The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West, the author of the memoir Shrill (now a series on Hulu), is a brand new collection of essays addressing the #metoo movement, fat-shaming, gender, MAGA, and more. She takes the concept of a witch hunt and turns it on its head–it’s the witches doing the hunting. I was excited to receive an ALC from Libro.fm and Hachette Audio earlier this month. And yet I only gave it 2 ⭐️s.

I feel a little bad about it. A little. But let me explain.

First, some backstory.

Until 2019, I largely only read books by people who look like me and think like me. This wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t a conscious decision I made. I just gravitated toward what was familiar. After joining Bookstagram in January, I gradually become more aware of my blind spots. I realized that I hadn’t been actively seeking out books that would challenge me. So I decided this year I needed to do better, to read more widely.

This year, I have read books by people of color, LGBTQ+ voices, and immigrants. I have read books written by people far more liberal than myself. Usually, within those pages, I can find common ground, a place of, if not complete agreement, empathy and solidarity in our shared humanity.

Reading The Witches Are Coming, though, common ground was difficult for me to find.

On paper, many of our views coincide. For instance, I don’t support Trump. I think he’s a terrible person. I stand behind victims of sexual assault and call for the perpetrators to be held accountable. Increasingly aware of my privilege, I want to be a ally, not one who does nothing.

Over the past several years, since probably 2014 or 2015, I have become a lot more moderate than I used to be (those who know me IRL will attest to this), and yet I’m sure Lindy would still lump me in with those dangerous, despicable conservatives. For instance, I will never be able to get behind #shoutyourabortion. I disagree with it, completely and emphatically. And yet, since when does having a different opinion mean we can’t have rational conversations about things that matter?

When framing her arguments, Lindy uses biting or sarcastic language to characterize entire sections of the population. As someone obviously more conservative than her but who is also an intelligent, kind person, I struggled to not feel personally and unfairly attacked. The language she uses is not meant to persuade or convince but to berate and belittle. What some interpret as bold commentary came across more like a hateful rant.

I am aware that she isn’t alone in this; the current cultural climate is not one of respect and tolerance. The media and those with power to shape the narrative have fomented a toxic miasma of recrimination and disrespect.

Rhetoric (ranting?) like this creates only deeper division; her writing is devoid of empathy for anyone who disagrees with her. That to me was my biggest issue with her book, along with the feeling that it lacked a specific call to action. Yes. This is the bleak reality of our situation, but where do we go from here?

This isn’t to say, however, that I disliked it in its entirety. It has some hilarious critiques of our current culture, with lines that left me laughing out loud. Lindy is incredibly funny. She truly is an excellent writer. I just would have liked for her to be a bit…kinder, I guess.

I’m glad I finished it, in any case.

If you’re thinking of picking this one up, I’m seeing a lot of positive reviews. It was a case of me being the wrong reader for this particular collection of essays. My conservative is showing. 😆

But I wanted to be honest in my review, so there you go.