Hag

Kaufman (The Lairdbalor) draws on Gaelic mythology to weave a complex, nonlinear novel about secret, shared feminine power. By the age of six, Alice Grace Kyles knew her ability to peer into people’s pasts and futures was unique. As she grows, sheltered by her mother and beloved aunt, she treads a path similar to the magic-wielding women who have come before her, acknowledging her power to harm and to save. But it takes most of a lifetime for Alice to understand that she is descended from the Cailleach, a maternal deity who has infused her daughters with powers before sending them off into the world. Even though they forget the power they yield, these women are bound together across time by the legacy of that power. Character development and insight are repeatedly sacrificed to the complicated structure of the book, but Kaufman’s narrative skill will still draw fans of folklore and the occult into this heady multigenerational legend. (Oct.)