The Changeling Review

“People call us witches. But maybe what they’re really saying is that we were women who did things that seemed impossible.”

We’ve got another spooky one, folks. Stolen children, witchy islands, murderous librarians? Oh my!

I got The Changeling from the library last year, but the due date came before I had the chance to start. Victor LaValle’s blurb for Mexican Gothic reminded me to request it again, and I was able to finish this time, mostly because I couldn’t put it down.

Raised by a Ugandan mother, Apollo grew up with little of his father beyond recurring nightmares and a picture book about a baby swapped for a block of ice. Now a rare book dealer, he welcomes his first child, a son sharing his father’s name. As Apollo’s wife, Emma, begins to suspect someone (or something) is after their baby, their happily ever after takes a chilling turn.

Months later, a broken Apollo emerges from prison, the victim of a horrific tragedy. His search for revenge shifts to a search for redemption, then a quest to find the wife and son he lost. As Apollo encounters witches on the Hudson, the vikings of Forest Hills, and trolls, both figurative and less so, LaValle weaves a classic fairy tale from the magic and horror that lives under the surface in New York City.

The book’s protagonist might be a father, but its heroes are mothers, saving their kids and the world at every turn. From Emma to the “witch” Cal to Apollo’s mother, Lillian, each woman faces a past and future tinged by tragedy, and she conquers. (Lillian’s last line? Chills.) For the most part, Apollo is just along to learn what it means to be a parent and partner. At the best of times, this makes him bumblingly complicit, and, at the worst, it makes him cruel and insufferable, but hey, that’s men for you.

The New York of this book is rendered flawlessly. Having lived in Washington Heights and spent time in Forest Hills, I was thrilled to see streets, diners, and libraries I know, but what LaValle excels at is the feeling of NYC as it really is. Overwhelming, threatening, and enchanting, all at once. The perfect setting for a folk tale.

Also, I’ll note that I was on an A train where a woman gave birth in 2016, and I am dying to know if LaValle was there too and got inspired. Maybe people just give birth on the A train all the time...

I give the fifth Book In My Basket 4/5 stars.