Well Witched, Frances Hardinge (365 Books, Day 294)

[rushthatspeaks]

As I have mentioned before, sometimes the universe conspires to throw things at your head. I've had recommendations from four separate people in the past few days for every single one of Frances Hardinge's four novels.

This one did not disappoint. Apparently the British title was Verdigris Deep, which I prefer, because 'witch' is not the correct word for the thing that Ryan, Chelle, and Josh encounter. They're in a situation that happened to me far too frequently as a child-- namely, they're in a part of town they're not supposed to be anywhere near, and they've missed a bus and are out of cash-- and they take some coins from the bottom of a well for fare home. What lives there isn't very happy about that. It's a wishing well, and taking the coins means taking on the responsibility of granting the wishes. Each of them gets some degree of power to assist in paying off that debt, but of course wishes are never, ever a simple thing to deal with, or an easy one.

Hardinge is both writing a very good YA horror novel here, one which is genuinely profoundly creepy, and I say this as a person who is not easily creeped out, and also gleefully jumping up and down on the tropes of a certain kind of kid's book. Most writers would play this as social comedy, with the kids having to get themselves into all kinds of awkward situations granting wishes, and in fact Diana Wynne Jones did (Wilkin's Tooth/Witch's Business, early DWJ and inconsequential but not terrible). But if there's a Diana Wynne Jones this should really be compared to, it's The Time of the Ghost; the books share a knack at depicting messy and awkward relationships and distinctly unique and threatening inchoate evil powers. Everyone in the Hardinge would love this to be a social comedy. However, it isn't, even if some of the characters want to try to play it that way, and Ryan, the protagonist, knows that from day one: we get his perspective because he sees the most clearly what's going on, not that that's difficult to do after you grow a few subsidiary eyes.

The motor of this book is the characters, who are all three-dimensional, even the adults the kids initially discount in that kids'-book-adults-aren't-important way. (And it bites everyone in the ass that that happens.) At its heart, this novel is working with complex issues about desire and choice and the fact that it's possible for relationships to be terribly unhealthy even when you're too young to be able to notice and analyze what's wrong, and it is very clear on the sheer amount of total mental overthrow it can take to produce the faintest smidgeon of hope that things might get better. It never stops moving as a story, it never becomes a book I wouldn't have gotten at the protagonist's age (eleven), it has some extremely impressive imagery, and it refuses to cheat in either overly optimistic or overly pessimistic directions.

And it never stops shredding those tropes. How much do I love a book in which a) the protagonist remembers to go to the library to try to discover what to do about The Problem, only to b) find that the copious information available boils down to 'things are actually even more fucked than you had remotely imagined possible, and no one previously has come up with a solution'? Nobody does that! It was great.

I'm looking forward to the rest of Frances Hardinge very much.

Comments

[sovay]

Apparently the British title was Verdigris Deep, which I prefer, because 'witch' is not the correct word for the thing that Ryan, Chelle, and Josh encounter.

It's also about a dozen times more evocative in all directions. Why on earth was it changed? I wouldn't remember Well Witched as a title unless I was making a point of it—it sounds like the magical social comedy this book was brutally avoiding being.

even the adults the kids initially discount in that kids'-book-adults-aren't-important way. (And it bites everyone in the ass that that happens.)

I approve of that so much.

[nipernaadiagain.livejournal.com]

... and when I opened up the database of the local libraries, what did I find? That "Verdigris Deep" is available, an only one of Hardinges books in English (there is one translation, but I find it easier to read fiction in English now. I know it is supposed to be betrayal to lose native language, that is why i only mention this to English speakers who cannot judge me for the failure, as after all it is your language taking over!)

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

The DWJ-ness is quite palpable, isn't it - and yet (I think it was fjm who told me this), she hadn't read any DWJ when she wrote this book.

I'll be very interested to see what you think of the very different, but even better (imo), Gullstruck Island aka The Lost Conspiracy.

[roselet.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Verdigris Deep. I also really liked Gullstruck Island/Lost Conspiracy, but I haven't managed to get into Fly by Night yet. I'd be interested to see what you think.

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

a) the protagonist remembers to go to the library to try to discover what to do about The Problem, only to b) find that the copious information available boils down to 'things are actually even more fucked than you had remotely imagined possible, and no one previously has come up with a solution'? Nobody does that!

That strikes me as awfully common. But maybe I'm thinking of real life.

[skygiants]

I love this book so very much. All the characters could so easily have been caricatures, is the thing, and they never are; I love, for example, what she does with Ryan's mom, the celebrity stalker with no personal boundaries who is also probably the best parent in the book, when it counts.

(I also cannot stop facepalming at how ridiculously inappropriate the US cover is, which practically has "WACKY HIJINKS LOL" written all over it in bright sparkly letters.)

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Ryan's mom is great.

I ignored the book for ages because of the cover. I think I read it on your rec, actually.

[teenybuffalo.livejournal.com]

How much do I love a book in which a) the protagonist remembers to go to the library to try to discover what to do about The Problem, only to b) find that the copious information available boils down to 'things are actually even more fucked than you had remotely imagined possible, and no one previously has come up with a solution'? Nobody does that! It was great.

I think it would be fair to say that H.P. Lovecraft does that a few times. But I never remember seeing it in YA, and it sounds great here. I'll definitely try this book. If it reminds you of Time of the Ghost, that's a draw for me too.

[ookpik.livejournal.com]

While reading this, I was thinking "gee, that sounds like something I really want to read." (In any case, since I read When You Reach Me because of your review, your recommendations get high priority.) Then I got to the end, looked at the title again, and realized I bought it last week. Despite the cover/title. (Haven't read it yet, though. Nothing but schoolwork and email.)