Kathleen Kaufman's atmospheric novel takes its mood from foggy moors and craggy highlands. In Hag, Scotland is home to long lines of women with mystical and powerful energies, all waiting for one who will be the culmination of their destiny.
Call them what you will: hags, goddesses, witches--certain women have been endowed with mysterious and sometimes frightening gifts for centuries. Kaufman builds on the Gaelic myth of Cailleach, a divine hag. Cailleach bears daughters with powerful gifts, and these daughters bring their daughters into the world, preserving their clan and powers. However, as generations pass, the daughters become removed from their origins and remember little of the purpose for their gifts. Alternating with lore is the contemporary story of Alice Kyles--a descendant many times removed from Cailleach--whose gift of seeing the future is sublimated even as her daughter, Coira, is learning to harness unimaginable forces.
Hag moves across time, showing how the past and present are paths "occurring on top of each other, none greater than the next, but different." Hags live among men but, as Alice's mother tells her, are "never entirely in this world; even now, we both have one foot on the other side of the mist." The culmination of this story of divine women is Coira's predestined path to the other side, bringing "a time of infinite peace to the world of man." Hag is a mystical story of strong feminine power, perfect for fans of The Power and Circe. --Cindy Pauldine, bookseller, the river's end bookstore, Oswego, N.Y.