02-16-2008, 11:06 PM
I wanted to recommend The Witch's Trinity by Erika Mailman.
The books takes place in 1507 during a famine in a medieval German village. The main character is Gude Muller, an old woman who lives with her son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. A priest comes to the village and tells the residents that a witch is probably responsible for the famine. This leads to suspicion and accusations, including Gude's resentful daughter-in-law accusing Gude herself.
The book is not perfect. It is written in Gude's voice and I don't always believe that the narration is by an elderly woman. Also, Gude's mind is failing and it is hard to tell whether some of the action is real or not. Perhaps a little too ambitious of a project for the writer at this stage of her career.
HOWEVER...wow, this book lingers with me. I devoured it. She did a remarkable job in presenting a situation in which the old and outcast are vulnerable to fear and hate. She shows how good people are capable of horrible things. The second half of the book especially rang so true that I felt like I was truly seeing the way things may have happened during the witch hunts. It's a sobering book and a must for any student of this awful time.
Just a note, the main character does survive. You need to know this in order to get through the book, but it doesn't give anything away.
The books takes place in 1507 during a famine in a medieval German village. The main character is Gude Muller, an old woman who lives with her son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. A priest comes to the village and tells the residents that a witch is probably responsible for the famine. This leads to suspicion and accusations, including Gude's resentful daughter-in-law accusing Gude herself.
The book is not perfect. It is written in Gude's voice and I don't always believe that the narration is by an elderly woman. Also, Gude's mind is failing and it is hard to tell whether some of the action is real or not. Perhaps a little too ambitious of a project for the writer at this stage of her career.
HOWEVER...wow, this book lingers with me. I devoured it. She did a remarkable job in presenting a situation in which the old and outcast are vulnerable to fear and hate. She shows how good people are capable of horrible things. The second half of the book especially rang so true that I felt like I was truly seeing the way things may have happened during the witch hunts. It's a sobering book and a must for any student of this awful time.
Just a note, the main character does survive. You need to know this in order to get through the book, but it doesn't give anything away.