- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Phoenix; paperback / softback edition (5 Jan 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0753819295
- ISBN-13: 978-0753819296
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 359,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Limits of Enchantment
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Review
'Joyce's beguiling novel mingles elements of ancient lore, folk medicine, magic and 1960s bohemianism into a compelling brew... The humour generated by juxtaposing different world-views is delightful, as is the portrayal of a fast-vanishing, and now probably vanished, England, in which the outlandish and the mundane are interwoven.' (Christina Koning THE TIMES )
'One of Graham Joyce's main strengths as a novelist has always been his ability to portray the encroachment of the fantastical into meticulously observed contemporary settings. This novel [is] his twelfth and finest... Fern Cullen is a remarkable creation, and Joyce's rendering of her singular narrative voice, by turns both literary and gauche, is pitch-perfect.' (Eric Brown GUARDIAN )
'One of Graham Joyce's main strengths as a novelist has always been his ability to portray the encroachment of the fantastical into meticulously observed contemporary settings. This novel [is] his twelfth and finest... Fern Cullen is a remarkable creation, and Joyce's rendering of her singular narrative voice, by turns both literary and gauche, is pitch-perfect.' (Eric Brown GUARDIAN )
Roz Kaveney, The Independent
"Some wonderful social comedy as well as a sense of potential betrayal. He is a writer fascinated by his factual material, and by characters who would not be the same without it."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In Fern Cullen, the story's narrator, Graham Joyce has found a heartwarming and realistic voice. The story is about Fern and her adoptive "Mammy" who live on the outskirts of a village in the 1960's. They are slightly outside of society because they practise the old arts of hedgerow medicine. The pair have in many ways been left behind by time but they are largely left in peace by the villagers until one of Mammy's potions goes fatally wrong. Joyce's descriptions of Mammy's herbal concoctions and their uses are well researched and believable. Fern battles with her own doubts about the magic they perform. When Mammy is taken ill, Fern is thrust into the real world of 1960's Britain. In some ways she is very innocent in the ways of the world and yet this is in contrast to the ways of the sage which she has learned from Mammy.
As a reader you warm to the plight of Fern but Joyce does not let the character or his readers down with this fine book.
As a reader you warm to the plight of Fern but Joyce does not let the character or his readers down with this fine book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Set in the mid 1960s, this book also harks back to English paganism and the age-old history of witchcraft. In the rural backwater where Fern lives with Mammy, who is not her birth-mother but with whom she has a great bond, the community is about to be invaded by a colony of hippies, who bring their dissolute life-style with them and divide the opinions of local gentry and villagers alike. There is trouble afoot from the moment Mammy is forced into hospital, leaving Fern vulnerable, not just to the hippies, but to the semi-hostile intent of almost everyone else. Mammy is an (unregistered) midwife and a known procurer of abortions for unlucky girls who have been `caught'. She is also a kind of pagan witch, who has knowledge of white magic. And Fern knows most of her secrets.
The mystical moments in this novel are handled with faultless assurance and delicacy and Fern, the narrator throughout, is honest about both her unwillingness to believe in her legacy, and the events that lead her into a kind of belief. Vulnerable and powerful, both, she has to find a way to compromise with the world around her, which she does - in the end. But there are dangers and antagonisms to be overcome first.
Effortlessly straddling both ancient and modern belief systems, Joyce's book is a total delight. A hypnotic read from the first page to the last.
The mystical moments in this novel are handled with faultless assurance and delicacy and Fern, the narrator throughout, is honest about both her unwillingness to believe in her legacy, and the events that lead her into a kind of belief. Vulnerable and powerful, both, she has to find a way to compromise with the world around her, which she does - in the end. But there are dangers and antagonisms to be overcome first.
Effortlessly straddling both ancient and modern belief systems, Joyce's book is a total delight. A hypnotic read from the first page to the last.
Format:Paperback
Fern has been raised by the village midwife, Mammy, assisting at births since her early teens and catching glimpses of Mammy's magic as she prepares folk remedies for those who don't quite trust the NHS. But when a young girl who has visited Mammy for help dies soon afterwards, scandal and gossip runs rife in the village, and Mammy's own health goes into rapid decline. Fern is left to cope with her grief over Mammy, the prospect of eviction, and the discovery of her own gifts and calling; but who can she trust to help her through?
Although it sounds trite in synopsis, 'The Limits of Enchantment' is surprisingly engaging and thought-provoking in the telling. The style is easy to read but the characters are complex and wholly believable, and there are no easy answers to the questions posed. Set in the 60s, old-school superstition is pitched against advancing scientific knowledge and shifting social norms so that Fern's coming of age is reflected as the coming of age of an era. And while it is a story technically about witchcraft, it is as much about the reading of people and situations as anything supernatural. Nonetheless, the story is magical.
I first read this story some years ago and wanted to see if it stood the test of time. At first I was afraid I had stumbled into an ordinary, vacuous village tale, but my only disappointment turned out to be reaching the end. Despite a lightweight facade, Joyce proves that simplicity can indeed be deceptive.
Although it sounds trite in synopsis, 'The Limits of Enchantment' is surprisingly engaging and thought-provoking in the telling. The style is easy to read but the characters are complex and wholly believable, and there are no easy answers to the questions posed. Set in the 60s, old-school superstition is pitched against advancing scientific knowledge and shifting social norms so that Fern's coming of age is reflected as the coming of age of an era. And while it is a story technically about witchcraft, it is as much about the reading of people and situations as anything supernatural. Nonetheless, the story is magical.
I first read this story some years ago and wanted to see if it stood the test of time. At first I was afraid I had stumbled into an ordinary, vacuous village tale, but my only disappointment turned out to be reaching the end. Despite a lightweight facade, Joyce proves that simplicity can indeed be deceptive.
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