White Magic

This is a clever, thought-provoking, 'writerly' book, which also is disturbing and difficult (emotionally) to read. I've had a hard time deciding whether or not I like this book enough to keep it around in my library. I cannot imagine myself wanting to re-read it again but I may keep it for reference.

This collection of essays is a stunning compilation. It is a meditation, almost, on what it means to be a woman, what it means to be Indigenous, and how the world works when you are those two identities at one time. There is also a thick vein of mysticism and witchcraft running through this book that sets it apart from other pieces I’ve read. This book is not anything like I’ve ever read before.

Washuta’s newest book proves that she is an essayist to be reckoned with. This book, sectioned into three acts, is genre-defying and unlike anything I’ve ever read. This is one of those books in which the writer explores many conversations with precision and a beautiful mastery of language. Required reading for everyone. Buy two copies.

Good but not what I expected or thought it would be

Should almost be required reading. Her sentences give me shivers. Genre bending indigenous writing at its best.

This was well worth the read. Such a brilliant and insightful book. The research and design blends with reflection in a fascinating and thought-provoking manner.

A great deal of drudge for brief bits of brilliance.

Washuta threads these essays together with tightening loops through time and place. It is a book about the horrors of colonialism, addiction, bad relationships, and trauma— but it is also about the power of resilience, magic, healing, and reclamation. It’s a stunning, peculiar, magical book.