SOURCE: "Ephanie's Ghosts," in The New York Times Book Review, June 3, 1984, p. 18.

Hoffman is an American novelist, scriptwriter, and short story writer. In the following mixed review, she faults The Woman Who Owned the Shadows for its sentimentality, didacticism, and broad focus, but praises it as an "exploration of racism … [and a powerful and moving testament to feminism."]

In one of the many legends told in this ambitious first novel [The Woman Who Owned the Shadows], a father forces his daughter to marry a sorcerer. Each time the young woman's courage is tested by impossible deeds, she manages to succeed. But her powers are mistrusted by her ailing husband and the other sorcerers. They advise him to uproot the tree of light and persuade his wife to jump into the hole. Arrogant, tricked into believing that she can float like a petal, the wife jumps. They replace the...