The Curewife

Title: The Curewife

Author: Claire-Marie Watson

Publisher: Polygon (September 2003)

Genre(s): Historical Fiction

Length: 224 pages

Synopsis:  Part witch, part wise-woman, Grissel Jaffray is the last in a long line of curewives stretching back through the history of Scotland.  The story is told through the fictional diary of this very real woman as she marries and moves from her native Aberdeen to Dundee, taking with her the knowledge of herbal healing and spells she learned from her foremothers.  Grissel is a keenly intelligent woman; her powers of observation serve her well as the world around her erupts in political turmoil and intrigue.  Her city is torn apart by war and famine, and Grissel manages to keep her family one step ahead.  Ultimately, though, the very knowledge that keeps her there may cost her dearly.  

My Rating: 4 Stars

My Opinion: 

This book is genius.  The voice is utterly authentic, tricky historical spellings, vernacular and all.  The haphazard spacing between diary entries moves the reader forward from event to event without any loss of pace or continuity and lends to the realistic feel of the whole book.  Grissel is a compelling character, neither wholly trustworthy nor entirely dishonorable, but very human.  She loves her family fiercely and without reserve, but is nonetheless manipulative, egotistical, and confident to a fault.  In the end, the only reason I give this book four out of five stars is because I wanted more from it.  Watson tempts her readers with hints of a vast story lurking behind Grissel’s words, but refuses to open the window wide enough to see.  Of course, without an in depth knowledge of Scottish history, I was often at a loss as to exactly what was happening in a historical context, but in truth it doesn’t matter.  The reader views these happenings as Grissel does, not as historically important, but as momentarily devastating.  In fact, no event in the book is “historical” at all.  To Grissel, this is her modern world, and that attitude allows readers to step in beside her and have a look around.  If only Grissel would allow a bit more room for us as we follow her through her world, this book would have easily rated five stars from me.