"Real magic isn't just about power. It's about knowing the world around you." [loc. 5613]
It's a long time since I read The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic (on a beach in the Canaries, one Christmas) and I remember enjoying it very much. Graduate student Nora wanders into a faerie realm, is courted by the Faitoren queen and married to a prince: but her days pass in a blur, and she's under the influence of strong magic. She escapes, and ends up working for the magician Aruendiel, and is eventually -- reluctantly -- returned to her mundane life. Now the long-awaited sequel has appeared, and though I didn't like it quite as much as the first book, I found it enjoyable and very much in the same vein.
Nora's life has turned around: she has won a scholarship to England, she's no longer in love with her ex, and she's concocted a fraught tale of injury, illness and isolated communities to explain her absence. The only person who knows what really happened -- knows about real magic, and Aruendiel, and being careful what you wish for -- is her little sister Ramona. When Nora encounters Adam she decides to tell him what really happened: his response? "So many wonderful narrative elements. So much resonance. An anti-Cinderella story that's also reminiscent of Cupid and Psyche... Fictionalizing a bad experience is healthy."
A chance encounter lets Nora return, though her reunion with Aruendiel is not as joyous as she might have hoped, and she's still somehow bound to the Faitoren court. Fleeing danger, she finds herself appointed as high priestess to a goddess of healing, and revels in the power her deity bestows on her. But power corrupts, and gift horses are not always what they seem.
Nora didn't seem quite as independent, or as outspoken about women's rights (or indeed literature), as in the previous novel. Though she has more agency than before, and more (borrowed) power, her story feels less epic. I felt that she was rather too trusting, despite her previous experiences of deceit in both Aruendiel's world and her own. She seems to take things at face value, which is not a great survival strategy in a world of demons, gods, magic-users and illusionists. I was fascinated by Aruendiel's encounter with the real Ilissa: let's just say that underneath the enchantments she is nothing like the elegant lady who took Nora into her court.
I would have liked a more definite resolution to the Ilissa thread, since her malign influence is responsible for one of the more distressing passages in this novel: instead, Aruendiel merely says 'she can cause no more trouble'. And I would have liked more interaction between he and Nora: they spend a great deal of the novel apart. How to Talk to A Goddess... felt, to me, rather more fragmented than the first book, though Barker does wrap up some elements that were left unresolved: Nora achieves some closure, Aruendiel's chapters give us more insight into his thoughts and feelings, and there is a sense of pleasant possibilities opening up as the story draws to a close. Though I'm not confident that Nora will begin to make more sensible decisions, she does seem to be happier, with a firmer sense of purpose.
UK Publication 29 June 2021. Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy, received in exchange for this honest review.
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