Fantasy/Historical Fiction Annotations-MUGG - Week 11
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Author: Deborah
Harkness
Title: A
Discovery of Witches
Genre: Contemporary
fantasy
Publication Date: 2009
February 2011
Number of Pages: 579
pages
Geographical Setting: Oxford,
England
Saint Lucien (France)
Madison, New York
Time Period: February
8, 2011
Series (If applicable): All
Souls Trilogy
Subject Headings: Romantic;
Steamy; Suspenseful
Appeal: Complex
family history, alchemic and historical details, intense romance, in-depth
mystery with paranormal clues
Plot Summary:
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness was a great read
and I hated having to read through the novel quickly as opposed to taking my
time and savoring the rich details. I have
to admit the romance part of the novel I found sometimes quite irritating. The exchanges were rather cliché, in that, “they
breathed heavily as they gazed longingly and electricity ran through the air”
and so on. Their exchanges at times reminded
me of the heaving breathing in “Twilight” but other times the exchanges and
care between the two were touching and effective.
Harkness begins her story with “The leather-bound volume was
nothing remarkable. To an ordinary historian, it would have looked not different
from hundreds of others.” We learn a
little later in the novel, the book is the mysterious, alchemical manuscript
known as "Ashmole 782. Harkness
writes, “Traces of gilt shone along its edges and caught my eye. But those
faded touches of gold could not account for a faint, iridescent shimmer that
seemed to be escaping from between the pages. I blinked." And so, the mystery begins with a very old
book and a very curious protagonist.
We soon learn that our heroine,
Dr. Diana Bishop is a very educated woman, who lost her parents at a young age
due to witchcraft and she has sworn witchcraft off. She is a whiz and started college at 16 and
earned a doctorate at Oxford. Diana,
herself, is a very powerful witch. She
refused to practice her craft due to this being the cause of her parents’
deaths.
Turns out every demon, witch,
vampire and other underworld creatures all over the world are after this
book. We are soon traveling the continent
and involved in a very deep mystery of fantastic proportions.
Diana soon learns she is the only
one who can unlock the secrets of the book.
At this same time, she meets Matthew, who immediately sends off electrical
connections with Diana. As it happens,
in our novel, Matthew is a 1,000+ year old vampire who is also a very handsome
professor of biochemistry and neuroscience.
Ms. Harkness has every piece of magic and fantasy lore one
could think of and included in this novel.
There is an evil, killing medieval pontiff, vampires of all varieties,
witches, alive, dead and ghosts and demons galore and – time traveling. Oddly enough they all pretend to be normal
(almost all) and walk amidst the human populations, particularly hanging around
libraries.
Three missing pages turn out to be a key to the magic of
this novel and you are lead on quite a journey that never actually ends. Ms. Harkness truly leaves you hanging
wondering what is going to happen to the time traveling lovers, the vampire and
the witch. Then there is the magic
enchanted house who seems to be the caretaker for witches and vampires
alike. Fascinating read and you will
want to read the sequel.
World-building –
can range from a slight tweak on our world to a completely different universe –
Harkness creates a world of magic within the ordinary world of libraries.
Fantasy means magic –
this is what clearly delineates it from other genres – There is the magic of
witches, vampires and demons
Storyline – Good vs. Evil
with good usually winning
Tone varies from bleak to humorous, but
usually optimism or hope is present – Matthew, the vampires,
and the mystery are rather bleak. Some
of the witches are quite funny and our heroine is a hopeless, serious,
scientific facts optimist.
Characters often clearly defined as good
or evil – can still be complex – Towards the middle of
the novel, you can see who are the “good” and who is the “evil” characters of
this novel.
Main protagonist often on “a journey of
discovery” – Our protagonist, Diana, is quite inquisitive and a
very educated researcher.
Characters are often inhuman (elves,
dwarves, vampires, werewolves, etc.) – There is a plethora of
inhuman, half human and used to be human characters within this novel.
Pacing often slow and descriptive –
humorous novels can be faster – The pacing at the beginning is
agonizingly slow, enjoyable, but slow.
The pace picks up quite fast at the end and leaves you wanting to know
what happens next.
Language ranges from complex and stylistic
to terse and contemporary – The language is contemporary
mixed with French, spells and old world English.
Often made-up words, languages, or
dialects – There are quite a few terms used in this novel
specific to the series.
Maps are often a vital part of a complex
fantasy series – This novel contained no maps but was quite
descriptive in describing the area of the country there were in down to the
details of the season and the smells and sounds.
Similar Authors and Works -
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This novel about a young girl raised in a convent leads
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Based in the city of Prague, the City of Dark Magic gives us Sarah, a young music student who takes a summer job at the Prague Castle cataloguing Beethoven mauscripts. Suddenly Sarah is steeped in a mystery of warnings and secret notes. There is a dwarf who helps her, a handsome prince and a U. S. senator.
Practical Magic by he Owens sisters possess a gift for practical magic,
but are less skilled in the pursuit of love Enjoy reading
this tale of witches, sisters and love gone wrong.
3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors -
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More Love, Less Panic: 7 Lessons I Learned About Life, Love,
and Parenting After We Adopted Our Son from Ethiopia.
by Claude Knobler - A wonderful story of a man's journey
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3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors -
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| Chasing Tomorrow by Sidney Sheldon. Professional thief, Tracy, wants to be a law-abiding citizen bu they keep pulling her back in. |
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Great annotation! You have lots of information and recommendations!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Professor Cataldi ~ I think I have fallen a little behind again, tooth surgery over spring break and it still hurts! Thanks again ~
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