Black Maria

Reading Black Maria was a very interesting throwback to The Witches by Roald Dahl. Much like Roald Dahl presented his witches, these women are almost normal, but with something decidingly "off." They are not pinups girls in short striped skirts and stockings (like the horridly short Halloween costumes released every year.) Nor are they echoes of pulp covers. Holding nothing short of hen parties, dressing like "proper" ladies, and following their own Queen Bee, both depictions of older, dangerous witches are quite similar. However, rather than make children their target, men seem to be instead.

I find it really interesting how witches do embody the battle of the sexes, and maternal power and society. When reading about witches in the past, because their stories and portrayals seemed for vary so much, I had never even picked up on it as a kid. For example, the portrayal of witches in Kiki's Delivery Service is VERY different from that of the Wizard of Oz, at least on the surface. One is a protagonist, the other an antagonist. The wicked witch is feared, while Kiki is just somewhat socially ostracized. Looking at that last fact however, perhaps both of them do have more in common than I thought.

I like that Black Maria's action starts to sneak up on you; the little blips in the radar of normalcy managed to keep me on my toe is just enough. I'm especially interested in the battle between men and women that slowly is coming to light, though it also does frustrate me---Mig is the only one who seems to be blind to the gender differences. Unfortunately, I did not get to read all of Black Maria, and have been stopping myself from creeping on the Wikipedia summary to write this. I actually am thoroughly enjoying reading it though. At first, the book felt slow and a bit tedious, but finally has begun to pick up like crazy. I look forward to finishing it!