Book review of The Familiar

What’s the distinction between witchcraft and a miracle? According to The Familiar, beloved fantasy creator Leigh Bardugo’s newest novel, the reply is straightforward: politics. This distinction is of life-and-death significance for Luzia Cotado, a scullery maid in a less-than-fashionable Madrid family whose milagritos, or little miracles, can lighten a heavy load or make flowers bloom in winter. As a conversa, a descendant of Jews who transformed to Catholicism below the risk of demise, Luzia is cautious to seem religious lest she fall below the scrutiny of the Spanish Inquisition. That means holding her milagritos, with their incantations derived from a patois of Hebrew and Spanish, secret. But when her lonely, petty mistress discovers her presents, Luzia is pressured to show her energy publicly and thus enhance her employers’ standing in society. If she efficiently navigates the elite’s whims, a extra snug life awaits. If she fails, she will be able to solely hope the Inquisition will supply her a fast demise.

The Familiar is a guide the place candles solid deep shadows and even sunlit scenes tackle an air of unease. At its heart is Luzia, a troublesome lady to love, each in-world and for a reader. Foolhardy and bold with out knowledge, she makes choices that endanger her life for little reward, again and again. Her counterpoint is Guillén Santángel, the eponymous acquainted. As with so many of Bardugo’s morally grey (and probably evil) male characters, Santángel is instantly compelling, even earlier than readers enterprise into his perspective. The mysterious immortal wraith holds not simply Luzia’s consideration, however that of the complete metropolis. Through his historic eyes and nearly alien mannerisms, Bardugo provides depth and intrigue, preserving the mystique of the pre-modern world even because the Age of Exploration begins. Full of hidden perils and twisting machinations, The Familiar is Bardugo’s most assured and mature work but, a outstanding portrait of the magic of exiles and the traumatic echoes of the Spanish Inquisition.