The Limits of Enchantment

by Graham Joyce

Review by Stephen Clark

Graham Joyce’s 'The Limits of Enchantment' is set during the sixties and based in the Midlands of England. We follow the sheltered life of Fern, who, under the protective wing of her mother, learns the art of midwifery using the secret and ancient knowledge of herbal remedies and the like. When a girl arrives at their door, ‘in trouble’, Mammy prepares a carefully measured potion to induce an abortion. The girl dies, pitting the village against the two women.  Only when age catches up with Mammy, brought on by a cowardly push from behind, does Fern really begin to take in the lessons learnt from when she was a girl.

 Magic and witchcraft are induced in the peripheral vision of the reader throughout the book, slowly, so we become accustomed to it and accept the practice as something natural. Graham’s previous novel, ‘The Facts of Life’ won the world fantasy award of 2003 which made this new release eagerly anticipated…I wasn’t disappointed. Characters are believable and draw you in as though you’ve unwittingly sipped a strange brew from Mammy’s draw. If you’ve sampled Graham’s ‘The Tooth Fairy, Smoking Poppy and The Facts of Life you will be accustomed to his unique storytelling.  If you haven’t, this book will be a fine introduction to the man’s work.

Publisher: Atria (hardcover), Washington Square Press (softcover)  

Book is 272 pages (hardcover), 288 pages (softcover).

ISBN: 0-7434-6344-7 (hardcover), 0-7434-6345-5 (softcover)