Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch is a historical fiction novel written by Rivka Galchen and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on June 8, 2021.[1][2] The book is fictionalized version of true events.[3] Part of the historical background of this story is that "...between 1625 and 1631, under the Catholic Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg, the Holy Roman Empire saw one of the biggest mass trials in European history, with an estimated 900 people executed in the Würzburg witch trials."[4]

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch
2021 book cover image
AuthorRivka Galchen
Audio read byNatasha Soudek
CountryUnited States
SubjectWitch trials, Katharina Kepler, Johannes Kepler, Plague, Widows
GenreFiction, Historical novel
Set in17th century Germany
PublisherFarrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date
June 08, 2021
Media typeHardcover, E-book, Audio book
Pages288
ISBN9780374280468
OCLC1269024553
LC ClassPS3607.A4116 E94 2021
Preceded by'Atmospheric Disturbances' 
WebsiteMacmillan

Plot

This story is set in 17th century in the Holy Roman Empire during the beginnings of the Thirty Years War and the plague. In this fictionalized version of the illiterate Katharina Kepler's later life, she is accused of witchcraft. Part of the reason for this is she lives into old age when most people die at around the age of 30. Other reasons are related to her personal quirks. Also, the label of "witch" comes at first from Ursula Reinbold and then snowballs into many of her community accusing her of the same. Her son, Johannes Kepler was compelled to absent himself from the royal court to defend his mother. She is also aided by two other of her children as well as her sympathetic legal guardian, scribe, and neighbor, Simon.[4][3][5][6]

Reception

This book has received an all around positive reception:

Kirkus Reviews says, "There is so much in this novel to consider—the degree to which we make monsters of one another, the way that old age can make of femininity an apparently terrifying, otherworldly thing—but it is also, at every step along the way, an entirely delicious book."[2] Publishers Weekly says, "Galchen portrays her characters as complicated and full of wit as they face down the cruelties dealt to them...[t]his is a resounding delight.[6] According to Rhianna Walton of Powell's Books, " It’s relatable, in a way I didn’t think possible...[a]nd it’s poignant and philosophical, an examination of motherhood, neighborhood, science, magic, and culpability that I knew possible only because I’ve read Galchen before and was prepared for her singular ability to breathe life, logic, and beauty into the absurd.[7]

About the author

Rivka Galchen teaches writing at Columbia University.[8] In 2010, The New Yorker chose her as one of its "20 Under 40".[9] Her highly acclaimed first novel, Atmospheric Disturbances, was published in May 2008.[10]

References
  1. Charles, Ron (June 1, 2021). "The story of Europe's infamous witch trials gets the Monty Python treatment". Washington Post.
  2. Staff (March 17, 2021). "A 17th-century German witch hunt—really". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  3. Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher (July 23, 2021). "Rivka Galchen's "Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch"". Los Angeles Review of Books.
  4. Hagi, Sarah (June 8, 2021). "Rivka Galchen's Historical Novel Satirizes Moral Panic". New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  5. Kellog, Carolyn (June 3, 2021). "Review: Spellbinding novelist Rivka Galchen's new book is a hysterical witch hunt". Los Angeles Times (the newspaper).
  6. Clegg, Bill (July 8, 2021). "Review: Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch". Publishers Weekly.
  7. Walton, Rhianna (June 23, 202). "Powell's Interview: Rivka Galchen, author of 'Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch'". Powell's Books.
  8. "Rivka Galchen". Columbia University. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  9. "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie". The New Yorker. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  10. Schillinger, Liesl (July 13, 2008). "Book Review | 'Atmospheric Disturbances,' by Rivka Galchen" – via NYTimes.com.
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