The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne

Everyone knows the story of Rapunzel in the tower, but do you know the tale of the witch who put her there?

Enter a world of dark magic, mysterious woods and evil princes. This is the truth they never wanted you to know, as only a witch might tell it.

With her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it.

But when her mother dies, Haelewise is left unmoored. With nothing left for her in her village, she sets out to find the tower of legend-a place called Gothel, where Haelewise meets a wise woman willing to take her under her wing.

But Haelewise is not the only woman to seek refuge at Gothel. It’s also a haven for a girl named Rika, who carries with her a secret the Church strives to keep hidden. A secret that reveals a dark world of ancient spells and murderous nobles behind the world Haelewise has always known.

The Book of Gothel is a lush, enchanting retelling of the tale of Rapunzel from the witch’s perspective, perfect for fans of Circe and The Bear and the Nightingale.

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I’ve always loved fairy tales.  From the Disneyfied versions of my younger years to the more traditional and (deliciously brutal!) tales that inspired those more cleansed versions, I’ve always found them intriguing.  For that reason, The Book of Gothel immediately appealed, offering a new take on the tale of Rapunzel as well as a villain origin story.

In it, we meet Haelewise, a young girl with a loving mother and a mostly present but not entirely devoted father.  She’s a character that the reader immediately understands is different to those around her – something that’s challenging to live with now but that makes her something of a pariah in the circa twelfth century Germany in which the novel is set.  Only her mother embraces her as she is, not least because she also has something other about her, although her skill as a midwife means that she isn’t entirely shunned as she might be otherwise.  The reader sees Haelewise as a young girl approaching womanhood with few friends but certain capabilities and she quickly evokes sympathy.  It’s clear that her path through life won’t be easy, and yet she is clearly a bold and determined character who is naïve at the outset but with a certain spirit that draws the reader in.   

Following the death of her mother, Haelewise – distraught, and with little to keep her in her home – embarks upon a quest the true extent of which she has no concept of.  The forces guiding her take some time to be fully revealed, but the novel does avoid the chosen one trope – there’s more a sense that Haelewise is simply in the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) place at the right time, and who has the skills and inclination to follow a path that isn’t fully visible to her.  It’s a fascinating narrative that is gripping throughout and that offers the protagonist the opportunity to grow and adapt and to shed some of that initial naivety in a believable way.

As well as exploring the tale of Rapunzel, The Book of Gothel also provides wonderful insight into the lives of those in twelfth century Germany.  Of particular interest to me is the clash between Christianity and those few who still adhere to the old ways and who revere and are respectful of nature. It’s especially interesting that Haelewise – not an instant member of the faithful – isn’t forced to choose between these two ostensibly competing factions.  Rather, McMyne finds a way to incorporate both elements into Haelewise’s life and I like the way in which the narrative manages to balance the Mother Nature figure that Haelewise and her mother place their faith in alongside Christianity. 

Throughout, I wasn’t sure how the novel would play out.  Haelewise doesn’t at any point seem like the sort to take a princess hostage and lock her in a tower.  Of course, it’s difficult to know how the challenges she faces will affect her and her path through life is not straightforward. She encounters many on her journey, some of them well-intentioned and others who mean her harm and who seek to take advantage of her, and it’s possible that her experiences will leave behind a hard and bitter character, but even then, I struggled to accept that she would be capable of such a thing.  McMyne does, of course, deal with this in the narrative, and I found it to be a clever and convincing development. 

I particularly liked the structure of the novel, in which McMyne does something that adds that’s wonderful little twist to the novel.  Haelewise’s story is bookended by a brief present-day narrative as we see a young American scholar invited to examine an old manuscript – The Book of Gothel.  It adds an interesting element to the narrative, taking it beyond a simple reimagining and adding that hint of plausibility – that this is a history that has been exaggerated but one that holds an element of truth rather than being pure fairy tale. 

The Book of Gothel is a coming-of-age novel that takes a well-known tale and offers a new perspective on that narrative. Recommended for of Katherine Arden.