Book Review: The Wax Child by Olga Ravn

This is a book that I would describe as more style over substance. And I don’t mean that to be a bad thing but it is making it hard for me to write a solid book review.

The basic plot of the book is based on a true historical story. In the 17th century, a woman named Christenze is accused of being a witch by the local priest after his wife becomes mentally unwell. A group of several women are denounced and arrested and eventually executed. It is, unfortunately, a familiar story from many parts of the world at this time. Men have been blaming women for their problems for generations.

What makes this story unique is that it is told from the perspective of a wax child – an infant-sized replica that Christenze has made. The wax child is able to witness and hear all kinds of things through all sorts of means – it is uniquely connected to the natural world around it as well as these accused women. It’s somewhat omniscient narration creates an extra layer to the story. Does Christenze know what she has created? How has she done so? And if she has this power what other powers might she have?

Childbirth and motherhood is also a theme running lightly through the novel. Christenze is unmarried and childless and this gives her a kind of power in her time but also marks her as different in a traditional community. Elizabeth, the priest’s wife, has had child after child die and this has clearly led to her instability. She needs the support of a community, especially of women, but her husband would rather find someone to blame.

The writing here is simple and visceral. There is a lot of dirt and grime and body, just as we might expect in the 17th century, and the reader is never allowed to forget the physical nature of being human. The narrator of the wax child is very focused on the physicalities of the world around it, constantly reminding us of its created nature. Ravn does an excellent job of upholding the odd nature of the wax child with the physical realities of being a human, while also, underneath the action, creating an air of danger that only comes when one human wishes to bring harm against another.