Making it Up As I Go

I finally settled in and finished Witches of Eastwick. I’ve read it before, and I’m sure I’ll read it again, it’s just one of those books. I know I’ve written about it in previous years, but I don’t feel like going back to see what I wrote, so if I repeat myself, then oh well.

The book is very different from the movie- the three witches aren’t all young and nubile, and Darryl Van Horne isn’t blatantly the devil. The witches all have powers and recognize themselves as such long before Van Horne comes into town, and rather than awaken and empower their… powers, he pushes them to go bigger and bigger until they fold under the weight of their ambition. Where the movie has the character of Felicia acting as a kind of prophet fortelling doom after her accident, the Felicia of the book is just a petty, self-righteous woman; which makes the witches actions against her more sad, as their judgemental nature is so realistic. I think that’s really the point of the book- witchcraft stands for the power each woman can hold within herself once she really knows herself, and the narrative shows how easily that power can be manipulated by someone else if you let them, and how easily women turn against other women who have a different outlook or opinion.

The last half of the book takes the story in a completely different direction than the movie, with the witches being displaced by a new girl in town. Their revenge on her and its results are actually quite suprising.

I know I have a huge stack of books that I should read for research purposes (NaNoWriMo here I come!), but I’m just not feeling in the mood for non-fiction. So, I think I’m heading over to the library to take my research in a different direction– Agatha Christie, here I come. Maybe I’ll find something of hers I haven’t read, maybe I’ll re-read, but going to the Mistress of Murder can only help my technique. I hope.

Current total: 74
Just Finished: Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
Next Up: Something Marple