The New York Times Book Review - Merritt Tierce
…a seeker's memoir told through a quilted veil: a collection of strong, journalistic profiles of several fascinating American practitioners of the occult…It is a unique and vital quality of Mar's approach that in her taking her subjects so seriously, we take her seriously in turn…Witches of America is a pastiche of history and biography, cultural anthropology and comparative theology. It's also a nice compendium of obscure arcana…[Mar's] shrewdly articulated hesitation is precisely what makes her a compelling Virgil. She anticipates our skepticism because she herself is skeptical, though she directs that skepticism inward—"to each her own" is our unspoken handrail down a strange stairway. If anything connects the various communities and traditions Mar writes about, it's this primacy of the individual soul and choice, which is, of course, the holy fabric of Americanness.
Publishers Weekly - Audio
01/25/2016
Mar takes a look at the modern witchcraft movement by digging into the history of the witchcraft and exploring places where magic is practiced and the people who practice it. Rather than reaching back centuries, though, she looks mainly at the 20th century and how it has shaped the many varieties of witchcraft practiced across the world today. Dolan maintains a warm and welcoming voice, guiding the reader through Mar’s prose and the worlds that she introduces to the readers. She captures the changing tone of the book, as Mar shifts from skepticism to intrigue and from bemused to amused. She provides strong voices for the people Mar interviews and avoids using clichéd voice tricks. She, like Mar, treats the exploration respectfully and thereby keeps listeners’ attention throughout the production. An FSG/Crichton hardcover. (Oct.)
Publishers Weekly
★ 08/24/2015
Writer and filmmaker Mar was accustomed to developing an emotional connection to her research subjects, but when she began filming her 2010 documentary on the occult, American Mystic, she became more deeply invested in her subjects’ world than she expected. Taking readers on an expertly crafted spiritual journey through a pagan conference, a weekend with a Feri coven in a New England “faux castle,” and an initiation ceremony for the Ordo Templi Orientis (which follows the teachings of Aleister Crowley) deep in the Louisiana swamps, Mar pushes past vulnerability in search of guidance and conviction. Along the way she gives an overview of modern American witchcraft, introduces readers to a multitude of variations on magical tradition, and helps dispel myths regarding paganism and the occult. Witches, priests and priestesses, and even a necromancer receive a sympathetic, humanizing treatment as Mar encourages empathy for the “outer edges” of society. Mar writes with clarity and candor, provides ample background information, and is neither preachy nor cheesy. She presents all her subjects as interesting individuals. The book’s only flaw is an abrupt ending, leaving many unanswered questions: Does Mar stay involved with the New Orleans branch of the Ordo Templi Orientis? Does she find the revelation she is looking for? Whatever one’s spiritual inclinations, Mar’s search for “something transcendent” is bewitching. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
"Witches of America is a seeker's memoir told through a quilted veil: a collection of strong, journalistic profiles of several fascinating American practitioners of the occult . . . She is the perfect guide . . . Mar writes eloquently about the search for meaning, our pursuit of the sublime within the mundane and the invention of self." —Merritt Tierce, The New York Times Book Review
“Mar is an often amusing guide to the household altars and henges of 21st century paganism, in which Wiccans conduct classes via Skype and online distance learning. But what will resonate most with readers is her genuine and touching search for transcendence, which leads to a conviction that all of these strands of belief are ‘strategies for staying alive. Some are simply more elaborate and inexplicable than others.’” —Elizabeth Hand, Los Angeles Times
“Alex Mar's debut Witches of America, a fascinating exploration of Wiccan, Pagan, and occult culture in contemporary America, begins as something of an ethnography, but becomes even more captivating as Mar herself is drawn into these worlds. Avoiding the easy caricatures to which witchcraft often lends itself, Mar writes about her subject and its practitioners with empathy and genuine curiosity. Like her writing, Mar aches and stretches and yearns: she wants witchcraft to work for her—the way we all, at various points in our lives, want something seemingly fantastic to be true—and in reading her book, I wanted it for her, too. Ultimately, though, Witches of America is about the search for meaning, not its findings. Fortunately, Mar's is a deeply compelling one." —Katie Heaney, Buzzfeed
“Enlightening . . . Provide[s] illuminating answers about what witchcraft in America means" —Huffington Post
“This is a wonderful, no-nonsense account of, well, witches in America. But not the silly pointy hat witches—the actual, practicing Pagans. Mar spent five years researching the practice of this very real religion, which has over one million practitioners today. This is an account of the history of Paganism, its rituals, and practitioners, told without condescension or historical bias and rumor." —BookRiot
"Through chapters both captivating and amusing, Mar. . .assembles a fascinating exegesis on the modern state of faith." —The Believer
“[Witches of America] is propelled by Mar’s layered details and her rare and instinctive curiosity as well as her quiet graciousness toward her subjects.” —Oxford American
“Mar's book takes something seemingly sinister—in this case, the occult—and renders it accessible . . . Mar provides a sensitive, probing, and nuanced look at those who identify as pagan.” —Broadly
“With good humor about the silliness of some of the rituals Mar encounters, and prose that can take on the quality of an incantation, Witches of America is an empathetic but clear-eyed group portrait of people many might find easy to dismiss.” —Bookforum
“A weird and wonderful bildungsroman of sorts . . . As you read Witches of America . . . it's impossible not to contemplate the boundaries of your own spirituality, credulousness, and appetite for the gothic and spectral.” —ELLE
"A fascinating look at witchcraft in the U.S." —Bustle
“A top-notch read for pagans and open-minded seekers curious about the fascinating beginnings of American witchcraft and some of the various directions its form is taking.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“An open-minded, fascinating journey into the world of modern American paganism.” —Booklist
“An expertly crafted spiritual journey . . . Witches, priests and priestesses, and even a necromancer receive a sympathetic, humanizing treatment as Mar encourages empathy for the "outer edges" of society. Mar writes with clarity and candor, provides ample background information, and is neither preachy nor cheesy. She presents all her subjects as interesting individuals . . . Whatever one's spiritual inclinations, Mar's search for "something transcendent" is bewitching.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A wide-eyed observer governed by an unshakable curiosity, Mar's immersion in the multifaceted world of witchcraft (including a particularly chilling encounter with a necromancer) collectively broadened and enhanced her perspective about the craft itself—and will surely do the same for her readership. An enchanting and addictive report shedding much-needed light on a spiritualistic community obfuscated by historical misinterpretation and pop-culture derision.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Witches of America is brave and sharp and tenaciously researched. I would never have described myself as someone 'interested in witchcraft'—Alex Mar's book left me feeling the fault had been mine.” —John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead
“Written with a beguiling blend of heart and wit, Witches of America sustains its thrall with something that runs much deeper than intrigue or pageantry. With the depth and scope of her curiosity, Alex Mar compelled me to follow her driving questions—about meaning, faith, and longing for community and wonder—on a breathless, deepening, and constantly surprising quest.” —Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams
“Like the best immersive subcultural reporting, Witches of America has its proper share of erotic charge (daggers, velvet, ritual nudity) and comic flair (a neurotic New Yorker meets an inedible Black Mass wafer). But what Alex Mar has actually achieved is something altogether more haunting. This is an intellectually serious and sweetly vulnerable work about connection both on and off the grid, and our common aspiration to lead lives spellbound and spellbinding.” —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, author of A Sense of Direction
“Witches of America could be seen as a Gulliverian journey through various oddball sects scattered from California to New England, all of which believe in salvation through Magic-but the book is so much more than that. This is a quest to come to terms with the Unknowable.” —Richard Price, author of Lush Life
“Whatever you thought about witches, be prepared to think again. In Witches of America, Alex Mar exposes what we fear most—our own power. To be a witch is to reimagine the world.” —Terry Tempest Williams, author of When Women Were Birds
From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY
"[Mar takes] readers on an expertly crafted spiritual journey." —Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Library Journal - Audio
★ 02/01/2016
In her first book, documentarian Mar delves into American witchcraft and those who have chosen the lifestyles associated with it. What began as immersive research into extreme spiritual beliefs became a personal search for truth, meaning, and belief. Sometimes humorous, sometimes thrilling, and always intriguing, this account explores philosophies and practices linked to witchcraft as practiced in, for example, ancient times, 1950s England, and present-day San Francisco, New Orleans, and the Midwest. With insight, sincerity, and honesty, Mar shares her journey for understanding. Reader Amanda Dolan is a delight for the ears. Voicing just the right amount of laughter, surprise, dynamic changes, and pertinent pauses, Dolan guides listeners through the author's exhilarating odyssey. Patrons will be drawn in by this riveting performance. VERDICT This title is essential for larger collections and libraries whose patrons relish works about witchcraft, spiritualism, and excursions into the unknown and the misunderstood. ["A top-notch read for pagans and open-minded seekers curious about the fascinating beginnings of American witchcraft and some of the various directions its form is taking": LJ 9/15/15 starred review of the Sarah Crichton: Farrar hc.]—Lisa Youngblood, Harker Heights P.L., TX
Library Journal
★ 09/15/2015
Former Rolling Stone editor and filmmaker (American Mystic) Mar deftly weaves in her own story of agnostic searching as she chronicles the various threads of American pagan belief systems, creating a narrative equal parts diary, history lesson, ethnographic study, myth buster, and pagan gossip. After spending time filming the Feri priest Morpheus for her documentary, Mar found herself drawn to a course of study and exploration of the various pagan sects and magical practices, far exceeding the safety of suburban Wiccan covens. Her experiences and observations, some inspiring, some a tad disturbing, are fodder for reflection on what faith and belief actually mean and how they are influenced by cultural expectation and conditioning. The chapter on Satan and the melding of occultism to devil worship in the mind of the public, fueled by a sensationalist media, is an eye-opening exposé of the effects of damaging religious ignorance and intolerance. VERDICT A top-notch read for pagans and open-minded seekers curious about the fascinating beginnings of American witchcraft and some of the various directions its form is taking.—Janet Tapper, Univ. of Western States Lib., Portland, OR
Kirkus Reviews
2015-07-30
A self-avowed skeptic investigates the shadowy world of modern witchcraft. In this literary companion to the 2010 documentary American Mystic, which she directed, former Rolling Stone editor Mar dynamically illustrates her adventures journeying across America in search of witches, mystics, and polytheistic pagans. A cynical native New Yorker drawn to fringe communities "whose esoteric beliefs cut them off from the mainstream but also bond them closer together," the author first traveled to Northern California's Santa Clara County, where a "Feri priestess" named Morpheus has constructed the Stone City, a sanctuary for congregating covens to perform ritualistic ceremonies. While Mar outlines witchcraft's history as a movement through the celebrated work of Englishman Gerald Gardner, the "godfather of Wicca," the core of her book comprises profiles of the many witches she encountered. None of them are as fascinating as Morpheus, whom the author befriended deeply and honestly and who becomes an increasingly formidable influence. Though frequently overwhelmed, Mar's fascination with the occult suffuses the narrative via in-depth explorations of intensive Feri witch rituals, a weeklong Spirit Gathering in a forest clearing in rural Illinois, participation in the annual pagan PantheaCon conventions, trial-and-error Feri training, and witchcraft circles hosted in a New England castle. The author initially approached craft rituals involving "circling, trancing, banishing personal demons, and bumping up against the dead" with dubiety and great hesitancy, yet once familiarized with her surroundings, she was enveloped in the wonder and the enlightenment each group imparted. A wide-eyed observer governed by an unshakable curiosity, Mar's immersion in the multifaceted world of witchcraft (including a particularly chilling encounter with a necromancer) collectively broadened and enhanced her perspective about the craft itself—and will surely do the same for her readership. An enchanting and addictive report shedding much-needed light on a spiritualistic community obfuscated by historical misinterpretation and pop-culture derision.
