I needed to read a few of these essays to warm up to Lindy West's style, but then it was smooth sailing. The book begins with her essay about #metoo and how she is on a witch hunt and then she turns her attention to various topics including Goop, abortion, and Ted Bundy (and the bullshit about him being charming). These essays were a great read, but I would agree with some of the other criticisms that I've read. I have read similar pieces before and it felt like she was preaching to the choir. At the same time, Lindy West's writing is smart and funny and it was still well worth the read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Hachette Books for an opportunity to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Smart, sharp commentary on the state of the world from a great, funny writer. Takes us further than the usual post-90s feminist treatise into territory I hadn't already read about 500 times. The chapter on Joan Rivers is brilliant, and the insights on "irreverence," in the chapter on South Park, are powerful, and the chapter on her husband's thwarted childhood dream of being an audio engineer was the type of story that needs to be told more often. There are some missteps, such as the assertion (in a discussion of the Adam Sandler movie "The Wedding Singer") that it's sexist for a man to feel hurt and angry toward a woman who left him at the altar. And the last few chapters, though I generally agree with all the opinions she expresses in them, feel more disjointed and ranty and overlong than the earlier ones. Overall a worthy read. #netgalley

"Yes, we are witches, and we're hunting you."

This book is incendiary. I liked Shrill a lot, but this one took that up about ten notches. West is a brilliant essayist--she is sharp, smart, funny, and perhaps most notably, deeply caring. She makes jokes, but this is a serious and earnest collection of essays about the disastrous state of the US (and the world). Every one of these essays is a small, glittering, angry, inspiring gem.

"The witches are coming, but not for your life. We're coming for your lies. We're coming for your legacy."

Last year I read Lindy West's memoir, Shrill, but didn't review it because there were no words I could think of to describe how wonderful it was. I recently finished The Witches Are Coming and have similar feelings, but I'll try my best to describe how wonderful this collection of essays is.

I've always been a fan of Lindy's writing (even before reading Shrill), so it's no surprise I fell in love with The Witches Are Coming, too. This collection is filled with her wit and charm, and trademark tone of calling out bullshit for what it is while still somehow finding humor in this hellscape we call home.

The book, as a whole, focuses on American politics, and analyzes popular culture to draw connections between how the 2016 American election turned out the way it did, and why there's so much racism, misogamy, fear, hate, actual fake news, etc., floating around today. As a Canadian, I am somewhat removed from these American-specific examples, but they still hit close to home in a general sense.

She talks about everything from Adam Sandler movies (that did NOT age well) to our fascination with serial killers (which I know is weird but I'm still going to keep consuming true crime content), to the total absurdity that is Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP (please don't put jade eggs up your vaginas, ladies!), to how abortions are totally normal and safe and FINE TO HAVE (this essay in particular made me cry),  and more. With each topic, Lindy West eloquently points out issues that often get over-looked or left out of conversations—for example, the majority of women subscribing to GOOP are rich and wealthy—and inserts humor while doing so.

Her narrative is, as always, equal parts depressing and hopeful. This sounds weird, I know, but if you read any of her essays you'll understand what I mean. Lindy's writing always has the ability to make you realize just how messed up some things are, and get you riled up enough to put your emotions into creating positive change.

One of the essays in The Witches Are Coming is aptly titled "The World is Good and Worth Fighting For," and I agree. Sure, everything feels terrible sometimes, but when the witches band together and fight back, we can create a better world to live in.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for new, feminist essays to read. Lindy's style and tone is perfect when it comes to addressing politics, popular culture, and making the link between these topics accessible.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. The Witches Are Coming came out on November 5, 2019, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.

Lindy West is a major voice of modern feminism, and her first book, "Shrill," helped to establish her as a serious thinker and writer with a wry sense of humor. I admire West, and I think it's good to distill so much of the vague rage about this era into cogent essays. Unfortunately, "The Witches Are Coming" is an uneven follow up. Some pieces capture vital ideas about what it means to be alive (and a woman, and fat) in this moment, while others focus on topics I cannot force myself to care about. Whether Adam Sandler is funny falls decidedly in the latter category for me. Her very light mockery of Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop strikes me as downright irresponsible, given the pseudoscience being peddled in the name of wellness. West's writing on topics such as Twitter trolls as well as climate change, however, is worth a look.

“[The accusation of witch hunt] has the power to transform pretty much any credible accusation against a man into an unfair — nay unconstitutional — and unfounded smear campaign.” Doesn’t that ring a bell as we approach the first day of the Trump impeachment hearings? I had never heard of this author, but after reading the blurb and the introduction I was expecting something more serious than this book delivered. I learned after the fact that the author was responsible for a comedy TV series and wish that I had known that before I started reading. I also wish I had known this was a series of disjointed essays.

While I agree with her take on underlying feminist issues, I didn’t care for her writing style and all the pop culture references. The essay I disliked the most was “Is Adam Sandler Funny?” Really, no one is making you watch Adam Sandler. If you don’t like him, just don’t watch his movies. The author not only watched, but took extensive notes and then wove his transgressions into feminist complaints. The book is preaching to the already converted. I didn’t get the feeling that I was going to learn anything new and I wasn’t being entertained, so I bailed out after 7 essays.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

!!!!! I feel gutted, but in an important way. Her essays are both exceptionally brilliant and highly readable. I’ll read anything this woman writes down to her scribbled grocery lists - if I could get my hands on them! Highly recommend.

"This is a witch hunt. We're witches, and we're hunting you."

Lindy West wrote this in an New York Times article on 10/7/2017 and the quote really stayed with me. Whenever a politician or Fox Newscaster said something often I would think, don't feel too safe, the witches are coming.

This book is not a memoir like Shrill. Lindy West does include some personal details and stories, but this is truly more of a social commentary. She obviously deals a lot with Trump's presidency but there are chapters about male focused entertainment, viral cat videos and teenage activism.

While I related to most of the book, there are particular sections that I found particularly engaging. At one point West says that she did not consider herself a feminist in her youth because "It took me two decades to become brave enough to be angry." Allowing oneself to be angry, offended or generally uncool is a theme throughout the book and is something I think many people struggle with. It is difficult to challenge a racist or sexist joke, to admit that you don't like South Park or Adam Sandler, and to let others know you care about politics and culture. It is definitely cooler to be apathetic, be easy going and let offences slide off your back, but that is not an effective way to go through life.

The chapter about Generation Z's activism and how it differs from my Millennial generators really brings gives me hope.

I received an Advanced Reviewer Copy of The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West from the publisher Hachette Books through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: This is a collection of essays dealing with living in the Trump era and discussion of the norms being destroyed. West is angry but she's not staying quiet.

What I Loved: The essays are fantastic. I would highlight excerpts to share with my partner the next day. She is angry, thoughtful, considerate, and funny, all in the same essays. I would read an essay and nod my head, she has the words to explain situations that often feel unexplainable and lets you know you're not alone in observing the world like this.

What I didn’t like so much: I honestly loved every essay. I feel like I need to read a Lindy West essay to start my day.

Who Should Read It: Everyone. But specifically: progressives, feminists, activists, and people who want to understand why Trump is so toxic to so many people. People who want to fight back against Trumpism. Yeah. sorry this book is political but it is also moral.

General Summary: A collection of essays that expresses and explains the danger of Trumpism. These essays will make you laugh, cry, and scream. A fantastic collection.

I had mixed feelings about The Witches Are Coming. I loved a lot of it as I identify with most of her views, but like Shrill, pieces of this book rubbed me the wrong way. I feel strongly that if we want people to listen to our stories and opinions, we have to be willing to listen with an open mind to those who don’t agree with us. It’s rarely black and white.

Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for possibly writing a review.

I first saw Lindy West on Unapologetic with Aisha Tyler. That was enough to convince me to watch Shrill on Hulu. So when I had an opportunity to read her new book, I took it.

I liked her idea to turn witch hunt on its head. Each chapter is really a short essay on a topic with the witch hunt thread woven throughout. While there is humor, this is really more social commentary and there is plenty to not laugh about too. Throughout history, women who did not conform to societal expectations have been labeled and persecuted. Witch is one of those labels. But rather than deny the label, maybe we should embrace it and the power that comes with it.

If you like Shrill, you should read this book. If you liked Dietland, you should read this book. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you may want to do a little research before you buy this book or get it from your library. It isn't for everyone. Some probably will find it offensive. For those that do, just remember....the witches are coming for you.

This book is fantastic. It’s one of my favorite reads this year and definitely my favorite non fiction book. I think it’s so important to read and everyone should read it!

4 1/2 stars

I have never read an essay collection before all by the same author and I this was a wonderful first in what will be many many more. I loved seeing West's personality come through the page with each one of her opinions, facts and sometimes hard truths. Although some essay's completely lost me, either from the pop culture references I didn't understand or the topic I didn't get invested it I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of this book. West's comments on things that are happening today were insightful and interesting. Although I will admit I still love Adam Sandler.

2.5 stars, rounded up

I began reading The Witches Are Coming fully prepared to rave about it. I thought Lindy West’s first book, Shrill, was excellent, and have always found her essays and opinion pieces to be thoughtful and well-written. I, a 37-year-old feminist Democrat writer, would seem to be the target demographic for The Witches Are Coming.

But almost as soon as I started on the first essay, I began to wonder, Have I read this one before? That thought remained with me for more or less the entire book. And it’s not that I’ve read any of these essays (I don’t think), it’s that I have read a lot of West’s other work, and she and I clearly read/listen to/follow a lot of the same people, and as a result this whole collection feels like walking a very well-trodden path. I don’t disagree with West on most points—I, too, have always found Adam Sandler unfunny, think Goop is a scam, and know that Fixer Upper is problematic—but I’ve also read a lot of other tweets and essays and blog posts that make the same arguments. (West is, however, 100 percent wrong in her distaste for pockets in women’s clothing.) Trump is what happens when misogyny wins out over expertise! Women who speak out against sexual harassment and assault suffer more than the men who have committed these crimes! Seattle is a city overrun with millionaires! I don’t see anything fresh or thought-provoking in any of those theses.

Shrill, as a memoir, had a natural chronology and arc, and prior to reading that book I knew much less about Lindy West. The Witches Are Coming, as a collection of essays, doesn’t have the same degree of coherence, and I understand that my appreciation for the book is diminished because I’ve already read too many similar pieces. So, as it turns out, I’m not the right demographic for The Witches Are Coming: it needs to reach younger audiences, people who haven’t been exposed to feminist critiques of pop culture, readers who seek consciousness-raising. As excited as I had been to start West’s book, I finished the final essay feeling like I had read it all before.

Lindy West is a superhero. She’s who I want to be when I grow up. She is fierce and articulate and funny as hell. Also, she is right. Only in the meaning that she is correct, of course. Because she is almost as far from the right as you can possibly be. So if you tend to be on the other end of the spectrum, I’m fairly certain that you are not going to like this book at all. Although, you probably gave up on this blog about three years ago if you are.

The Witches Are Coming is not as personal as West’s previous book, Shrill, but I got no less a sense of who West is as a person and why she is so fired up.
“”Witch” is something we call a woman who demands the benefit of the doubt, who speaks the truth, who punctures the con, who kills your joy if your joy is killing. A witch has power and power in women isn’t’ likable, it’s ugly, cartoonish. But to not assert our power – even if we fail – is to let them do it. This new truth telling, this witchcraft of ours, by definition cannot be likable. We cannot pander or wait for consensus; the world is too big and complicated and rigged.”
In this collection of essays, West acknowledges that we all may have done some things in our pasts that, in retrospect, seem inappropriate and maybe even heartless; but also that we're products of a time and place, both personally and as a country.
“From makeover shows I learned that I was ugly. From romantic comedies I learned that stalking means he loves you and persistence means he earned you, and also that I was ugly. From Disney movies I learned that if I made my waist small enough, a man or large hog-bear might marry me and let me sit quietly in his castle until death. From sitcoms I learned that it’s a wife’s job to be hot and a husband’s job to be funny. From The Smurfs I learned that boys can have seventy-eight possible personalities and girls can have one, which is “high heels.” From The Breakfast Club I learned that rage and degradation are the selling points of an alluring bad boy, not the red flags of an abuser (and the thing is I STILL WANT HIM). From pretty much all film and TV I learned that complicated women are “crazy” and complicated men are geniuses.”
At the same time, she’s not accepting any excuses for that and offers this to help us avoid falling into that trap again: “Maybe the only thing to do, when you are one speck in an ungovernable community of nearly eight billion people on this planet, is to always keep an eye trained on the deep why of things: Why do I like this? Where is this impulse coming from? Am I telling the truth to myself about myself?"

What West is demanding in this book is that we do better. That we stop attacking people for their activism, that we stop “choosing the comfortable over what is right,” that women stop chasing likability so that we can do the real work, that we stop accepting the idea that someone being “offended” is a “dishonest, manipulative way to overstate “hurt feelings,” that social media “make their platforms safe, constructive, and non-Nazi-infested for all users, that we stop ostracizing those who speak out, that men speak up for women and white people speak up for minorities, that we stop allowing one minority group (that would be Christianity) to “implement legislation that impedes other people’s freedom,” that we stop treating liberal values as “inherently frivolous, dishonest, a joke.” Yeah, she’s got a lot to say. And she defends it all so well. I need to buy a copy of this book, transfer my highlights into it, and then carry it with me everywhere so I can pull it out as a reference whenever I find myself in one of those conversations where I just can’t put into words why what I’m saying is valid.

Perhaps it’s best if I let West do the talking:
“If we’re going to pull our country and our planet back from the brink, we have to start living the truth. We have to start calling things by their real names: racism is racism, sexism is sexism, mistakes are mistakes, and they can be rectified if we do the work.”
“The witches are coming, but not for your life. We’re coming for your lies. We’re coming for your legacy.”

Brilliant, sharp and funny. West conveys the anger and absurdity of Trump's America with wit and humor. A little bit "how we got here" and a lot of fuel for what comes next.

Lindy West's new collection THE WITCHES ARE COMING is a series of essays that looks at not just our current political and pop culture landscape, but the rhetorical ramp up in the '90s and 2000s that most of us didn't realize we were experiencing and how the culture of those decades led, possibly inexorably, to the situation America is in today.

THE WITCHES ARE COMING is a rage explosion of a book. It's everything you've screamed for the last four years, plus some other things you probably wish you'd screamed. West's style makes the reader feel like your smarter friend is having a big, cathartic conversation with you, and that you are not alone.

However, I did find some of these essays, particularly the first half of the book, to be a bit shallow. This may be a consequence of reading it right after TRICK MIRROR, as the two books cover a lot of the same topics, but a lot of it felt like we weren't really digging in too deep.

Additionally, West's writing voice, while still thoroughly enjoyable, feels a bit dated to me. It reads like the internet of five years ago with all the capslock and overly wordy jokes. So, overall, I'm a bit torn on this book. I do think it's saying some important things, but without any deeper analysis or call to action, it feels like just more screaming into the void.

Love me it! Lindy is always spot on in her analysis about society and pop culture. I really like reading her essays because they are honest, raw, and very relatable for me.

I have to start this review by saying that Lindy West calling Guy Fieri a "human flip flop" is one of the best things I've read this year. There is nothing necessarily illuminating or revolutionary in this collection. The thread that runs through The Witches Are Coming is that things are BAD right now. Trump is bad, Global Warming is bad, the Alt-Right is bad, it's all very B A D and chances are high that we're all going to be dead in 50 years anyway because did I mention Global Warming is BAD??? And while I agree with every single damn thing West says in this collection, it's nothing I haven't already heard a zillion times, every single damn day of the last three years. But, that doesn't mean I don't want to know West's thoughts on the matter. She is a great writer, she is very funny, she is very smart, and she is exactly like a friend whose opinion on Trump, Global Warming and the Alt-Right you want to hear anyway, even though they're not going to tell you anything you don't already know. And the reason you do is that friend still makes you feel hopeful despite it all. BECAUSE she is so funny, and so smart, and because she still cares about the world and the people in it. And that's what West does with this collection.

This is a witch hunt. We are witches, and we’re hunting you.
I was beyond fortune to read an early copy of this book. Thank you Hachette Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Let’s get political and angry now.
Rants, Raves, and Reviews
Essay collections, especially political ones, bring so much emotion up for me. I don’t choose to read them often, as I’ve been privileged in my life to be able to ignore politics. I am trying not to these days, but thanks to stress being a major kicker for a flare up for my auto immune diseases, I don’t dive as deeply as I could.
Still, I knew I had to read Lindy West’s new collection when it came out. I love how she writes — both with humor and the ability to leave me utterly in despair, and as she is no longer on social media, I was definitely curious to see her thoughts.
West’s book focus on media from the 90s that you wouldn’t expect to have an impact on us now (they aren’t high brow or classics) and yet they do. Adam Sandler movies and South Park being clear influences, as well as the portrayal of feminist and environmentalist in media. White, straight men were the heroes in films, defeating the angry liberals and PC culture. And what was the point? What has been the benefit?
I happened to be working on our Judging Book Cover book - Devil in the White City- while reading this collection. Within this book there is an essay entitled “Ted Bundy Was Not Charming — Are You High?” which sat with me the entire time I read about the World Fair in Chicago and H. H. Holmes. So much of the book discussed how charming H. H. Holmes was, how attractive, how he was just a charismatic dude. It isn’t just Ted Bundy — it’s so many serial killers. It is society putting these men on a weird pedestal of dark genius, and not acknowledging that isn’t what they are. They’re men who generally got their nose bent out of shape because a perceived slight someone (probably a woman) gave them, and they just “can’t take it anymore.” The discussion of how the courts responded to Bundy’s verdict, the fact that we still make documentaries and movies about serial killers and how they are “necessary” because “we need to recognize the signs” or some shit… I felt incredibly validated in West’s findings in this essay. I wanted to cry because someone had finally put into words what I felt.
Quote: Millennials. LOVE. Board game-based Cold War murder mystery sex farces chocablock with J. Edgar Hoover references. Bing bang bong! If you don’t know that then you don’t know millennials, sweetie!
What I’ve mentioned in a few of my recent reviews is that I am uncomfortable with how authors are trying to shoehorn in the #metoo movement. As this is a collection of essays, particularly about how we got to where we are in 2019, I am all for the discussion of Harvey Weinstein, Louis CK, and all of the men who have been called out. Because it is something that is going on, and I am not entirely sure it is a win. I am terrified it is a long con to show we are losing. Will these guys actually have real repercussions? Or will they just slink a way for a bit, only to come back, all forgiven nothing learned? West doesn’t discuss this directly, but there is quite a bit about the movement and the perception of it all.
Final Thoughts
If you aren’t already left leaning, I don’t know if you’ll like this book. And that is quite unfortunate, because I think a lot here is important and needs to be discussed. Women’s rights, what we are doing to the planet, all of it is important and we should be focusing on that. I loved this collection, even if it left such a pit of fear in me. But there is also a note of hope, similar to the note of hope Parkland left for me: the next generation, who wasn’t raised on how evil feminist and environmentalist are, are willing to stand up easier than we are. And that is what I’m willing to help thrive.

Essays in the collection:
They Let You Do It
Choosing the Lie
Is Adam Sandler Funny?
Ted Bundy Was Not Charming — Are You High?
How to Be a Girl
Always Meet Your Heroes
Do, Make, Be, Barf
A Giant Douche Is a Good Thing if You’re a Giant
Gear Swap
Joan
Obsolescence Is a Preventable Disease
What Is an Abortion, Anyways?
Leave Hell to the Devils
Anger is a Weapon
Magic Isn’t Magic
The World Is Good and Worth Fighting For
Long Live the Port Charles Whooping Cranes
Tomorrow Is the First Day