April Witch: A Novel [Paperback]

Majgull Axelsson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 2003

Desirée lies in a hospital bed thinking, dreaming. Born severely disabled, she cannot walk or talk, but she has other capabilities. Desirée is an April witch, clairvoyant and omniscient, traveling through time and space into the world denied her.

The woman who gave Desirée up at birth subsequently took in three foster daughters, who know nothing of the existence of their fourth “sister.” Sensing that her own time is short, Desirée has decided that one of the others has lived the life she herself deserved. One day, each of the three women receives a mysterious letter that forces her to examine her past and her present—setting in motion a complex fugue of memory, regret, and confrontation that builds to a shattering climax.

April Witch created a furor upon its original publication in Sweden. Addressing themes of mother-daughter relationships, competition between women, and the failures of Sweden’s postwar welfare state, it is foremost a thrillingly written and fascinating story.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A smash hit in its native Sweden, Majgull Axelsson's second novel, April Witch, is both a fantastic and earthbound story of memory and regret. Desiree Johansson is born with a variety of birth defects into Sweden's welfare state of the 1950s. Abandoned by her mother, Ella, to a life of institutions, Desiree ends up at age 50 wracked with pain and seizures, unable to walk or speak, and grieving over the imminent death of a doctor she loves. But Desiree is also an April witch, strong-willed within her bodily prison, and able to track, psychically, the movements of three women who were raised by Ella as foster children. Full of envy and contempt, Desiree comes to see the world through the eyes of her stepsisters, each of whom has endured fortune's extremes. This far-fetched tale is nicely balanced by veteran journalist Axelsson's talent for suspense, grit, and criticism of mid-20th century conformity. Axelsson's prose is crisp and penetrating, a perfect voice for a novel whose characters' inner lives are monitored, revealed vicariously. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Desiree (meaning "desired one") Johansson is the ironically named daughter of Ella Johansson ironic because Ella abandoned her at birth. In the Swedish welfare state of the 1950s, Desiree's birth defects (cerebral palsy, epilepsy and physical deformation) meant a life in institutions. Now nearing 50, she is increasingly wracked by pain and seizures, and the only person she ever loved, her doctor, Hubertsson, is dying. But she is an April witch a weak body with a strong mind and when Hubertsson informs her of her mother's later foster children, she employs her paranormal powers of omniscience to learn about Ella, her "betrayer," and her three foster sisters, the "thieves" of the life that should have been hers. Though unable to walk or speak, Desiree follows their movements, and it is their stories that make up the bulk of this suspenseful, insightful novel. Margareta had been abandoned, while Christina and Birgitta's real mothers were abusive, and appeared irregularly in their childhoods with terrible results. The girls were separated as teens after Ella's stroke, for which difficult Birgitta is blamed: Christina and Margareta believe Ella discovered that Birgitta was the town slut, and that it nearly killed her. While Margareta has become a physicist and Christina a doctor, and Birgitta has evolved through drug addiction to alcoholism, none of them know about their other sister yet. Journalist Axelsson caused quite a stir with this novel in her native Sweden, ripping into Scandinavian conformity like a latter day Ibsen, while Americans might see some resemblance to the spirit of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Readers who made Peter Hoeg a bestseller should certainly find a place in their hearts for Axelsson. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (March 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812966880
• ISBN-13: 978-0812966886
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,488,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something new, April 23, 2002

By 

Candace "thepageturner" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: April Witch: A Novel (Hardcover)

In post-war Sweden, three very different girls find a safe haven with foster-mother Ella. Christina and Birgitta were removed from abusive homes by social workers, and Margareta was abandoned at birth. Little do these girls know that there is a fourth member of their group-Desiree, Ella's severely disabled daughter. Desiree has been institutionalized since birth, suffering from cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Although she cannot speak or move, Desiree is an "April witch," someone with a weak body and a strong mind. She follows the lives of her three "sisters," whom she believes have stolen the life she was supposed to have.

Ella gave up her only child to the care of Sweden's new Welfare State when told that Desiree was too severely afflicted to ever leave the hospital. She could not know that, with the help of a computer, her daughter would learn to communicate with others, earn a number of advanced degrees, or use her paranormal capabilities to follow Ella's life and her relationship with her foster daughters. Much of "April Witch" takes place after Ella's stroke when the girls are separated and go on to lead their own lives. Christina becomes a doctor, Margareta a physicist, and Birgitta a battered, drug-addicted alcoholic, but none of them know about Desiree, yet.

We don't get to read many novels set in the Sweden of the `50's and 60's, and Linda Schenk's excellent translation makes you realize that there must a worthy collection of Swedish fiction we never get to see. "April Witch" is an intelligent, unusual, deeply felt story that should find an appreciative readership here in the U.S. My only quibble is that the April witch conceit is not fully played out, and actually isn't very necessary. Desiree is already linked to Ella and her sisters through real life-the doctor she loves was a boarder at Ella's house at the time of her stroke, Christina is a doctor in her facility, and Ella ends up on a respirator right down the hall from daughter. It's an interesting nuance to the story, but the tale of this family of women tossed together by chance is compelling enough without it.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Original characters, October 3, 2003

By 

Sarah E. (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: April Witch: A Novel (Paperback)

I was browsing through a book store at lunch and this one just happened to be on the shelf with the cover facing forward. I read the cover and maybe the first four pages and then moved on. I couldn't get those four pages out of my mind, so I went back for the book. I was not disappointed. I recommend this book to friends - but not all of them. I can see how it may not be for everyone; but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It wouldn't be a book I would recommend to someone who would be easily offended as there are bit parts of explicit sexuality and some taboo subjects touched upon. I think the social commentary and off-beat characters may be a turn-off for some, but I find those topics and story lines compelling. The social commentary aspect could have easily been heavy-handed, but Axelsson keeps the story true to her characters and doesn't make her critique preachy.

The character development in this book was wonderful. The four sisters were complete and interesting and not like other people I know or characters I've run across. That may be because I am American and they are Swedish, but none the less, I found them convincing. That's not to say I would choose them as friends, but I don't require that to enjoy the book. I also liked getting to know a little more about Sweden than where it is on the map. The actual "april witch" aspect was an interesting way to tell all four stories. Christina was my favorite of the sisters, and the part about her x-rays during her time at medical school was a heartbreaker. Actually there were many poignant recollections of the girls growing up (pre and post Ella). I did find it hard to fathom why there wasn't more structure and honesty between the characters, but I think that was probably part of the mess they were in, so to speak. I would have liked to know even more about the characters and their flawed lives. I thought there were parts of the book that were unresolved; parts that weren't fully explained or situations that were somewhat messy - but I think that gave the book a measure of realism - real life isn't scripted and sometimes a happy ending just isn't in the cards. There were also little character traits and interesting situations for the characters that made up for where the book may have fallen shy of the mark. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another Axelsson book...

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING WRITING -- AND A COMPELLING STORY, August 16, 2002

By 

Larry L. Looney (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: April Witch: A Novel (Hardcover)

Majgull Axelsson's novel APRIL WITCH is a story told from a different angle -- the narrator is a woman who has lived with cerebral palsy and epilepsy for all of her life. Born in the 40s in Sweden, she was abandoned into state care by her birth mother -- who subsequently adopted three foster daughters. The narrator, Desiree, knows about her 'sisters' -- but they know nothing about her, even of her existence.

Desiree is extremely intelligent and motivated -- facts that escape most of her care-givers for years -- and she is 'different' in another way as well: she is an 'April witch', with the ability to leave her crippled body and travel in the bodies of birds and animals (and even other people, although this choice is extremely physically taxing for her). As she moves through middle age and sees her own condition deteriorating, Desiree comes to the conclusion that her death is approaching. She has become increasingly obsessed with the idea that one of her 'sisters' has led the life that was 'meant' for her -- and she is determined to do everything she can to find out which one.

The three 'sisters' -- a doctor, a physicist and a drug- and alcohol-abusing derelict -- cannot stand each other. As the book opens, Desiree 'sets her sisters in motion', bringing them not only together, but together around her, in order to answer the questions which have been burning within her for her entire life.

The person who knows Desiree the best (and who cares for her very deeply) is her primary care physician, Dr. Hubertsson -- who also happens to be a former lodger at the home of her mother, 'Aunt Ella', as the other 'sisters' know her. He is the remaining link in the world that binds them all together -- and he becomes part of Desiree's plan as well. Over the course of this well-developed story, everyone involved -- Desiree included -- comes to learn a lot about themselves as well as the others.

Axelsson's central character is an unusual but compelling one -- and it's refreshing to see a person with such an extreme disabity portrayed with such empathy and respect. This book, besides being very entertaining and intelligently written, can be a potential eye-opener for those who look upon people with disabilities with pity and disdain, as society's flotsam and jetsam. They -- like all of us -- deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.