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A Novel
by J. Nicole Jones
Book Reviewed by:A dreamy California Gothic about a woman who moves to the mysterious town of Bellinas to save her marriage, only to be swept up in a hedonistic cult that isn't what it seems
Tansy and her husband Guy are the newest arrivals in Bellinas, a lush oasis tucked into the coast of northern California where a reclusive, creative community is beginning to take shape. Helmed by Guy's cousin Mia, a famous model -turned -wellness -luminary, and her tech mogul husband, the group renounces the outside world in pursuit of purity, fashioning their own rules about what to eat and how to live.
Everything seems perfect in Bellinas: food is abundant, flowers are always in bloom, and nearby wildfires leave the town remarkably unscathed. While Guy is happy in their new lives, Tansy becomes more and more suspicious of the community and increasingly desperate to save her already-fragile marriage. And as lonely women have throughout the ages, she wants to believe in what may only be a beautiful lie.
The Witches of Bellinas unfolds as a confession from Tansy, filled with anguish over the life, and sense of self, she's surrendered in her desperation to belong. In J. Nicole Jones's clever reimagining of cult power and groupthink, the question isn't why join, but rather, what happens when you understand the danger, but can't conceive of a way out?
One of this book's most compelling themes is its exploration of power and gender. The women of Bellinas perform femininity in that sort of Instagram influencer way that is artfully designed to look effortless, and they are determined to mold Tansy in their image. In one memorable early scene, they surround her and literally strip her of her hiking clothes in the middle of a party to clothe her in one of their bohemian dresses. And while they are outwardly deferential to their husbands, Tansy learns that they hold more power than they're letting on. Gentrification, too, plays a role in this story. Are the residents of Bellinas really that different from those who live in gated communities?..continued
Full Review
(674 words)
(Reviewed by Jillian Bell).
The coastal California setting of The Witches of Bellinas is often beset by fierce and powerful winds. As the strong gusts rage, Mia, Bellinas's unofficial matriarch, explains to main character Tansy that wind has often been associated with magic. She gives the example of a peculiar, and largely forgotten, bit of history.
Hundreds of years ago, in Scandinavia, Ireland and Scotland, it was thought that witchcraft could control the wind, and savvy sailors tried to wield these powers to their advantage. They would buy strings of knots from self-proclaimed witches, believing that there was wind encased in each knot. If the wind at sea failed them, they would untie a knot to release some.
There are records of this practice ...
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