Customer Reviews

Memoirs of a Shape-Shifter

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Kaplan-Maxfield is the author of four novels and has taught writing and literature.

This book is a fascinating study of a woman's return to her roots, of her discoveries about her past and her feelings about love and power. Nikki Helmik, age 40, returned to her home town, Gloucester, after her verbally abusive drunken father's death. She ends up staying in the family home and leaving her life as an attorney.

Nikki has been close to the powerful, wealthy, and beautiful Rose Eveless, probably even closer than to her mother, who she felt was weak for not standing up to her father. At the funeral of Ernest Eveless, Rose's husband, Nikki meets Phillip Eveless, their son, who had been sent to school in Europe after growing up in Gloucester.

Philip stays in Gloucester, drawn to Nikki. Nikki cannot decide if she is really in love with Philip, and she is angry with herself and him because he is married. Nikki has always kept the power in her relations with men by keeping her relationships short and never caring too much. Their stormy affair is ended when Philip suffers a horrible fall off a cliff, after Nikki had sensed his life was in danger on his sailboat, and runs to the cove where his boat is floundering during a storm.

Ernest had left a note for his son, asking him to go to Clarissa Barrow for information. It turns out that Clarissa is a "witch" who lives in the forest and hunts, with wolves as companions, to support herself. Rose has threatened to develop the old ruined part of Gloucester, called Dogtown, and the surrounding forests, unless Nikki provides her with the historic journal of Ann Cleves, Nikki's ancestor. Nikki searches for the journal, all the while having visions where she "sees" Ernest, and senses a presence in her house.

The journal is the story of Ann Cleve's life; and with the help of Guy, her dog, Nikki finds it and is eventually able to translate it. A scary confrontation on All Hallow's Eve finally completes Nikki's healing.

Armchair Interviews says: An absorbing read, with fascinating information on Druids and the history of Salem.

Nikki is a disillusioned lawyer from Boston who quits her job and buys out her siblings' interests in their parental homestead. She discovers her heritage includes witches and Druids, a part of the Salem witch trials and more! The treasure of this book is chapters 9-11, a book within a book. Read them first -- it is the long lost writings of Nikki's ancestor -- a druid priestess shape shifter animal spirt friend of the fairies. Like a Fellini movie or a Dali vision, these chapters whirl by with incredible visuals and visceral descriptions that take the reader on a tour de force of the entire nature of being told in the metaphors of myth and fantasy, mysticism and metaphyics. Absolutely delicious and remarkable as well.

Memoirs of a Shapeshifter brought me back to a book I lived with for a long time, The Mists of Avalaon. Not since 1987 have I been transported so fully into another world. Kaplan-Maxfield's story within a story follows the contemporary woman, Nikki, back into her childhood, up to the present and then into her heritage as a Priestesse/witch through her ancestor Anne Cleves. Anne's story returns us to early America and The northern shores of Massachusetts, the forests, the indians and back to ancient Irelanc. Nikki, who has had a long rocky road in her relationships with men, learns from her ancestor, how to open herself to love. It's a gripping, action-packed, heart-breaking and soul-making tale which I would love to see on the silver screen someday. Kaplan-Maxxfied's descriptions are exquisitely vivid. A big book with a big message, ancient wisdom for contemporary times

Memoirs of a Shape-Shifter is a fantastic novel with Gothic qualities. Transitioning between the present day story of a young woman and the discovered journal of her ancestor, penned in colonial-era New England, Memoirs of a Shape Shifter follows both the modern woman's struggles with the crises in her life, and her ancestor's struggles. The descendant becomes a Druid magician just like her ancestor, responsible for the knife-edge balance between power and love. Entangled and complex, Memoirs of a Shape-Shifter draws the reader into its webs of conflicting motives and does not let go until the final page.

Memoirs of a Shape-Shifter is a modern gothic novel that goes beyond the more common, commercial form of the genre. Along with magic, ravens, wolves, and a mysterious emerald brooch, the author also explores the female psychology, men and women relationships, and feminist issues.

Forty-year-old lawyer Nikki Helmik leaves her job in Boston to come back to her childhood town of Gloucester, MA. Soon she falls in love with Philip, the son of her cruel and beautiful childhood mentor Rose Eveless, a woman obsessed with physical beauty and eternal youth. Rose is outraged by Nikki and Philip's relationship, not only because Philip is already married, but also because Rose believes Nikki had an affair with her husband, who is now dead. Torn between conflicting loyalties and ideals, Nikki isn't sure what to do. Then Rose makes her a strange offer; she may have Philip, but on one condition: she must find the long lost journal of an ancient Druid magician, a shape-shifter named Anne Cleves, who happens to be none other than Nikki's ancestor. Rose believes the journal might hold the key to eternal youth she so desperately desires. Thus begins Nikki's search for the journal as well as for her own identity. Will finding the journal resolve her psychological conflict and accept the man she loves?

At times, especially in the beginning, the novel moves quite slowly, with pages and pages of what seems like pointless dialogue. This is accentuated by the tiny print used in the book. The author spends too much time dwelling on the character of Rose, who later disappears for most of the story and doesn't show up until the end. It is not until the reader is able to read the mysterious "lost" journal that the story begins to gain momentum. Though Nikki comes through as a real entity, Rose, on the other hand, is a bit stereotypical of the "beautiful and cruel" antagonist and even appears comical at times. The dialogue, however, flows naturally and sparkles with genuineness, and the author does an excellent job in putting himself in the mind of the female protagonist. Through the journal, the reader is transported into another time and place, with all the sights and sounds of those dark times. In fact, reading this ancient Druid's first-person account is the most fascinating aspect of the book.

This novel would be of special interest to those readers interested in Druid magic--its history, particulars and gore. Indeed, the author offers some fascinating details about this subject.