ARC Review: The Witch, by Marie NDiaye

 

Title: The Witch

Author: Marie NDiaye

Publisher: Quercus Books

Genre: Literary Fiction / General Fiction

Date of Publication: April 7th, 2026 

Number of Pages: 144

See it on Goodreads: The Witch

*Disclaimer: I have received a free copy of this book via NetGalley. Thank you to Quercus Books for providing me with this copy.

Summary

In a small, sleepy town, a mediocre witch, in a mediocre marriage, tries to pass on her gifts to her twin daughters, who, it becomes immediately apparent, have skills far beyond her own.

Lucie comes from a long line of witches, powers passed down from mother to daughter. Her own mum was formidable in her powers, but ashamed of her magic. Perhaps as a result, Lucie's own gift is weak: she can see into the future, sometimes - but more often, she can only see the present of some other location. Not very useful. And the worst part? All she can ever see are insignificant details - a scrap of outfit, the colour of the sky.

Lucie's own children are initiated into their family's peculiar womanhood when they reach twelve years of age, and in a few short months, Maud and Lise are crying the curious tears of blood that denote their magical powers. Having learned, they take off quickly and fly the nest. Literally.

Witty, dreamlike, vaguely unsettling, and utterly enchanting (pun intended), The Witch brings the mysteries of womanhood and motherhood into sharp relief and leaves us teetering on the edge, unbalanced by questions as seemingly unbreakable relationships break down left and right.

Who is to blame for family failures? And how can you - can you? - build a nest that no one wants to fly?

Review - Shed Tears of Blood

When the longlist for the International Booker Prize was announced, I eagerly checked out each book. The one that caught my interest the most was The Witch by Marie NDiaye both because of its premise and its cover. So, when I received the eARC of the book, I paused all my other books to read it. 

In the centre of the book, there is Lucie that comes from a line of witches. Even though her powers are nothing special, she wants to continue the tradition and pass them to her daughters. The first few pages of the book gripped me immediately as I loved getting glimpses of Lucie's witchy powers and her relationship with her daughters and their attitude towards their power.

In addition to this, we learn early on that Lucie's marriage isn't going great. It's not bad, but it's not good either. And, one of the main issues, is that Lucie's husband does't really accept her powers. I feel like the author could have explored this theme some more as something similar also happens with Lucie's parents.

Even though I was excited to let the story unravel, I felt disappointed with each passing page. Nothing is really explored and the story felt more like disjointed little vignettes. When Pierrot leaves Lucie, and she discovers that he has also taken from her a considerable sum that her father had gifted her, she doesn't really try to solve the situation. No, her first instinct is that she should reunity her parents that had divorced a couple of years ago. And to make things worst, she basically forces them to go on a trip together even though they both explicitely tell her that they don't want to and that she doesn't know everything that went on between them. 

By the moment I reached part 2, I was not really engaged in the story. Lucie seemed to cared about nothing too strongly. She just accepts that her daughters have left her, and it makes me sad that I while I was reading I thought that I understood why they chose to do so. And then, the book just ends - I didn't feel any closure.

Despite me not really liking this book though, I need to mention that one of the main reasons I finished the book was the writing. I loved the prose and the overall quality of the text, which also shows the quality of the translation (the book was translated by Jordan Stump). This is the reason why I would gladly read more from the author as I could love something from them. 

All in all, The Witch is a book that focuses on the mundane and the mediocrity. There are some very interesting ideas, but nothing felt explored to the extend that I would have liked. You might enjoy it if you are looking for a literary fiction novella with a sprinkle of magical realism (without expecting too much witchiness).

Read more of my reviews here.