Synopses & Reviews
Estrella is a Marrano: During the time of the Spanish Inquisition, she is one of a community of Spanish Jews living double lives as Catholics. And she is living in a house of secrets, raised by a family who practices underground the ancient and mysterious way of wisdom known as kabbalah. When Estrella discovers her family's true identity--and her family's secrets are made public--she confronts a world she's never imagined, where new love burns and where friendship ends in flame and ash, where trust is all but vanquished and betrayal has tragic and bitter consequences.
Infused with the rich context of history and faith, in her most profoundly moving work to date, Alice Hoffman's first historical novel is a transcendent journey of discovery and loss, rebirth and remembrance.
Review
"Acclaimed adult writer Hoffman...makes the history immediate in Estrella's spare, intense first-person narrative..." Booklist
Review
"Hoffman's signature lyricism is much in evidence but her prose is not as rich in detail as in her other books. The result is a story that reads like a black fairy tale." Myrna Marler, KLIATT
Review
"More poet than historian, Hoffman focuses less on period detail than on her protagonist's inner life and voice; her tale therefore has a timeless quality..." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Alice Hoffman's words are always magical and spellbinding never more so than in this gripping novel of centuries-old cruelty replayed in each generation....Incantation is a reminder that such stories must be told again and again." Lois Lowry
Synopsis
From a
New York Times bestselling author comes a journey of loss and rebirth with a startling premise inspired by historical fact. Estrella is a Marrano: one of the Spanish Jews living double lives when those who refused conversion risked everything.
Estrella's discovery that her family secretly practices the ancient way of wisdom known as kabbalah leads her to her true self and true love but also to a devastating confrontation with unimaginable evil, unleashed by the betrayal of a friend. With themes of faith, friendship, and persecution, Alice Hoffman's tragic and beautiful novel resonates profoundly in our times.
About the Author
Alice Hoffman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 15 acclaimed novels beloved by teens and adults, from THE FORETELLING, GREEN ANGEL, and AQUAMARINE to THE ICE QUEEN, HERE ON EARTH (an Oprah's Book Club selection), and PRACTICAL MAGIC, which was made into a major motion picture starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. INCANTATION is Hoffman's fifth young adult novel.