Memoirs of a Shape-Shifter by Thomas Kaplan-Maxfield

by Thomas Kaplan-maxfield

Nikki Helmik--anger-prone, no-longer-young feminist, single mother, and erstwhile Cambridge lawyer--following her father's recent death has returned to the vacant family home in Gloucester, Massachusetts, to begin a new and quieter life. Her yellow-shingled cottage lies under the branches of mysterious Dogtown woods, once home to Druids and witches. But Nikki grows increasingly unsettled to find herself caught by the charms of the princely Philip, a married man who has recently moved back to the family estate yet who proves maddeningly elusive.Or has Nikki got it Is she in fact the fleeing one, mistaking emotion for feeling and presuming matters of romance as women's natural territory? The earth's escalating tremors soon leave her shaken to the core when she discovers the lost journal of her shape-shifting ancestor, Anne Cleves, a Druid princess and powerful magician living in Dogtown during the period of the Salem witch trials. Defending herself against her beautiful mentor's vengeance, Nikki must race against her own tangled desires and the bend of time while translating the arcane work, finally to be initiated into her own Druid nature.This women's post-millenium journey of self-discovery swoops and plunges amidst the rocky cliffs of the New England coast and in its deep forests. Nikki's story is intertwined with her foremother's riveting first-person tale, vividly presented as living history steeped exotically in Celtic lore. Kaplan-Maxfield's artful story-telling provocatively enacts the mystery at the heart of the the power of words to make magic--in the process turning our conventional understanding of power on its head.A work of fiction with Gothic undertones shifting between present-day and colonial New England, "Memoirs of a Shape-Shifter" contains within the third-person narrative of Nikki Helmik the found journal of her ancestor, Anne Cleves, written strikingly in first-person. A dramatic story of love, loss, and Druid magic, Anne’s journal strangely echoes Nikki’s own struggle to resolve the crises in her life. Haunted and inspired by her ancestor, Nikki becomes a Druid magician, resolving for herself the deadly attraction between power and love.This psychological exploration of a woman’s all-too-contemporary personal upheaval oscillates between realism and romance, contemplative drama and adventure story, replete with Druid magicians, centuries-old curses, wolves, ravens, and the mystery of a broken brooch. Down Gloucester’s narrow streets, deep into Dogtown woods,teetering on granite cliffs and plunged into stormy North Atlantic seas, the reader is drawn into a labyrinth in which the age-old war of the sexes is given a new twist.A spell-binding novel, "Memoirs of a Shape-Shifter" twists the eternal tension between love and power into a marvelous Celtic knot.Review from Kevan Manwaring, The Druid "I have enjoyed getting to grips with this Protean tale. It is worth holding onto for the truth at its heart. It is full of secret about the mysteries of men and women, how the past inhabits us, and how the land shapes us. Kaplan-Maxfield’s attempt to walk between the worlds of the Actual and Imaginary, the ancient and modern, the secular and sacred, is admirable, fascinating and rewarding. . . ."[T]his novel contains deep wisdom from a genuine tradition – enough to act as a primer for anyone interested in the Druidic Tradition – and it deserves to be acknowledged as an incredible achievement. If there had to be one great Celtic American Novel, I think this would have to be it. Kaplan-Maxfield has built a beautiful bridge between two worlds and two cultures, and any attempt at bridge-building on this fragmented planet has got to be admired. He should be proud of his effort, and if you take the effort the read this mighty tome, you will be rewarded with more than fairy gold."

Hardcover

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nikki Helmik is a woman who is used to getting whatever she wants from men. At a very young age, Nikki experienced abuse at the hands of her father and watched her mother turn from a vibrant woman into her father's slave. From then on, she vowed never to allow a man into her heart. So with the help of her mentor Rose, Nikki learned how to use men for her personal satisfaction and to increase her social standing. A series of strange events, however, would change the way Nikki viewed her mother as well as her own love and power issues.

Memoirs of a Shape-Shifter is actually three stories in one, each with a correspondingly different feel and attitude. The first story is about Nikki and takes place in the present day. This story has a slow unhurried almost Victorian feel with the every present attitude that men are just sources of wealth and status. The second story is about Nikki's mother. This account is more energetic but containing the energy of frustration, sacrifice, and trying to do the right thing despite the personal costs. The third story is about Anne Cleves, a powerful druidic ancestor of Nikki and her mother. This story is wild, dramatic, and full of action. As each story progresses, the main character of Nikki evolves and changes from a user to a woman willing to embrace her powerful legacy.