DEAR READERS Thank you for choosing Cackle for your coven’s book club. I mean, sorry—just book club. Regular, ordinary book club. Of course, no spells are cast when you meet, no potions brewed. Only innocent book chat. Maybe some wine. Of course, it’s pinot noir and not the blood of your enemies. Of course. I started writing this book on my thirtieth birthday, and that’s exactly when you meet our protagonist, Annie. But she doesn’t feel much like celebrating. She’s heartbroken, lost, lonely. She was supposed to have everything figured out by now, supposed to know who she is and what she wants. But as she stumbles into her next chapter, she will soon discover someone there waiting for her. Someone who will change everything. Someone who might be a…well, you know.
Cackle is my response against the fairy tales and Disney movies of my youth. I asked myself, “What would my life be like if I hadn’t aspired to the Prince Charming happily ever after?” I asked myself, “ Why didn’t I aspire to be like the witch in the woods?” I thought about how fairy tales often vilify autonomy, and how I internalized that after consuming so many of these narratives in my childhood. I wanted to change that, so I wrote this book—a contemporary fairy tale that celebrates independence and self-love and witches that’s part dark comedy, part horror, and goes great with a hot cup of tea…or a cocktail from a cauldron. I will warn you now: this is the book equivalent of a poison apple. I hope you’ll enjoy it. I hope you find it delicious. But once you take a bite, you may notice some slight changes. You may start conversing with the spiders you find crawling across the counter. You may choose to abstain from smiling when you don’t really feel like it, even if it’s impolite. You may laugh wildly without caring how it sounds. You may cackle with reckless abandon.
Cheers,
Rachel
PLAYLIST “ Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia
“Personal Hell” by Kim Petras
“Nobody” by Mitski
“Can I Go On” by Sleater-Kinney
“Emo” by Sucré
“Good Days” by SZA
“Birthday Party” by Lizzie No
“Gimme More” by Britney Spears
“Mirrored Heart” by FKA twigs
“Celebrity Skin” by Hole
“Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac
“Flesh Without Blood” by Grimes
“ You Were Meant for Me” by Jewel
“Gemini Feed” by Banks
“Everybody but Me” by Lykke Li
“Gravel to Tempo” by Hayley Kiyoko
“On the Line” by Jenny Lewis “Oh Well” by Fiona Apple “ The Way It Is” by Nicole Atkins “Boyish” by Japanese Breakfast “Lark” by Angel Olsen “Millstone” by Eisley “Entropy” by Grimes x Bleachers “Mad at Disney” by Salem Ilese
“Alaska” by Maggie Rogers “Smarter ” by Eisley “Forgive Me” by Chloe x Halle “I Will Sur vive” by Gloria Gaynor “Permission” by Sucré “Mirror ” by Sigrid “Piece of Me” by Britney Spears
Listen on Spotify
Pi c k Yo u r
POISON Wicked Iced Tea (Nonalcoholic)
2 Earl Grey tea bags 8 oz sparkling water 2 tbsp sweetened lime juice 1 tsp sugar Steep tea bags in ¾ cup hot water for about five minutes. Pour the tea, lime juice, and sugar into a cocktail shaker with ice and give it a good shake. Pour the chilled & shaken mixture into a glass, add sparkling water & enjoy while reading and/or casting spells.
Magic Potion Cocktail
1 shot sour apple schnapps 8 oz elderflower lemonade Splash of champagne
Pour elderflower lemonade into a champagne flute, fill about halfway Add shot of sour apple schnapps Top with a splash of champagne, give a gentle stir & make a toast to yourself. You deser ve it.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. How do you think the novel’s title— Cackle—is important to the story?
2. What role do you think Annie’s early encounter with the fortune-teller serves in the narrative?
3. Do you identify with Annie? Do you think she is a reliable narrator? Does she remind you of anyone in your life?
4. In addition to the magic she learns, how does Annie’s relationship with Sophie help her grow as a person? Do you think there are any ways in which the relationship holds her back?
5. How does Sophie’s portrayal as a witch in this book compare with other depictions
of famous witches in TV, film, and literature? What do you think the author would say about the notion of ‘good witches’ and ‘bad witches’ and why powerful women have been persecuted for so long?
6. When you think back on the book, what scene, description, or plot development stands out to you as the most memorable?
7. Sophie tells Annie that she doesn’t believe in fate because it’s one of the “myriad of ways we’re conditioned to passivity. Women, especially.” Does that idea resonate with you?
8. Were you surprised by the ending? Do you identify with Annie’s choices? What do you think you would have done in her position?
© Nic Harris 2019
RACHEL HARRISON is the author of the forthcoming novel Cackle . Her debut, The Return , was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica , Electric Literature ’s Recommended Reading, and as an Audible Original. She lives in Western New York with her husband and their cat/overlord. RachFaceLogic
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