensuality and truth, these age-old characters shed their antiquated cloaks to travel a seductive new landscape, radiantly transformed.Cinderella forsakes the handsome prince and runs off with the fairy godmother; Beauty discovers the Beast behind the mask is not so very different from the face she sees in the mirror; Snow White is awakened from slumber by the bittersweet fruit of an unnamed desire. Acclaimed writer Emma Donoghue spins new tales out of old in a magical web of thirteen interconnected stories about power and transformation and choosing one's own path in the world. In these fairy tales, women young and old tell their own stories of love and hate, honor and revenge, passion and deception. Using the intricate patterns and oral rhythms of traditional fairy tales, Emma Donoghue wraps age-old characters in a dazzling new skin.
Description from Open Library.
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