Last of the Mojitos

James Morrow’s The Last Witchfinder is the story of Jennet Stearne, daughter of a Master Pricker and niece of a philosopher and scientist burned at the stake. The flames convince young Jennie that she must produce an argumente grande using Newton’s Principia Mathematica to show that demon forces are not the prime movers behind the evil that befalls us. Her quest is our tale, and it is a romp- part historical fiction, intellectual inquiry and rousing adventure tale- clearly the nine years Morrow spent writing were interspersed with serious research on everything from Native American tribal domesticity, Ben Franklin’s amorous exploits and 17th century freak shows. Delivered in the style of said century, the novel’s prime target is fanaticism, whether in the form of witch burners or political theorists. Certainty, especially the moral variety, is the dangerous beast Morrow seeks to slay. And while he straddles the line between precious and clever a tad too delicately at times, the man delivers the big issues with a spoonful of sugary adventure. He may also try a little too hard to tell you how much he knows, but even the odd contrivance of having Newton’s work “narrate” the story and drop in a la a Greek chorus to comment on the action, doesn’t unravel the narrative thread too wildly. Amidst the 523 pages of hacking and hawing about the origins of human suffering, it’s Newton who produces Morrow's thesis: “Demons are but desires of the mind.”