Name: White is for Witching
Rating: 3.475 (40 reviews)

Helen Oyeyemi

With distinct originality and grace, and an extraordinary gift for making the fantastic believable, Oyeyemi spins the politics of family and nation into a riveting and unforgettable tale.

White is for Witching

Haunting in every sense, White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi is a spine-tingling tribute to the power of magic, myth and memory. High on the cliffs near Dover, the Silver family is reeling from the loss of Lily, mother of twins Eliot and Miranda, and beloved wife of Luc. Miranda misses her with particular intensity. Their mazy, capricious house belonged to her mother’s ancestors, and to Miranda, newly attuned to spirits, newly hungry for chalk, it seems they have never left. Forcing apples to grow in winter, revealing and concealing secret floors, the house is fiercely possessive of young Miranda . . .

𓆩 𓆪

First of all, the transition between the narrators was hazy that I occasionally had to stop reading since it was so difficult to follow.

Second of all, the plot was vague. I almost thought this was some 'no plot, just vibe' book.

Third of all, I love the house that can speak. I love the concept that those dead women being confined within those walls. Thank you for keeping this book interesting.

All in all, it is hard to swallow but fun to decipher.

Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award One of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists From the acclaimed author of Boy, Snow, Bird There’s something strange about the Silver family house in the closed-off town of Dover, England. Grand and cavernous with hidden passages and buried secrets, it’s been home to four generations of Silver women—Anna, Jennifer, Lily, and now Miranda, who has lived in the house with her twin brother, Eliot, ever since their father converted it to a bed-and-breakfast. The Silver women have always had a strong connection, a pull over one another that reaches across time and space, and when Lily, Miranda’s mother, passes away suddenly while on a trip abroad, Miranda begins suffering strange ailments. An eating disorder starves her. She begins hearing voices. When she brings a friend home, Dover’s hostility toward outsiders physically manifests within the four walls of the Silver house, and the lives of everyone inside are irrevocably changed. At once an unforgettable mystery and a meditation on race, nationality, and family legacies, White is for Witching is a boldly original, terrifying, and elegant novel by a prodigious talent.

White Is for Witching

Clara Moore

I agree with many others here that this is a hard book to write a review for! It is in no way a traditional story. It changes POV throughout and you start to pick up on who is who but it is definitely a challenge. I like how cyclical the book was but felt that a lot of the story didn't really add to the ending. I've pondered the story for awhile and still am unsure how to feel about it! It is a good book for discussing with others as I think everyone experiences it differently.

Melanie Richards

Enjoyed Oyeyemi’s writing style and would be interested in trying out other books of hers, but this one had me so confused. I don’t think you need to spell everything out when creating a ~ creepy ~ mood, but I personally need a little more structure or detail.

Suffering an acute form of pica throughout her youth that is exacerbated by her mother's death, sixteen-year-old Miranda helps to run the family bed-and-breakfast while witnessing her community's hostilities toward outsiders, a malice that erupts in violent and destructive ways.

Pamela Forbes

Gorgeous writing and an eerie tale. It was a little much for my mindset, but an interesting read nonetheless. 

Renee Blankenship

This book was incredibly creepy and unsettling to me! Just enough "something moved out of the corner of your eye but now it's gone" to make me not want to read this before bed. I was constantly wondering what was really happening and if all the supernatural type events were a figment of the girl's imagination/sickness or really happening. The sections narrated by the house were also unnerving. This is the second book by Helen Oyeyemi that's I've read and I think she's a really excellent story teller and writer. I just wasn't expecting to be quite so unnerved by the story and especially the ending...I tried explaining the plot/outcome to my husband and couldn't do it justice.

Pia Sophia

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little disappointed here. What happened to the plot? Why is it so hard to keep track of whose POV we're experiencing the story through?

I did enjoy Helen Oyeyemi's writing style. It's original and poetic and that makes me want to give this book another chance. I will reread it one day, maybe I will have a better sense of what's going on then.

White is for Witching

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