Title: Weep, Woman, Weep: A Gothic Fairytale about Ancestral Hauntings
Author: Maria DeBlassie
Release Date: August 25th 2021
Genre: Folklore, Mythology
A compelling gothic fairytale by bruja and award-winning writer Maria DeBlassie.
The women of Sueño, New Mexico don’t know how to live a life without sorrows. That’s La Llorona’s doing. She roams the waterways looking for the next generation of girls to baptize, filling them with more tears than any woman should have to hold. And there’s not much they can do about the Weeping Woman except to avoid walking along the riverbank at night and to try to keep their sadness in check. That’s what attracts her to them: the pain and heartache that gets passed down from one generation of women to the next.
Mercy knows this, probably better than anyone. She lost her best friend to La Llorona and almost found a watery grave herself. But she survived. Only she didn’t come back quite right and she knows La Llorona won’t be satisfied until she drags the one soul that got away back to the bottom of the river.
In a battle for her life, Mercy fights to break the chains of generational trauma and reclaim her soul free from ancestral hauntings by turning to the only things that she knows can save her: plant medicine, pulp books, and the promise of a love so strong not even La Llorona can stop it from happening. What unfolds is a stunning tale of one woman’s journey into magic, healing, and rebirth.
CW: assault, domestic violence, racism, colorism
I don’t think I can properly articulate how much I loved this book but I will try.
From the start, I am instantly pulled in. The town of Sueno is filled with sorrow. For the legend of La Llorona is true and she is not holding back. Mercy is careful. Stays away, well for the most part. Then something happens that changes everything.
This story is beautifully written. Hauntingly beautiful. I could not put it down. I needed to know what would happen next for Mercy. Ah Mercy. She’s such a great character. Very relatable. Loved the storytelling style of this author. I could vividly picture everything and I was transported into a different world. A wonderful escape from reality. This story has everything you could want. La Llorona has always fascinated me and Miss DeBlassie did this folktale good. After finishing the book, I let out a long sigh. While I enjoyed it very much, it felt like I was saying goodbye to an old friend. I hate goodbyes!
Weep, Woman, Weep is a fascinating story of strength, sorrow, and of hope. I look forward to reading more by this author. I highly recommend this book! I give it 5 stars.
The Literary Vixen 