The Witches of El Paso: Book Review

The Witches of El Paso by Luis Jaramillo

Rating: 4⭐️ out of 5

1943, El Paso, Texas: teenager Nena spends her days caring for the small children of her older sisters, while longing for a life of freedom and adventure. The premonitions and fainting spells she has endured since childhood are getting worse, and Nena worries she’ll end up like the scary old curandera down the street. Nena prays for help, and when the mysterious Sister Benedicta arrives late one night, Nena follows her across the borders of space and time.

In colonial Mexico, Nena grows into her power, finding love and learning that magic always comes with a price. In the present day, Nena’s grandniece, Marta, balances a struggling legal aid practice with motherhood and the care of the now ninety-three-year-old Nena. When Marta agrees to help search for a daughter Nena left in the past, the two forge a fierce connection. Marta’s own supernatural powers emerge, awakening her to new possibilities that threaten the life she has constructed.

In "The Witches of El Paso" Nena and Marta navigate, at different times and together, how to grow into and use their magic. The women discover they aren't typical witches or curanderas. Thier magic extends beyond the everyday and can transport them across time space.

The book is as about magic, family, and time travel. The story centers on

the two women, their legacy of magic, and the strength of their bond. Can Marta come into her magic and help Nena?

"The Witches of El Paso" also highlights the theme of borders–magical, familial, temproal, and physical. It’s a beautiful read about how borders hold us and define us, but at the same time they aren’t fixed and fully contain us the way we think. The borders that hold us are often more fluid. We are at the same time the people we used to be and the ones we have grown into. We are bound by our families but also outside of them.

While the discussion of borders–El Paso and Mexico–is an obvious physical boundary. Jaramillo uses that to show how many people from both El Paso and Mexico cross that border easily everyday. The boundary between the two countries is not quite as fixed as many believe it to be and it highlights what is happening in the U.S. currently concerning immigration. Why are borders such a hot button topic for so many people? Why does it frighten them and trigger them? The idea of borders immediately causes people to consider the residents on the other side of the border as "other" than themselves. It causes them to think the "other" people are not as good or deserving than they might be. It's a strange concept

The overall theme of different types of borders led me to meditate on what creates vorders and if those borders are real. It's an appropriate subject during a time when so people are unnecessarily being targeted for brutal immigration roundups by ICE thugs who are unqualified for the job. More so, families are seperated and cruelly broken apart.

I think good writing doesn’t just tell a story in a unique way, but also leads you to think about other bigger topics related to the work.

"The Witches of El Paso" is an excellent fantasy/magical realism book. The writing is well done and the plot line was engaging. I highly recommend reading it.