Reviews
Witches of America is brave and sharp and tenaciously researched. I would never have described myself as someone 'interested in witchcraft'-Alex Mar's book left me feeling the fault had been mine., A top-notch read for pagans and open-minded seekers curious about the fascinating beginnings of American witchcraft and some of the various directions its form is taking., An expertly crafted spiritual journey . . . Witches, priests and priestesses, and even a necromancer receive a sympathetic, humanizing treatment as Mar encourages empathy for the "outer edges" of society. Mar writes with clarity and candor, provides ample background information, and is neither preachy nor cheesy. She presents all her subjects as interesting individuals . . . Whatever one's spiritual inclinations, Mar's search for "something transcendent" is bewitching., Whatever you thought about witches, be prepared to think again. In Witches of America , Alex Mar exposes what we fear most-our own power. To be a witch is to reimagine the world., Written with a beguiling blend of heart and wit, Witches of America sustains its thrall with something that runs much deeper than intrigue or pageantry. With the depth and scope of her curiosity, Alex Mar compelled me to follow her driving questions-about meaning, faith, and longing for community and wonder-on a breathless, deepening, and constantly surprising quest., With good humor about the silliness of some of the rituals Mar encounters, and prose that can take on the quality of an incantation, Witches of America is an empathetic but clear-eyed group portrait of people many might find easy to dismiss., Like the best immersive subcultural reporting, Witches of America has its proper share of erotic charge (daggers, velvet, ritual nudity) and comic flair (a neurotic New Yorker meets an inedible Black Mass wafer). But what Alex Mar has actually achieved is something altogether more haunting. This is an intellectually serious and sweetly vulnerable work about connection both on and off the grid, and our common aspiration to lead lives spellbound and spellbinding., Witches of America could be seen as a Gulliverian journey through various oddball sects scattered from California to New England, all of which believe in salvation through Magic-but the book is so much more than that. This is a quest to come to terms with the Unknowable., A wide-eyed observer governed by an unshakable curiosity, Mar's immersion in the multifaceted world of witchcraft (including a particularly chilling encounter with a necromancer) collectively broadened and enhanced her perspective about the craft itself-and will surely do the same for her readership. An enchanting and addictive report shedding much-needed light on a spiritualistic community obfuscated by historical misinterpretation and pop-culture derision., "With good humor about the silliness of some of the rituals Mar encounters, and prose that can take on the quality of an incantation, Witches of America is an empathetic but clear-eyed group portrait of people many might find easy to dismiss." -- Bookforum "A top-notch read for pagans and open-minded seekers curious about the fascinating beginnings of American witchcraft and some of the various directions its form is taking." -- Library Journal (starred review) "An open-minded, fascinating journey into the world of modern American paganism." -- Booklist "An expertly crafted spiritual journey . . . Witches, priests and priestesses, and even a necromancer receive a sympathetic, humanizing treatment as Mar encourages empathy for the "outer edges" of society. Mar writes with clarity and candor, provides ample background information, and is neither preachy nor cheesy. She presents all her subjects as interesting individuals . . . Whatever one's spiritual inclinations, Mar's search for "something transcendent" is bewitching." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A wide-eyed observer governed by an unshakable curiosity, Mar's immersion in the multifaceted world of witchcraft (including a particularly chilling encounter with a necromancer) collectively broadened and enhanced her perspective about the craft itself-and will surely do the same for her readership. An enchanting and addictive report shedding much-needed light on a spiritualistic community obfuscated by historical misinterpretation and pop-culture derision." -- Kirkus Reviews " Witches of America is brave and sharp and tenaciously researched. I would never have described myself as someone 'interested in witchcraft'-Alex Mar's book left me feeling the fault had been mine." -- John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead "Written with a beguiling blend of heart and wit, Witches of America sustains its thrall with something that runs much deeper than intrigue or pageantry. With the depth and scope of her curiosity, Alex Mar compelled me to follow her driving questions-about meaning, faith, and longing for community and wonder-on a breathless, deepening, and constantly surprising quest." -- Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams "Like the best immersive subcultural reporting, Witches of America has its proper share of erotic charge (daggers, velvet, ritual nudity) and comic flair (a neurotic New Yorker meets an inedible Black Mass wafer). But what Alex Mar has actually achieved is something altogether more haunting. This is an intellectually serious and sweetly vulnerable work about connection both on and off the grid, and our common aspiration to lead lives spellbound and spellbinding." -- Gideon Lewis-Kraus, author of A Sense of Direction " Witches of America could be seen as a Gulliverian journey through various oddball sects scattered from California to New England, all of which believe in salvation through Magic-but the book is so much more than that. This is a quest to come to terms with the Unknowable." -- Richard Price, author of Lush Life "Whatever you thought about witches, be prepared to think again. In Witches of America , Alex Mar exposes what we fear most-our own power. To be a witch is to reimagine the world." -- Terry Tempest Williams, author of When Women Were Birds