Sycorax
Healer or witch? Wise woman or sorceress? Sycorax was created and exists in a world woven from mythology and history, where her parents’ union was that of the moon and the sun during an eclipse. Called Raven by her mother, for her extraordinary black hair, the child grows up at a distance from society because she possesses the violet-blue eyes of an ancient Saharan ancestress: ‘people can be jealous and afraid of difference, my raven-girl’. Grief-stricken by the death of her parents and forced to fend for herself, she tries to focus on her gifts of healing as a route towards acceptance. Sadly, this patriarchal world regards her with distrust, growing fear, and finally downright hatred. Her prophecy saves Algiers from invasion, but there is no promised reward, and the beautiful nobleman who stole her young heart is revealed as a self-entitled rapist.
Nydia Hetherington’s writing is a lush, sensual delight. We’re swept up in a tour de force of description where the elemental forces of nature can scour or caress, burn or soothe, bring despair or enchantment. Instead of chapters we have acts and scenes – an effectively theatrical way of shaping the story and a reminder of Sycorax’s place in The Tempest. Dialogue, however, is restrained, allowing narration and description to take centre stage. Themes of suffering and grief are immensely moving and there’s much that reflects our modern world, especially misogyny and the debate surrounding how chronic illness impacts lives.
This novel will ignite an emotional response for the woman ‘bent into a hoop’ by pain. We hear her voice, learn her story and can only admire her tenacity. This novel is a must-read.
