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Les soeurs de Blackwater
Sorcière pour les uns, sainte pour les autres, elle seule sait encore lire, écrire, fabriquer de l’encre et du papier, et on vient de loin pour obtenir d’elle une lettre. Dans une Amérique balayée par d’étranges fièvres, des hordes de mercenaires et les Indésirables, elle a su garder sa ferme, fidèle à la mémoire de sa sœur. Mais l’arrivée de Mr Hendricks met fin à ce fragile équilibre. Son étrange magnétisme libère en elle tous les fantômes, l’entraînant dans un voyage bien au-delà de la rivière de Blackwater, sur les terres du tout-puissant Billy Kingery…
Les Sœurs de Blackwater est une ode magistrale et envoûtante au pouvoir des mots – seule arme et seul remède dans le monde dystopique d’Alyson Hagy.
Les Sœurs de Blackwater est une ode magistrale et envoûtante au pouvoir des mots – seule arme et seul remède dans le monde dystopique d’Alyson Hagy.
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 2, 2018
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3407 people want to read
About the author
Alyson Hagy
11 books107 followersAlyson Hagy, a novelist and short story writer, was raised on a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and now lives and teaches in Laramie, Wyoming.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 297 reviews
December 13, 2018
SCRIBE is one of those rare novels that perfectly blends the heartwarming with the heartbreaking, the desolate with the dignified, and the bleak with the beautiful. An elegiac story set in a dystopian world of post-war bartering and basic survival, this novel serves as much more than just a warning of what might one day be—it's also an intricate character study into the unnamed main character and her reconciliation with grief, determination, and the value of art in a world that seemingly has little need for such a thing.
Combining the stark, haunting prose of Cormac McCarthy and the multi-layered southern gothic flavor of Faulkner, Hagy has written a tale much unlike her other works. With elements of magical realism providing a textured contrast to the gray world of SCRIBE, Hagy breaks through and asserts the story as her own. SCRIBE is an onion, with each new page peeling off a paper-thin layer of skin, slowly unveiling a gorgeous, devastating masterpiece that I will not soon forget.
Combining the stark, haunting prose of Cormac McCarthy and the multi-layered southern gothic flavor of Faulkner, Hagy has written a tale much unlike her other works. With elements of magical realism providing a textured contrast to the gray world of SCRIBE, Hagy breaks through and asserts the story as her own. SCRIBE is an onion, with each new page peeling off a paper-thin layer of skin, slowly unveiling a gorgeous, devastating masterpiece that I will not soon forget.
February 25, 2023
My recent reads have been speaking to each other. Like Cassandra at the Wedding, this story has two sisters at its core: one who wants them to stick together; the other who feels a desperate need to separate. Like The Hearing Trumpet, it’s a wild story, full of mythmaking. Like Thunder From a Clear Blue Sky, the setting is ambiguous.
The time could be shortly after the American Civil War, or it could be the future after another Civil War. I’m leaning toward the latter, though I have no factual basis for doing so. Hagy is either capturing and expanding on known history, the brutal reality of what might’ve happened in rural communities post-war; or she’s prescient — the book was published in 2018 — and she’s predicting a brutal outcome for a divided nation dealing with the aftermath of epidemics sweeping through the population and with the squatting of so-called refugees, the “uninvited,” who have nowhere else to live in a barter economy.
The main character is a letter-writer, trading her service for food and firewood. Her sister has died before the start of the book, the how and why of it gradually revealed. Increasingly, a sort of magical realism emerges, along with the coming-to-life of tall tales and folklore, all in the service of meaning, and catharsis.
Thanks to Tara for bringing this thought-provoking novel to my attention.
The time could be shortly after the American Civil War, or it could be the future after another Civil War. I’m leaning toward the latter, though I have no factual basis for doing so. Hagy is either capturing and expanding on known history, the brutal reality of what might’ve happened in rural communities post-war; or she’s prescient — the book was published in 2018 — and she’s predicting a brutal outcome for a divided nation dealing with the aftermath of epidemics sweeping through the population and with the squatting of so-called refugees, the “uninvited,” who have nowhere else to live in a barter economy.
The main character is a letter-writer, trading her service for food and firewood. Her sister has died before the start of the book, the how and why of it gradually revealed. Increasingly, a sort of magical realism emerges, along with the coming-to-life of tall tales and folklore, all in the service of meaning, and catharsis.
Thanks to Tara for bringing this thought-provoking novel to my attention.
December 10, 2018
A brutal civil war has ravaged the country, and contagious fevers have decimated the population. Abandoned farmhouses litter the isolated mountain valleys and shady hollows. The economy has been reduced to barter and trade.
In this craggy, unwelcoming world, the central character of Scribe ekes out a lonely living on the family farmstead where she was raised and where her sister met an untimely end. She lets a migrant group known as the Uninvited set up temporary camps on her land, and maintains an uneasy peace with her cagey neighbors and the local enforcer. She has learned how to make paper and ink, and she has become known for her letter-writing skills, which she exchanges for tobacco, firewood, and other scarce resources. An unusual request for a letter from a man with hidden motivations unleashes the ghosts of her troubled past and sets off a series of increasingly calamitous events that culminate in a harrowing journey to a crossroads.
In this craggy, unwelcoming world, the central character of Scribe ekes out a lonely living on the family farmstead where she was raised and where her sister met an untimely end. She lets a migrant group known as the Uninvited set up temporary camps on her land, and maintains an uneasy peace with her cagey neighbors and the local enforcer. She has learned how to make paper and ink, and she has become known for her letter-writing skills, which she exchanges for tobacco, firewood, and other scarce resources. An unusual request for a letter from a man with hidden motivations unleashes the ghosts of her troubled past and sets off a series of increasingly calamitous events that culminate in a harrowing journey to a crossroads.
October 25, 2018
The novel tries to explore many themes from paranormal, to spiritual, to personal, and as a result no clear themes emerge. Throughout the story pacing continually shifts from a consistent strong pace to dragging through other moments. It stops readers from developing a rhythm for the novel and destroys the immersion of the piece. The characters seem to change motivations and desires at a whim, leaving no real stakes in their actions. Each step taken by the characters in the book seems to simply be the next step taken with no real justification for the actions take.
Overall, I felt like I needed to figure out what the author was trying to say instead of being able to read and experience the world created by Hagy. The lack of contextualization for the world described in scribe removes any feeling of stake in the experience, and the poorly defined setting maintains the clouds in readers imaginations holding back any chance to truly get lost in the novel.
Overall, I felt like I needed to figure out what the author was trying to say instead of being able to read and experience the world created by Hagy. The lack of contextualization for the world described in scribe removes any feeling of stake in the experience, and the poorly defined setting maintains the clouds in readers imaginations holding back any chance to truly get lost in the novel.
September 26, 2018
"What a stout and foolish mansion is the human heart." *
The country has been ravaged by a contagious fever that has dramatically reduced the population. Government still exists but does not interfere with the uneasy alliances created in the hollows of Appalachia where a man named Billy Kingery is the eyes, ears, and law.
The mysterious and unnamed main character of Scribe makes a living on her family's homestead growing food for herself and as payment to Kingery and his bargain men, who in turn let her make paper and ink so that she may write letters for people in exchange for scarce resources.
Folks think she has the power to absolve them of their sins and guilty conscience by writing it all down on the page to either deliver or burn afterward, though she's quick to say that the words magic and power are nonsense as far as her abilities are concerned.
She comes from a line of healers: her father and sister both studied in medicine and mercy but she claims she didn't receive that gift, only the ability to write letters for those in need of mercy.
The sudden appearance of a man named Hendricks sets in motion a series of events that will threaten the alliances she has in her community and bring back memories of the past she has tried to forget.
Hendricks has requested a letter, but in this dystopian Appalachian world, our unnamed main character is wary of his motives.
"What he wanted was the hardest thing. He wanted a letter in the declarative style, and he wanted to be with her--at least on the grounds of her property--while she wrote it. Then he wanted what they rarely requested anymore: he wanted her to memorize the letter before the pair of them destroyed it forever. He would cut and stack the wood before she began writing, if that was what she required. And he would camp by the creek, eating his own dried fruit and meat. He wouldn't impose on her. But he also wanted her to carry the letter to its destination. He wanted her to speak its words aloud in the presence of the person who needed to hear them most. He described the place she would have to go, where the letter would become his painful request for forgiveness. He had a name. It was a crossroads far away." *
They make an agreement: if Hendricks can deliver the skin of a mountain cat to her, she'll write and deliver the letter to the crossroads.
Making good on his end of the deal, Hendricks hunts and kills a cat but brings the attention of some local boys to the homestead that leads to a disastrous turn of events.
The main character doesn't know what she'll return home to but she must make good on her end of the deal to deliver the letter, following the rules by asking Billy Kingery for passage to the crossroads.
Anything requested from Kingery comes with a high price and he's already hungry for revenge against the family of our main character (the history of which we learn in the novel). He grants her two days passage ...but only once she's sat down for a questionable meal he's prepared.
"She had protected herself by bartering the only gift she had, the ability to write letters on behalf of the guilty and possessed. And, still, blood had come. It had spilled itself on her and within her house, flowing and marking, flowing and staining. Blood led to vengeance, and vengeance, as she knew all too well, was impossible to manage." *
Scribe is a powerful novel drawing on the culture of Appalachia to explain the power of storytelling and create a believable dystopian society plagued by modern day threats of pandemic disease, government crisis, and economic collapse.
At the heart of this story is a woman who will do what she has to in order to keep her word and will discover that her unusual gift is a power that is capable of healing after all.
Lyrically written with inspiration from traditional Southern folklore, Hagy has created a strong cast of characters within a rapid paced tale of power and redemption that burns with a quiet intensity.
Many thanks to Graywolf Press for sending me an ARC for review. Scribe is scheduled for release on October 2, 2018.
*The quotes included are from an advance readers copy and are subject to change upon final publication.
For more full reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
The country has been ravaged by a contagious fever that has dramatically reduced the population. Government still exists but does not interfere with the uneasy alliances created in the hollows of Appalachia where a man named Billy Kingery is the eyes, ears, and law.
The mysterious and unnamed main character of Scribe makes a living on her family's homestead growing food for herself and as payment to Kingery and his bargain men, who in turn let her make paper and ink so that she may write letters for people in exchange for scarce resources.
Folks think she has the power to absolve them of their sins and guilty conscience by writing it all down on the page to either deliver or burn afterward, though she's quick to say that the words magic and power are nonsense as far as her abilities are concerned.
She comes from a line of healers: her father and sister both studied in medicine and mercy but she claims she didn't receive that gift, only the ability to write letters for those in need of mercy.
The sudden appearance of a man named Hendricks sets in motion a series of events that will threaten the alliances she has in her community and bring back memories of the past she has tried to forget.
Hendricks has requested a letter, but in this dystopian Appalachian world, our unnamed main character is wary of his motives.
"What he wanted was the hardest thing. He wanted a letter in the declarative style, and he wanted to be with her--at least on the grounds of her property--while she wrote it. Then he wanted what they rarely requested anymore: he wanted her to memorize the letter before the pair of them destroyed it forever. He would cut and stack the wood before she began writing, if that was what she required. And he would camp by the creek, eating his own dried fruit and meat. He wouldn't impose on her. But he also wanted her to carry the letter to its destination. He wanted her to speak its words aloud in the presence of the person who needed to hear them most. He described the place she would have to go, where the letter would become his painful request for forgiveness. He had a name. It was a crossroads far away." *
They make an agreement: if Hendricks can deliver the skin of a mountain cat to her, she'll write and deliver the letter to the crossroads.
Making good on his end of the deal, Hendricks hunts and kills a cat but brings the attention of some local boys to the homestead that leads to a disastrous turn of events.
The main character doesn't know what she'll return home to but she must make good on her end of the deal to deliver the letter, following the rules by asking Billy Kingery for passage to the crossroads.
Anything requested from Kingery comes with a high price and he's already hungry for revenge against the family of our main character (the history of which we learn in the novel). He grants her two days passage ...but only once she's sat down for a questionable meal he's prepared.
"She had protected herself by bartering the only gift she had, the ability to write letters on behalf of the guilty and possessed. And, still, blood had come. It had spilled itself on her and within her house, flowing and marking, flowing and staining. Blood led to vengeance, and vengeance, as she knew all too well, was impossible to manage." *
Scribe is a powerful novel drawing on the culture of Appalachia to explain the power of storytelling and create a believable dystopian society plagued by modern day threats of pandemic disease, government crisis, and economic collapse.
At the heart of this story is a woman who will do what she has to in order to keep her word and will discover that her unusual gift is a power that is capable of healing after all.
Lyrically written with inspiration from traditional Southern folklore, Hagy has created a strong cast of characters within a rapid paced tale of power and redemption that burns with a quiet intensity.
Many thanks to Graywolf Press for sending me an ARC for review. Scribe is scheduled for release on October 2, 2018.
*The quotes included are from an advance readers copy and are subject to change upon final publication.
For more full reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
October 25, 2018
Reasons to grab Scribe
You love folklore, particularly southern. You easily slip into stories surrounding the culture of those in the Appalachian Hills.
Hagy’s story is lyrical, with magical realism and hints of things otherworldly. We find ourselves in a dystopian world as we are introduced to a woman, who has carved out a spot in this gritty world. She is both respected and feared by locals who aren’t happy that she allows a migrant group known as the Unwanted to squat on her land.
We never learn our protagonist name, but we learn about her life, and her homestead. She lives alone on her family’s farm. Here she farms the land giving a share to the local enforcer/law/bully Billy Kingery. We learn the government still exists, but in the Appalachian hollows, Billy is king.
She has developed skills that makes her revered. She makes paper and writes letters. People far and wide believe these letters cleanse their sins. Despite her protests, strangers come willing to trade precious supplies like tobacco and services. I found this barter economy interests and cannot help but ponder such a world, and my place in it.
A stranger named Jack Hendricks appears wanting to barter tobacco and wood for a letter. The woman is skeptical of this man, and concerned that he wants her to deliver the letter to a crossroads. The two strike a bargain and Hagy’s tale quickly pulled me in sharing glimpses of their pasts and building to an ending that still has me reflecting on it.
A series of events brings this woman to a crossroads.
The story is thought-provoking and touches on relevant issues and provides a realistic dystopian world. However, it is the woman and the man’s story that pulled me in. The woman’s history, sister and survival were intriguing and unimaginable. The man set out to do one thing and finds so much more. Through them the author raises questions, suggests what ifs and allows the reader to ponder each outcome.
It’s about our ability to create change and the small ripple it creates.
Narrated by Shannon McManus, the story worked well on audio. I thought McManus did a wonderful job with voices and capturing the tone and otherworldly elements of the story. She is a narrator I will listen to again.
This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
You love folklore, particularly southern. You easily slip into stories surrounding the culture of those in the Appalachian Hills.
Hagy’s story is lyrical, with magical realism and hints of things otherworldly. We find ourselves in a dystopian world as we are introduced to a woman, who has carved out a spot in this gritty world. She is both respected and feared by locals who aren’t happy that she allows a migrant group known as the Unwanted to squat on her land.
We never learn our protagonist name, but we learn about her life, and her homestead. She lives alone on her family’s farm. Here she farms the land giving a share to the local enforcer/law/bully Billy Kingery. We learn the government still exists, but in the Appalachian hollows, Billy is king.
She has developed skills that makes her revered. She makes paper and writes letters. People far and wide believe these letters cleanse their sins. Despite her protests, strangers come willing to trade precious supplies like tobacco and services. I found this barter economy interests and cannot help but ponder such a world, and my place in it.
A stranger named Jack Hendricks appears wanting to barter tobacco and wood for a letter. The woman is skeptical of this man, and concerned that he wants her to deliver the letter to a crossroads. The two strike a bargain and Hagy’s tale quickly pulled me in sharing glimpses of their pasts and building to an ending that still has me reflecting on it.
A series of events brings this woman to a crossroads.
The story is thought-provoking and touches on relevant issues and provides a realistic dystopian world. However, it is the woman and the man’s story that pulled me in. The woman’s history, sister and survival were intriguing and unimaginable. The man set out to do one thing and finds so much more. Through them the author raises questions, suggests what ifs and allows the reader to ponder each outcome.
It’s about our ability to create change and the small ripple it creates.
Narrated by Shannon McManus, the story worked well on audio. I thought McManus did a wonderful job with voices and capturing the tone and otherworldly elements of the story. She is a narrator I will listen to again.
This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
April 26, 2019
Well written, quick-moving, and flawed. Read this moody, atmospheric novella if you like
🔹Blue Ridge Mountains-based yarns about flawed-but-mostly-decent nobodies vs. evil boss men
🔹Tales about letter-writing, book-reading healer-women
🔹Tales with a sister's ghost lurking
🔹Tales where the plot zips along but the characters are left eh, pretty much undeveloped
🔹Tales with a bit of romance
🔹Blue Ridge Mountains-based yarns about flawed-but-mostly-decent nobodies vs. evil boss men
🔹Tales about letter-writing, book-reading healer-women
🔹Tales with a sister's ghost lurking
🔹Tales where the plot zips along but the characters are left eh, pretty much undeveloped
🔹Tales with a bit of romance
February 13, 2019
"Time had orphaned her." I'm not quite sure what my thoughts are on this brief novel. It changed throughout the reading. One thing that drove me crazy (and which was probably intentional on the part of the author) was not being able to fix this story into any place in time, past, present, or future. "A brutal civil war has savaged the country," yet we don't know which civil war. Most of the time it seems to be the American Civil War between the North and South in the 1800s. Yet...Hagy doesn't settle fully into this time period either. So, is it the future? If so, why are people living like they did in the past? Is this a warning to us in the present?
I'm afraid this question, which might say more about my personality than the book, drove me a bit bonkers while I read. Still, I love the creepy, haunted feeling that still lingers. I love the use of folklore and Hagy's experimental format and prose, which is as dark and dirty and eloquent as the story. It's about the power of story, of confession, of love, and redemption. Don't read if you like Hollywood endings. Read if you want to be challenged and are OK feeling off kilter and reading original prose. And I confess, if she wrote a sequel, I'd read it.
I'm afraid this question, which might say more about my personality than the book, drove me a bit bonkers while I read. Still, I love the creepy, haunted feeling that still lingers. I love the use of folklore and Hagy's experimental format and prose, which is as dark and dirty and eloquent as the story. It's about the power of story, of confession, of love, and redemption. Don't read if you like Hollywood endings. Read if you want to be challenged and are OK feeling off kilter and reading original prose. And I confess, if she wrote a sequel, I'd read it.
July 15, 2018
This was my first time reading Alyson Hagy, and when I spotted this at Book Expo, I knew nothing about her writing. As a fan of fabulous feminist dystopian fiction, I figured I'd like it. After the first page, I knew I would love this book because of the language. I didn't know I would be so compelled to keep reading just to find out what happens. So MUCH happens for such a short book! There was one moment that left me slightly breathless, where the lyricism combines with the story to create a not unexpected but somehow still startling climax. The beauty of Hagy's writing kept me turning back to re-read sentences, passages, and even whole pages. I was still easily able to finish it in one sitting. This one will stay with me and I imagine I will be checking out this author's other works very soon. Reminded me of Margaret Atwood (especially Oryx and Crake) and Cormac McCarthy.
November 24, 2018
Such an odd, but well written little book
January 3, 2019
I purchased this book because the BBC said it was one of the best books of 2018. Either 2018 was a poor year for books, or the BBC should stay out of the book reviewing business.
The story is supposedly set in Appalachia after a future American civil war. Frankly, the events could be set in rural Appalachia during any point in the country's history. Allow me to summarize: a couple of educated people, feuding families made up of sly but thick witted nimrods, a strongman who sets the rules and breaks them, and a woman who attempts to remain separate from the whole. The ending: everyone is broken, dead, or both.
My only praise for the book is for the book's length. At 160 pages, I am irritated that my time was wasted, but the author was not prolix in her pedestrian, sagging story. So, the book ends relatively quickly, which is a mercy to everyone involved.
The story is supposedly set in Appalachia after a future American civil war. Frankly, the events could be set in rural Appalachia during any point in the country's history. Allow me to summarize: a couple of educated people, feuding families made up of sly but thick witted nimrods, a strongman who sets the rules and breaks them, and a woman who attempts to remain separate from the whole. The ending: everyone is broken, dead, or both.
My only praise for the book is for the book's length. At 160 pages, I am irritated that my time was wasted, but the author was not prolix in her pedestrian, sagging story. So, the book ends relatively quickly, which is a mercy to everyone involved.
October 20, 2018
Not sure what I just read
December 7, 2018
A lone woman lives in the brick house on the hill. On one hand, there is a camp of Uninvited, and on the other, there is a family of impulsive, aggressive people. One day, there is a letter to write, and the man that comes with it…
The writing is gorgeous and evocative, the atmosphere gripping. The story itself is mysterious and interesting, and makes you want to unveil its secrets.
Alas, I would've liked more details about the world, as it feels empty, and the characters are mere suggestions. The events are described in such vague terms that I came at conclusion that too much uncertainty makes me care less about the story.
The writing is gorgeous and evocative, the atmosphere gripping. The story itself is mysterious and interesting, and makes you want to unveil its secrets.
Alas, I would've liked more details about the world, as it feels empty, and the characters are mere suggestions. The events are described in such vague terms that I came at conclusion that too much uncertainty makes me care less about the story.
December 4, 2019
My favorite kind of book - a small press gem that does so much in so few pages. I went into it expecting a dystopian story set in some version of the future, but Hagy doesn't make it that easy. Wipe any thoughts of The Hunger Games or Station Eleven from your mind. Instead, think more of True Grit or Winter's Bone, with a tough female protagonist facing off against a hostile environment and untrustworthy characters. But unlike those two books, this protagonist is an unnamed middle-aged woman with a complex past that gradually unspools through the course of the story.
This book could take place in the future, or in the past - it's never quite clear, nor is the relationship between reality, dreams and ghosts always clear. What is always clear is the writing - clean, crisp and spare. The characters speak plainly (I said a lot of things. Some is truer than others.), although when a character's words are put to paper, they take on the formal cadence of the King James bible, just as they do in westerns (I have been made fat from the labors of others, from the kindnesses and charities of those who meant me no harm. I have often meant harm. I am carved from the rock of it.). The omniscient narrator is also spare with words, but finds poetry in special moments. Speaking of the sound of a boy playing a trumpet: His summoning tones seemed to resonate everywhere, spreading outward from where she lay until the very rim of twilight became pure, harmonious quiver.
This book could take place in the future, or in the past - it's never quite clear, nor is the relationship between reality, dreams and ghosts always clear. What is always clear is the writing - clean, crisp and spare. The characters speak plainly (I said a lot of things. Some is truer than others.), although when a character's words are put to paper, they take on the formal cadence of the King James bible, just as they do in westerns (I have been made fat from the labors of others, from the kindnesses and charities of those who meant me no harm. I have often meant harm. I am carved from the rock of it.). The omniscient narrator is also spare with words, but finds poetry in special moments. Speaking of the sound of a boy playing a trumpet: His summoning tones seemed to resonate everywhere, spreading outward from where she lay until the very rim of twilight became pure, harmonious quiver.
December 16, 2018
This book was weird. I thought I liked the direction it was going at first but then things took a weird turn and everything just kinda ended. There are supernatural aspects of this book, but I didn't really understand them, maybe thats why it felt like it went very off the rails at some point. I also never understood the main character, she didn't have much depth to her. The backstory of her and her sister was interesting, but that was about it. Not recommened.
January 9, 2019
4.5
road warrior by way of appalachia, but elevated to art.
road warrior by way of appalachia, but elevated to art.
November 25, 2018
This is a book like no other. It read like a fever dream—as stunningly beautiful as it is brutal.
November 19, 2018
A civil war followed by a fever pandemic has left a decimated and impoverished population. Set in the Appalachian mountains this post apocalyptic novel is narrated by the unnamed main character known as the Scribe. She has survived by learning to make papers and her letter writing skills, but theses are no simple letter she writes, her letters "can write out a man's pain and ease it from his heart forever", though she is no kindhearted soul she is wonderful complex and complicated.
Despite the fact that the ability to write protects the Scribe, the power is in the oral storytelling here and takes on a mystical religious power, her home the confessional, the telling of sins that she washes/writes away and the barter fulfilling the act of penance. The novel takes us further into the religious realm with her pilgrimage to a cross roads, that place between worlds, where she recites a letter into the past to change the future.
Despite the fact that the ability to write protects the Scribe, the power is in the oral storytelling here and takes on a mystical religious power, her home the confessional, the telling of sins that she washes/writes away and the barter fulfilling the act of penance. The novel takes us further into the religious realm with her pilgrimage to a cross roads, that place between worlds, where she recites a letter into the past to change the future.
November 4, 2022
Loved this. Brontë ghost story meets Cormac McCarthys The Road, with some Shirley Jackson vibes. At 150 pages, it’s a relatively quick read but the action gets rolling right away. I did have some questions about the ending though - at times, it felt like the author was jumping through some hoops in order to chase a more humane ending. I appreciated it - most writers may be content to just leave their readers in darkness, but Hagy in the end makes it land, I think. Beautiful on a sentence and detail level, and succeeds very well in a speculative genre, much like Station Eleven and A Handmaids Tale.
February 18, 2019
I wish I liked whiskey, because I surely would have read this with a glass of it at hand. It would have fortified and fuzzied me for the encounter.
Hagy builds mood with the skill of a dry mason, placing word up on solemn word so snugly that the resulting structure is a permanent form. Keeping watch along it is our Scribe. Keen of tongue, head and eye, wary in the way of wild things, but human nonetheless. She reveals her vulnerabilities as she seeks redemption.
I was so bewitched by the writing and atmosphere I didn't worry myself with piecing together every last detail. I leave that to a subsequent reading. This time it was enough just to visit and observe.
Hagy builds mood with the skill of a dry mason, placing word up on solemn word so snugly that the resulting structure is a permanent form. Keeping watch along it is our Scribe. Keen of tongue, head and eye, wary in the way of wild things, but human nonetheless. She reveals her vulnerabilities as she seeks redemption.
I was so bewitched by the writing and atmosphere I didn't worry myself with piecing together every last detail. I leave that to a subsequent reading. This time it was enough just to visit and observe.
June 12, 2018
Thanks very much to Graywolf for the ARC.
SCRIBE is the brutal Appalachian dystopian folktale you never knew you needed. This strange, slim beast-of-a-novel wonders whether a storyteller can defeat an authoritarian power. Here a house is an albatross and a haven, a letter is a reckoning spoken at a crossroads, the price of passage is consuming that which kills you. I’d follow Alyson Hagy down whichever rugged, decaying path she led me.
SCRIBE is the brutal Appalachian dystopian folktale you never knew you needed. This strange, slim beast-of-a-novel wonders whether a storyteller can defeat an authoritarian power. Here a house is an albatross and a haven, a letter is a reckoning spoken at a crossroads, the price of passage is consuming that which kills you. I’d follow Alyson Hagy down whichever rugged, decaying path she led me.
October 5, 2018
Not sure if this is 3.5 or 4...
Scribe is a strange, dream-like little book that is both compelling and difficult to describe. Drawing on Appalachian mythology and folktales, it is about a woman who makes a living by writing letters, believed to have power and often functioning as confessionals. Yet she herself seeks absolution for the betrayal of her sister. Set in a grim and sometimes bleak world where disease, war, and poverty coincide with the power-hungry machinations of a single man, this is a book that takes time to become immersed in. Confusing at first, it sneaks up on you and conveys a mystical sense of spirituality.
I did say it was difficult to describe! In terms of content, there is violence toward people, children, and animals, sexual assault, and discussions of sexual abuse of a child. It is difficult to read at times, but it has a redemptive arc to it that is ultimately sad yet satisfying. At times it is difficult to tell which elements are truly paranormal and which are a sort of fever dream, but eventually much of it becomes clear. It is about the power of the written word to create change even in the midst of darkness, and that is beautiful.
Scribe is a strange, dream-like little book that is both compelling and difficult to describe. Drawing on Appalachian mythology and folktales, it is about a woman who makes a living by writing letters, believed to have power and often functioning as confessionals. Yet she herself seeks absolution for the betrayal of her sister. Set in a grim and sometimes bleak world where disease, war, and poverty coincide with the power-hungry machinations of a single man, this is a book that takes time to become immersed in. Confusing at first, it sneaks up on you and conveys a mystical sense of spirituality.
I did say it was difficult to describe! In terms of content, there is violence toward people, children, and animals, sexual assault, and discussions of sexual abuse of a child. It is difficult to read at times, but it has a redemptive arc to it that is ultimately sad yet satisfying. At times it is difficult to tell which elements are truly paranormal and which are a sort of fever dream, but eventually much of it becomes clear. It is about the power of the written word to create change even in the midst of darkness, and that is beautiful.
August 5, 2018
Wow-
The writing was pretty amazing-
The author was masterful using the elements of storytelling and folklore.
It is a brutal story about a young woman in Appalachia in the aftermath of a civil war and pandemic struggling to survive by being a scribe.
Reminded me a bit of Station Eleven but with a little Cormac McCarthy....
Once I started, I could not stop....
Thanks to Graywolf for sending an advance copy-
The writing was pretty amazing-
The author was masterful using the elements of storytelling and folklore.
It is a brutal story about a young woman in Appalachia in the aftermath of a civil war and pandemic struggling to survive by being a scribe.
Reminded me a bit of Station Eleven but with a little Cormac McCarthy....
Once I started, I could not stop....
Thanks to Graywolf for sending an advance copy-
Want to read
October 14, 2019Let the bookstore attendant in Roanoke talk me into this local author. Looking at it now, might have made a grievously poor impulse buy. Was signed.
June 30, 2019
This is a bit of a disorienting read. It feels like it starts in the middle of the story and the beginning feels like it shows up in the middle. Very confusing. Due to this the first 50 pages were quite hard to focus on because I felt like I was missing so much information. Ultimately I ended up enjoying it, but it’s a strange little story. I felt like it could’ve been a full length novel with more information, but at less than 200 pages, it at least was a nice Sunday read. Read this one if you like magical realism, dystopian, speculative books. Not entirely sure when this book is set as it’s after a civil war has ravaged the country - but reads more recent.
February 21, 2019
I didn’t know what to think about this one, but it kept pulling me along. A strange but powerful dystopian tale with a strong female main character. The woman (unnamed) barters with others by writing letters for them. Some supernatural and dream sequence elements here, and I didn’t quite get all the symbolism. At times raw and a bit grim. But something about the writing left me spellbound in parts. Even though I didn’t totally get it, I’m glad I read it, and I feel like this one is going to stick in my mind for a while. Worth the read if it at all piques your interest.
May 17, 2018
Alyson Hagy’s novel Scribe is a bold venture into the surrealism of the Southern Gothic genre. I found the texture of Scribe hangs heavily on every page. I half expected to smell the musty humidity of these hollows and feel gritty dust every time I turned a page. There are no saints in this apocalyptic world Hagy creates, as every character that tramps across the page has his or her own price and motives.
Jack Clinton Author of Clovis
Jack Clinton Author of Clovis
January 3, 2019
My main feeling reading this book was confusion. I could deal with the supernatural elements but the exact nature of the post-apocalyptic situation was very unclear. I had no idea what was going on. The writing was lovely and I loved how Appalachian folklore was blended in, but this story ultimately fell flat for me.
September 17, 2018
Alyson Hagy's writing pulled me in from the very first beginning. She has woven a tale of loss, reflection, and redemption into this short novel set in a dystopian world. The harsh reality is tempered with unexplained forces that guide the characters to a sort of reclamation.
October 21, 2018
Interesting, though the pacing frustrated me.
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