A way with the Fairies by Brona McVittie

Thank you @hyggebooktours and @Palamedes For letting me be part of this tour and reviewing this book. Away with the Fairies is a folklore anthology. I received a hard copy of A Way with the Fairies, and it contains a selection of folk songs, fairy tales, and fables from all over the European countries. The illustrations are absolutely outstanding and beautiful. They are unique, and they fit really well with this folklore anthology book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of these poems and stories; they were stunning and spectacular. I also like that at each story/poem there’s a bit of an introduction about them. Furthermore, I feel this is a book that you can keep coming back to time and time again. All in a Way with the Fairies is a unique and magical read. I read this book in one day, and it just blew me away. I strongly recommend this book if you’re into folk stories and fairy tales. Five stars. Blurb: 1. The supernatural is woven into everyday life. The book invites readers to see folklore as something once deeply embedded in daily existence. Fairies, spirits, and otherworldly forces are presented as part of the same landscape as homes, fields, music, and family life, reflecting a worldview where the unseen was accepted rather than questioned. 2. ‘A Way with the Fairies’ positions itself as a threshold work in that it connects literature, music, mythology, and personal memory. It asks readers not just to consume stories, but to enter them, linger with them, and allow them to resonate. 3. By retelling, adapting, and contextualising these stories alongside music, the book emphasises that folklore is not frozen in the past. It evolves through voice, song, memory, and personal interpretation. Readers are encouraged to see tradition as something alive and ongoing. 4. Transformation, death and rebirth are key themes and symbols throughout e.g. a child is taken by the fairies (The Stolen Child and Fairy Boy); the piper who can only play one tune becomes an extraordinary musician (Piper and the Púca); the 12 brothers are turned into ravens; Lusmore loses his hump, Jack Madden meets a bitter end; Étaín is transformed into a fly and reincarnates in human form. Author Biography Born in 1975 in County Down, Bróna McVittie is a Northern Irish musician and trained biologist whose work has earned widespread critical acclaim for its imaginative fusion of traditional folk, nature-inspired songwriting and experimental soundscapes. Her music draws deeply on the mythology, folklore and landscapes of her homeland, reimagining traditional ballads and composing original songs that reflect the rhythms of the natural world and the ancient stories woven into Ireland’s cultural fabric. McVittie describes her music as cosmic folk, blending ethnic instruments, harp, guitar and electronic textures to create music that evokes birdsong, open skies and elemental forces. Her voice, richly accented and clear, carries both the intimacy of a traditional sean-nos singer and the breadth of a contemporary experimental artist, an approach encapsulated in The Guardian’s praise that her music “takes you on its wing, and gives you fresh visions”. Since her solo debut in 2018, McVittie has released three acclaimed albums. Her first, We Are the Wildlife, was recorded and produced in County Down and interweaves original compositions with re-imagined traditional songs, drawing on local lore such as the County Down ballad “The Flower ofMagherally”. Her 2020 album The Man in the Mountain expanded her palette, balancing experimental electronic elements and collaborations with musicians from diverse backgrounds to deepen the mythic and pastoral dimensions of her work. Most recently The Woman in the Moon (2022) has been celebrated for its broader stylistic range, incorporating jazz, South American rhythms and atmospheric instrumentation while remaining rooted in Celtic song traditions and mythic themes.