Review: 'Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold' by Daisy Johnson; Kirsty Logan; Emma Glass; Eimear McBride; Natasha Carthew; Mahsuda Snaith; Naomi Booth; Liv Little; Imogen Hermes Gowar; Irenosen Okojie

 Over the last few years I have steadily fallen in love with at least one female writer of weird, supernatural, folkish tales. When I saw a collection about folktales including many of them I simply knew I had to get my hands on it. And I can quite thankfully say that these women have only raised the bar with this collection of folk tales. Thanks to Virage, Little Brown and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub. Date: 10/8/2020
Publisher: Virago

DARK, POTENT AND UNCANNY, HAG BURSTS WITH THE UNTOLD STORIES OF OUR ISLES, CAPTURED IN VOICES AS VARIED AS THEY ARE VIVID.

Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same woman, a pregnant archaeologist unearthing impossible bones and lost children following you home. A panther runs through the forests of England and pixies prey upon violent men.

From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today.

What better way to start the new year than with Forgotten Folktales Retold? My fascination with folktales originally sprung from the hidden mystery in the fog, the twisting path in a dark forest, the never-ending echo of a deep well, the sudden end to footsteps in the snow. As I grew up, this love for the wyrd and eerie remained, but I began to appreciate how this edge could be reinvented time upon time. The first author I actively remember adoring for this was, of course, Angela Carter. We read 'The Company of Wolves' in high school and I couldn't quite hide my delight. Through these old tales,  the authors were able to reflect contemporary struggles and tensions in a whole new way. I found I connected to this much more than other types of tales. In the years since I have fallen in love with Zoe Gilbert's Folk, Daisy Johnson's Fen, Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver and Madeline Miller's Circe, roughly in that order. Naturally I couldn't help but be drawn to a collection that focused on the more obscure folktales, the ones that don't automatically attract major attention. As Prof. Carolyn Larrington says, 'our everyday is not a disenchanted place', and these tales provide that continuity from the past to the present that helps ground us.

In Hag a range of brilliant female authors from Britain and Ireland were assigned a folktale and given free rein on how to adapt it. The tales that follow range widely in style and even in genre. All are spooky, but not all are scary. Some feel solidly supernatural while others are eerily normal. The first tale is 'A Retelling' by Daisy Johnson, tackling the tale of the Green Children through a combination of magical realism and meta-fiction. This was one of my favourite tales and a great starter to the collection. 'Sour Hall' by Naomi Booth is adapted from 'Ay, We're Flittin' and centralizes trauma, fear and anger as two women get used to living on their possibly haunted farm. 'Rosheen' by Irenosen Okijie is based on 'The Dauntless Girl' and feels solidly Gothic while discussing heritage and courage. This tale is chockfull of atmosphere and grisly imagery, and I adored it. 'Between Sea and Sky' by Kirsty Logan was a beautiful take on 'The Great Selkie of Sule Skerrie' that is almost an elegy to complicated mother- and womanhood. I have loved Logan's writing ever since The Gracekeepers so it should be no surprise that this was a standout to me. 'The Panther's Tale' by Mahsuda Snaith, based on the tale around Chillington House, was beautifully imaginative and a real surprise. Snaith really brought this piece of history to life by bringing in Indian storylines and focusing on female (bodily) autonomy.

'The Tale of Kathleen' by Eimar McBride was my first taste of McBride and I'm now very aware I have been missing out. McBride is a very aware narrator, interjecting, commenting, and joking along the way. It might not be for everyone, but it was a lovely tale of the folk under the hill. 'The Sisters' by Liv Little hit me solidly in the 'older sister' part of my soul. It feels less supernatural than the other tales, but the creeping sadness of fracturing relationships will stay with you. 'The Dampness is Spreading' by Emma Glass, based on 'The Fairy Midwife', was harrowing in its portrayal of motherhood and despair. Out of all the tales, this one was perhaps my least favourite. 'The Droll of the Mermaid' by Natasha Carthew, adapted from 'The Mermaid and the Man of Curvy' is a beautiful tale of generational blessings and traumas, with the possibility of healing and mermaids. And finally, 'The Holloway' by Imogen Hermes Gowar, whose The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock I also loved, is a brilliant ender to this collection. Gowar leaves it up to the reader to decide what is or isn't supernatural, but her adaptation of 'Old Farmer Mole' is chilling, violent and oddly hopeful.

With any collection of tales from various authors, it is hard to say anything about the writing. Not every story will be to everyone's taste and that is ok. Some of the authors in this collection were familiar to me and I loved revisiting their imaginations. Others were new and they have been added to my 'when you see this name, buy it, you know you'l like it'-list. The quality of writing and innovation throughout Hag is staggering and should make for a fascinating reading experience for any type of reader. The set up of this project is what I find fascinating. Curated by Prof. Carolyn Larrington, the tales in this collection bring attention not just to great female authors but also to perhaps forgotten gems of British and Irish folklore. The authors focus on the various themes, ideas and evolutions in a woman's life, whether it is the bond between sisters, the loss of one's self, motherhood, inherited pain, burning desire, friendship and freedom. 

It should also be mentioned that this is available as the original podcast for free on Audible. I only discovered this once I had already read them, but each author reads her own story, which is then followed by an interview with Prof. Larrington in which they discuss their writing process, the original tale, and more. I'd absolutely recommend listening to this as well, but to not forego the joy of reading them first.

I give this collection...

5 Universes!

I am weak in the face of folktale collections, but few deserve my fawning as much as Hag. It is a stunning collection with great writing, beautiful imagery and a haunting familiarity. If any of the authors in the title seem familiar to you, trust that the others will be equally pleasing. I couldn't recommend Hag enough.