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Cailleach~Witch
A MYSTERIOUS HOUSE IN THE WEST OF IRELAND, ECCENTRIC, FORMIDABLE AUNTS. A TRAGIC LOVE STORY, A TROUBLED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TOWN AND AN ANCIENT CURSE AWAIT THE SISTERS AT THE FAMILY HOME, SLIABH EARRACH...1995, Dara Cleary and her sisters return home seeking answers or revenge for tragedies of their youth. But when they arrive at the mysterious home of the aunts they find a far larger story awaits them. They are Bean Feasa (wise women/witches) bound to the Cailleach, an ancient landscape witch. The aunts, Honor and Erin have been waiting a long time for Dara and her sisters. Their desperate hope is this generation will be the ones to free the family from the dark and troubled past that haunts them. But not everything, or everyone, at Sliabh Earrach is as it appears...
'A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF MODERN GOTHIC IRISH FANTASY.' - Author, Dr. Máire Brophy, 77th World Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention, Worldcon 2019.'A HAUNTING ATMOSPHERIC MYSTERY, IN A WILD AND VIVID IRISH SETTING.' ~ Best Selling Author, Nicola Kearns.
'A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF MODERN GOTHIC IRISH FANTASY.' - Author, Dr. Máire Brophy, 77th World Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention, Worldcon 2019.'A HAUNTING ATMOSPHERIC MYSTERY, IN A WILD AND VIVID IRISH SETTING.' ~ Best Selling Author, Nicola Kearns.
266 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 7, 2018
34 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 8, 2018
Lush and lyrical.
If you took "Chocolat", "Practical Magic", and "Like Water For Chocolate", threw them all into your cauldron and stirred them up, "Cailleach-Witch" is the delightful and mysterious brew you'd make.
That comparison aside, this story stands firmly on it's own two feet. It feels like a modern take on an ancient fairytale. Beautifully layered and evocative... fast paced and filled to the brim with characters and emotion you'll not soon forget. This is a story I'll hold in my heart for a long time.
If you took "Chocolat", "Practical Magic", and "Like Water For Chocolate", threw them all into your cauldron and stirred them up, "Cailleach-Witch" is the delightful and mysterious brew you'd make.
That comparison aside, this story stands firmly on it's own two feet. It feels like a modern take on an ancient fairytale. Beautifully layered and evocative... fast paced and filled to the brim with characters and emotion you'll not soon forget. This is a story I'll hold in my heart for a long time.
October 26, 2019
“There’s a lure to this work that goes deep in us. It’s the working of saving something from the land. And this, bagging the turf to take home, was most satisfying. A small triumph for man. Even as I watched my hands become scratched and torn I cared little, about as little as the mountain did.”
This book has a real sense of place being steeped in the Legion of the Cailleach (a Witchlike Landscape Deity) and drawing on the powers of the Bean Feasa (Wise Women/Witches). If you ever wanted to learn more about the myths and legions of the West of Ireland via fiction this book is definitely for you.
The story has obvious comparisons to Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic in that we have female witches who are principally Sisters and Aunts who are doomed in love and life until they can lift the Geis/curse set upon their family by their ancestors. The story is definitely five stars and is cleverly plotted and interwoven with hints of the truth given until it comes to its conclusion.
However, the style of writing did not suit me. There were too many changing POVs, too much time spent in overly self-aware characters heads, too much explanation of what a character was thinking and feeling and several other faults that had me seriously considering DNFing this book twice. However, I kept going and the payoff of the story arch was worth it.
I would love to see this author get a literary agent, a publishing deal and a commercial editor for this book. Somewhere underneath its roughness is a real diamond.
Recommended to fans I Irish folklore, the book and movie Practical Magic and the tv program Charmed.
This book has a real sense of place being steeped in the Legion of the Cailleach (a Witchlike Landscape Deity) and drawing on the powers of the Bean Feasa (Wise Women/Witches). If you ever wanted to learn more about the myths and legions of the West of Ireland via fiction this book is definitely for you.
The story has obvious comparisons to Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic in that we have female witches who are principally Sisters and Aunts who are doomed in love and life until they can lift the Geis/curse set upon their family by their ancestors. The story is definitely five stars and is cleverly plotted and interwoven with hints of the truth given until it comes to its conclusion.
However, the style of writing did not suit me. There were too many changing POVs, too much time spent in overly self-aware characters heads, too much explanation of what a character was thinking and feeling and several other faults that had me seriously considering DNFing this book twice. However, I kept going and the payoff of the story arch was worth it.
I would love to see this author get a literary agent, a publishing deal and a commercial editor for this book. Somewhere underneath its roughness is a real diamond.
Recommended to fans I Irish folklore, the book and movie Practical Magic and the tv program Charmed.
September 18, 2018
A wonder-full read!
From the very first page, this book caught me in its spell.
I did not want to leave the company of the Cleary women...or the Cailleach.
A hauntingly beautiful tale that expertly interweaves the mystery, the magic, and the danger of ancient Ireland's maiden/mother/crone with the tradition of the Bean Feasa, wise woman/healer/outcast/witch. It speaks to the soul of women, to our longings, our desires, our compassion, our strength, and our sense of purpose. It speaks to the heart every one of us who has ever been bullied or ridiculed for being 'different'. It re-awakens the magic that always lives in the core of our beings.
From the very first page, this book caught me in its spell.
I did not want to leave the company of the Cleary women...or the Cailleach.
A hauntingly beautiful tale that expertly interweaves the mystery, the magic, and the danger of ancient Ireland's maiden/mother/crone with the tradition of the Bean Feasa, wise woman/healer/outcast/witch. It speaks to the soul of women, to our longings, our desires, our compassion, our strength, and our sense of purpose. It speaks to the heart every one of us who has ever been bullied or ridiculed for being 'different'. It re-awakens the magic that always lives in the core of our beings.
September 25, 2018
I really loved it, the whole house could have fallen in around me and I wouldn't have noticed, I was up sliabh an iarainn watching the craic with the women, the descriptions really bring it to life, I think I'll read it again, it's such a page turner and I read it so quickly that I can't help thinking that if I read it again I'd pick up on things I hadn't noticed first time, like happens when you rewatch a great film 😀
April 6, 2019
I was so looking forward to reading this book because of the name. Given that Cailleach is the name of a character in my own book, I couldn't wait to see what the author did with this. Sadly, I couldn't finish it. I just could not get into it. Nothing grabbed me in this book and finally decided that it wasn't making enough sense to finish. I do wish someone else would read and see if they have a different impression. Just couldn't do it.
August 17, 2019
If you enjoy the whimsical, scary, suspenseful, love stories...this book is for you. I so enjoyed getting to know this family and taking the exciting journey with them. So happy to have found this wonderful author and look forward to the next journey with her!
November 12, 2022
I have to admit, at first, I found the prose strangely stilted and a little difficult to bond with. But this book definitely improves the further you read. A lover of most things witchy, I really enjoyed this and can’t wait for the sequel.
August 10, 2019
I really enjoyed reading this. It’s wonderfully atmospheric, blending myth, fantasy and the benefits and restrictions of rural life
March 17, 2019
Absolutely love this wonderful work! Fell in love with the setting&characters&story. Thank you Ms Barry!
October 25, 2018
This is the story of a family of witches who's ancestors made a deal with a spirit of the land, and who have lived with the consequences of that for generations. Okay, so that's an overly simplified version of the story, and there's a lot more to it than that, but I'd say it's better to read it yourself and build your own understanding of it. It's well worth it.
The story sets the atmosphere right from the first few lines, and then slowly builds upon it, adding little details and opening up for more questions. The characters and the town come to life, and it's not hard to believe this is how things would go down in a small Irish town.
It's not about the town though, but about the Cleary family. There are a lot of them, and early on I wasn't quite able to tell them apart, but soon enough I got to know them better, and it wasn't an issue. In the end, it's about the family as a whole, and not any one individual - although some do stand out more to me than others (looking at you Erin).
What I really liked was the atmosphere and the relaxed pace of the story. It takes its time, meanders a bit to get a different angle on something, and doesn't rush to a conclusion. It's slow, but in a pleasant and enjoyable way. There's not much action, but there's a whole lot of atmosphere, and there's a lot of room left for the imagination to wander around and poke at things in wonder.
I don't believe there will be a sequel to this particular story, but I'd be more than happy to read another one like it.
The story sets the atmosphere right from the first few lines, and then slowly builds upon it, adding little details and opening up for more questions. The characters and the town come to life, and it's not hard to believe this is how things would go down in a small Irish town.
It's not about the town though, but about the Cleary family. There are a lot of them, and early on I wasn't quite able to tell them apart, but soon enough I got to know them better, and it wasn't an issue. In the end, it's about the family as a whole, and not any one individual - although some do stand out more to me than others (looking at you Erin).
What I really liked was the atmosphere and the relaxed pace of the story. It takes its time, meanders a bit to get a different angle on something, and doesn't rush to a conclusion. It's slow, but in a pleasant and enjoyable way. There's not much action, but there's a whole lot of atmosphere, and there's a lot of room left for the imagination to wander around and poke at things in wonder.
I don't believe there will be a sequel to this particular story, but I'd be more than happy to read another one like it.
May 21, 2019
You will encounter remarkable women in this book -- women troubled by shadows and driven by the wild toward resolution and hope for their enclave. You will meet them in the kitchen, reveling in herbs and other tastes only the sensitive tongue fully appreciates.You will meet them in the woods. When you begin, if you are like me, you'll find that you may not understand what's happening in this family. Stay with your uncertainties; they are elemental to the structure of the story. The house holds its secrets close. I recommend moonlight to temper your reading and keep the Cailleach wondering where you stand. Trust the Bean Feasa more than any priesthood. Energy, above all, sustains the telling, and you will bring your own energy into the community of readers that keeps growing for Jane Barry's debut novel. "The Cailleach was a landscape figure, could the landscape ever be beaten?" You must find out, if you are a seeker. If it is a love story you want, you will find it at its truest, inescapable, at the whitethorn. Climb carefully up Sliabh Earrach, but climb with curiosity. "We haunt the edges..."
August 27, 2022
I agree with other reviews that it was a really good story. It had that feeling of the film Practical Magic in that there was a generational curse involved and women in the family being so close-knit. I loved this theme as well as the descriptions of the characters, the house and the landscape. There were some really good lines in there that resonated. The story, itself, was very hypnotic and it would be great if they made this into a film. It was helpful to have a glossary of terms and pronunciation guide at the back of the book.
The only reason I did not give it a higher score is that I found it difficult to get into the story at the beginning simply because of the writing style. It was very much done in a Conversational Style using the Irish vernacular. I needed to re-read some of the sentences after channeling my experience of speaking with Irish acquaintances. LOL.
In addition, there was also a lot of repetition throughout the book in the voice of different characters. We have seen this before with Irvine Welch's Trainspotting where the plot is spread out through shifts in point of view by implementing short stories. In this book, however, I found this method to be a little clumsy in delivery. Had it not been for the fact that I needed to read the book for a book club, I might have given up early.
The good thing was that I was on holiday and had the leisure time and motivation to get through the book.
The only reason I did not give it a higher score is that I found it difficult to get into the story at the beginning simply because of the writing style. It was very much done in a Conversational Style using the Irish vernacular. I needed to re-read some of the sentences after channeling my experience of speaking with Irish acquaintances. LOL.
In addition, there was also a lot of repetition throughout the book in the voice of different characters. We have seen this before with Irvine Welch's Trainspotting where the plot is spread out through shifts in point of view by implementing short stories. In this book, however, I found this method to be a little clumsy in delivery. Had it not been for the fact that I needed to read the book for a book club, I might have given up early.
The good thing was that I was on holiday and had the leisure time and motivation to get through the book.
November 25, 2019
multi generational tale, following family of sisters, daughters, aunts, in a remote Irish community.
covers mostly recent years, but hints at history of the family fleeing persecution and settling as resident healers, treated with some reverence, but mostly fear and discrimination by community
they provide a bridge between the modernising world and the Cailleach as a personification of the natural and supernatural worlds, beholden to a bargain struck with her.
good set of characters and interesting dramatic plot-lines,
did feel the latest generation of sisters, returned home, were not fully developed or differentiated from each other
covers mostly recent years, but hints at history of the family fleeing persecution and settling as resident healers, treated with some reverence, but mostly fear and discrimination by community
they provide a bridge between the modernising world and the Cailleach as a personification of the natural and supernatural worlds, beholden to a bargain struck with her.
good set of characters and interesting dramatic plot-lines,
did feel the latest generation of sisters, returned home, were not fully developed or differentiated from each other
August 10, 2019
A review on Jane Gilheaney Barry Cailleach ~Witch
Well I am not the best reader and I often start but never a finish a book. But Cailleach was a different story. I didn’t consider Cailleach a book I looked at it as a friend. I would rush home from work do my house work at Olympic speed so I could snuggle up with a mug of tea, Wagon Wheel Biscuits and my Friend Cailleach. I enjoyed every moment of Cailleach and I was sad to close the last page. But just like an old friend and will revisit with her soon.
Martina McTiernan
Well I am not the best reader and I often start but never a finish a book. But Cailleach was a different story. I didn’t consider Cailleach a book I looked at it as a friend. I would rush home from work do my house work at Olympic speed so I could snuggle up with a mug of tea, Wagon Wheel Biscuits and my Friend Cailleach. I enjoyed every moment of Cailleach and I was sad to close the last page. But just like an old friend and will revisit with her soon.
Martina McTiernan
September 19, 2018
A book that draws you in from the get go with modern day magic and a tale that shows the power that can be held in our own hands. Shows how we treat the people who dare to be different, and how sometimes the ones chained to the past can break free....if they really want to. So much musical myth,magic and mystery. A very powerful read.
October 14, 2018
Oh Jane! I loved it, there was such a sense of urgency, from the opening to the finish. It was dark and moody and all the things I expected it to be. I could really visualise the landscape as it seemed to be the main character of the book, the house and the sisters second. It was captivating and now that I'm finished, I might just go for a walk to shake off the mist! Well done :)
April 17, 2019
Dark and magical. I found it a little slow to get into, but once it got going, I didn't want it to end. Interesting story concept that flowed well. Looking forward to the next book!
December 22, 2021
Fun read! Sort of an Irish Practical Magic. :D
November 3, 2022
I'm not one to write reviews, but I sure wish the author would publish the next installment.
October 7, 2018
Cailleach~Witch is the first, but assured novel, by Jane Gilheany-Barry.
This is genre-bending stuff, that weaves together fantasy, fairy-tale and Gothic to deliver a fast-paced, atmospheric thriller.
As with many Irish writers (e.g. John McGahern, who incidentally comes from the same county as Jane) the sense of place and tradition is very strong. The atmosphere is broody and foreboding, while the plot moves quickly, forward and backwards through time, with many unexpected twists and turns. I was reminded more than once of Daphne du Maurier, especially Jamaica Inn: Cailleach too creates a beautiful and desolate setting for love, tragedy and maybe a new beginning.
I thoroughly enjoyed this stylish novel and I hope there is more to come from this new author!
This is genre-bending stuff, that weaves together fantasy, fairy-tale and Gothic to deliver a fast-paced, atmospheric thriller.
As with many Irish writers (e.g. John McGahern, who incidentally comes from the same county as Jane) the sense of place and tradition is very strong. The atmosphere is broody and foreboding, while the plot moves quickly, forward and backwards through time, with many unexpected twists and turns. I was reminded more than once of Daphne du Maurier, especially Jamaica Inn: Cailleach too creates a beautiful and desolate setting for love, tragedy and maybe a new beginning.
I thoroughly enjoyed this stylish novel and I hope there is more to come from this new author!
October 14, 2019
Truly wanted to write a review for quite a while now, but here it is now and sorry for the delay. So what do I say... Loved it! Enchanted by it! Held spellbound by it! Jane Gilheaney Barry captures the stories and traditions of Ireland's Cailleach with her own interpretation of the legend. Reading Jane's personal heritage, you can see within the book a legacy of story-telling and how she has inherited a wonderful gift. I strongly recommend this book, especially for those who enjoy Gaelic Mythology - Enjoy!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews