“River Witch” by Cheryl Burman

Deeply atmospheric, this story flows like a river, pulling you in by the rhythm of its waves, charming you with its gentle whispering. When you start reading it, you are like an idle holiday-maker perched at the bow of a boat, eager to admire the wonders waiting for you on the trip. You feel slightly disoriented while the boat leaves the calm waters by the pier, not yet aware whether the way the river looks now is the way it will remain till you reach your destination. Then you catch a glimpse of a bird soaring above the banks, and then another one that dives in to grab a fish. And then, you have no idea how it happened, but you become one with the river, its flow synchronised with your heartbeat.

“River Witch” by Cheryl Burman is a kind of book that pulls you in gradually. Chapter after chapter, you live the lives of the characters, tread the paths that they tread, and participate in their everyday chores. You learn about their dreams and hopes. You start wishing that they succeed. You are angry when someone hurts them, and your heart leaps with joy when someone helps them.

When the prose is such a large part of the book’s essence, it feels futile to describe the plot. “River Witch” is about Hester, who wishes to learn how to be one of the ‘wise folk,’ and about Aaron, who has attained the knowledge Hester craves, but it hasn’t brought him any happiness. It is about people’s ignorance and prejudice. It is also about generosity and kindness. But most of all, at least it felt this way to me, it is about second chances and the importance of recognising the people among those we meet who can make one’s dreams turn into reality.

I liked how Hester knew what she wanted to do and who she wanted to be since she was a little girl. She felt it in her heart and stubbornly pursued her vision. She did it despite the obstacles, and such were so many that anyone else, less set on learning the healing traits of herbs, would have given up. She didn’t break under the direst hardships. And she didn’t lose her compassion and her wish to help others.

I didn’t like Aaron. I do not sympathise with people who hide behind their grief and disappointment, pretending that they shield others from the misfortunes that befell them, while in truth, they are afraid to be hurt again.

As often happens, life has outsmarted both Hester and Aaron. Whose fault was what happened to them? Do they deserve happiness after all the mistakes they made and everything that they’ve been through? Are they capable of being happy at all, leaving everything they’ve been through behind? These remain open questions that each reader is free to find answers to.

The author captures the setting of late 19th-century England beautifully, adding to the story’s dreamy charm. The details of different lifestyles – that of a struggling farm, a household of a well-off businessman, a fisherman dabbling in smuggling, and others – transported me right into the era, which I always appreciate in my reading.