May She Lay Us Waste

Sea-Witch #1

by Never Angeline Nørth

Sea-Witch is a genre-phobic novel-in-fragments of contemporary transsexuality that focuses on the life of a girl monster named Sara who lives inside a witch-god named Sea-Witch. Follow the occult fairytale story of how this young monster came to be, of the origins of Sea-Witch, of Sea-Witch’s god family that preceded her & of 78 men who cause pain by using their laws and cops against monsters like Sea-Witch. Also there’s lots of hot trans-on-trans sex.

Genres: Queer, Transgender, Fantasy, Fiction, LGBT, Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Never Angeline Nørth is a mixed-media, cross-genre author and artist living in Olympia, WA. She formerly wrote books under the names Moss Angel and Sara June Woods.

Reviews

[anna marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

gotta munch on this 4 a while

i think i would put some content warnings on this of like suicide, self harm, depression and trauma? but its pretty fluid and interesting and refuses to be boxed in so idk how to warn u for stuff tbh

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i wrote a review of this on the lesbrary: http://lesbrary.com/2017/05/28/anna-m...

[I. Merey · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is almost impossible to say what SEA WITCH is (both the book and the concept in the book). That's okay, it's not important for me to know who She is, I can feel it and sense it even if I can't know it--North's writing is concerned with the forms that have preoccupied us humans for all time (Who is She and how can we stay with Her? And where do we find Home?)--but instead of drawing us a clear map, North gives us sand and sea and girls and monsters and scratches and language to play with and come to our own conclusion. If you need a traditional narrative, this book may give you an ulcer, but if you come to it open, you will find that it very eerily probably resonates in YOUR reality, despite it being about a girl who lives in the body of a feminine monster called a Sea-Witch. A girl who is a monster, in a place where the 78 Men Who Cause Pain insist that if only we could eradicate all the monsters, they could all finally have all the money they ever needed, ahem, we could all be safe.

North has a massive talent for prose that is deceptively simple and playful, trapping in it all the wisdom, pain, and beauty of the world. This is a trans creation story, timeless, like all creation myths. "When nothing seems real it can help to remember there is no agreed-upon idea about what is real & what is not. What we know as reality exists only through collaboration & sharing & you are in no way required to live there." Besides the vignettes following Sara and Sea-Witch, there are a myriad other characters/selves, scribbles, photos... it's pure, sexy and somehow, both chaotic and calming.

So, so recommended, and I'm already over on the second installment~~

[Sian Lile-Pastore · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is just my kind of thing.

[cardulelia carduelis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately as Never (formerly Moss Angel, formerly Sara Woods) continues to evolve as a creator I like her work less and less. This is a me-thing, not a her-thing: as is evidenced by the copious reviews here singing her praises.

I came to her through Sara, or The Existence of Fire which is an absurdist prose-style book of poetry exploring dogs, gender, beaches, more dogs and fell in love with her work in Wolf Doctors. But since then, first with her experimental collection in Stonepoems, her patreon content, and this book I find her material less accessible. And maybe it is meant to be less accessible - more concentrated in its form and so less broadly appealing.

But enough with the vagueness, what of the book itself? It's a large, square format, well published that reads heavily like a zine. Throughout we follow the life and history of Sara née Sea Witch (or does she partake of Sea Witch, and is née really appropriate here since she chooses to be inside Sea Witch for so long). The book follows Sara residing inside and outside of Sea Witch as a self-declared monster, how she and others like her survive, and the careful watch they keep on Meteor (May She Lay Us to Waste). It's clearly an allegory for her experiences before and after acknowledging her transness and how she survived that in relation to others in her cohort. It also explores family (I think??) and the policing of women's bodies.

This is all very much up my street, so why the low rating? Well I just couldn't connect with it. The allegory was so obtuse at times I had to back over and over again and saw some disturbing experiences that Sara had been through. The other thing was that the playfulness from The Existence of Fire and Wolf Doctors was just lacking so everything became very heavy. And maybe it should be - the book deals with some very dark themes.

So, again, just not for me this time. I have a couple of Never's books left to try, but maybe I'll stop there.

Let's end with something that appeared right at the beginning of the book, but that stuck with me:

My body is not available for consumption. There might be times when I make it appear to be available for consumption & there might be times I want to be consumed, but I want to be clear about this. My body is not available.

[Saturniidead ★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Content warnings are listed at the end of my review!

To describe this book almost feels like defeating the purpose of it, which really came off as an experience to me. An intimate glimpse into a vast ecosystem of a parallel world. It’s a very magical read, so abstract yet so comforting. A world that I mourn and appreciate, question and accept. It evokes a lot of feelings through its imagery and lore in such a brief amount of time, testifying to the power of the author’s words.

Sea-Witch provides raw looks at trans life, lesbian love, fear, existence, and purpose through the most fascinating format. Pictures, scribbles, keyboard smashes, symbols, and a vast lore of witches, lava, animals, and 78 men who cause pain. Our narrator Sarah guides us through the cast of characters and universe by recounting her life experience and reading The Book of Meteor. It’s a refreshing dive into a new world that’s described best by its own words.

Summary:
Readability: ★★★★☆, Overall the author’s style was very easy to consume, the heavy visuals and short page count really enhancing this. The only reason I take off a star is because the abstractness can be thwarting to some, but personally I think it’s an important part of the experience. It’s a quick and entrancing read.

Entertainment: ★★★★★, There’s so many aspects to explore, between emotional stories of creation to sexting gods through prayer. You truly get a bit of everything, really leaving you thinking and ready to reread.

Audience: Anyone into less traditional reads, as the “genre-phobic” description truly rings true, with added fantasy elements. I recommend it!

Content warning: death, drinking, genitalia, religion, sex, smoking, starvation, suicide

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful surrealist little book. In many ways it feels like a zine: very personal, with a playful and expressive layout. It's a story about being trans, but told in a wildly poetic and sometimes brutal manner.

Also, hot trans-on-trans sex. (To quote one of the blurbs.)

[Sasha Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was unorthodox and confusing in the most beautiful way i could imagine. it may take me another read or two to completely understand it but it was intense. it was a lot. it was absolutely everything.

(100% read the 'cast of characters' and you'll understand a little better)

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It is epic mythmaking and does very cool things with mixing up people and gods and landscapes.

[Thomas Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small and strange and exciting work, heavily illustrated, and the first of a trilogy. This is a bizarre and intense transgender creation myth, where emotions are powerful and real but bodies and sexuality are complicated and sometimes abstracted almost to the point of unrecogniseability. It's an explicit and wild story of self-becoming and I want to read the other two instalments very soon.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most moving books I have every read. I can't describe this book, it must be read to be understood.

She gets cold like all living things

[Liz Yerby · Rating 5 out of 5]

so much is happening and its hard to piece together but it feels very true

[pGoos]

msluw