In My Bookshelf: L’été de la sorcière – Kaho NashikiL🏖📚☀️
Hello friends,
I hope everything is going well on your side. Summer is slowly fading away.
I still haven’t shared my thoughts on the books I read during these warm months but it’s completely normal: between my tiny baby who never leaves my arms and his brothers on vacation whom I try to keep busy, the days slip by so quickly.
Today, I’m finally taking a moment to sit down, open my notebooks, and talk to you about the pages that accompanied my summer.
L’Eté de la sorcière
NASHIKI Kaho
The story begins with a sad moment: the death of the “Witch,” who is actually Mai’s grandmother. The rest of the novel unfolds through Mai’s memories of the summer she spent with her.
Mai is a 12‑year‑old girl who feels lost at school and struggles to find her place. Her parents decide to send her to stay with her grandmother, who lives deep in a lush Japanese forest.
There, Mai discovers a different rhythm of life, a quieter world, and a presence that helps her feel calmer and grow.
Guided by her grandmother’s gentle wisdom, Mai settles into a steady routine that helps her understand her emotions, listen to her instincts, and slowly rebuild herself.
Far from the noise of the city, she learns a kind of everyday “witchcraft,” rooted in caring for medicinal plants and reconnecting with nature.
Through this quiet apprenticeship, Mai frees herself from society’s expectations and awakens to her own inner strength. As the novel suggests, “it is through experience…” through living, observing, and feeling that her transformation begins.
Behind its apparent softness, Kaho Nashiki’s work approaches the themes of loss, dreams, and rebirth with remarkable delicacy. The story also offers a subtle critique of our contemporary world: the father who is constantly absent, consumed by his job, and the mother torn between her professional duties and her role as a parent.The Witch’s Summer highlights the precious, almost invisible bonds that connect generations of women ties carried by intuition and an unwavering, unconditional love. It is a poetic invitation to slow down, to savor the present moment, and to understand that forgiveness, the cycle of life, and love are sometimes far simpler than we imagine.
This is a novel that touched me deeply. I think it’s a beautiful story, filled with meaningful values. It portrays a tender exchange between a grandmother and her granddaughter, where the little girl discovers the simple pleasures of life.
I’ll leave you with a few quotes that brought me comfort.
« Quelque part dans ton corps et dans ton cœur germera une nouvelle force de vie. »
“Somewhere within your body and your heart, a new strength of life will begin to grow.”
« Il est toujours difficile d’être juste quand les émotions entrent en jeu. »
“It is always difficult to be fair when emotions are involved.”
« Il se peut que tu te perdes parfois, mais si tu retrouves presque immédiatement la volonté de revenir sur ton chemin, alors cela voudra dire que ton entraînement de sorcière est en bonne voie. »
“You may lose your way at times, but if you quickly find the will to return to your path, it means your witch’s training is progressing well.”
