Customer Reviews

The Owl Killers: A Novel

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Set in the English village of Ulewic (fictional, but placed somewhere near Norwich) in 1321-22, The Owl Killers is the story of a village fighting against forces both known and unknown. At the story's center is the town's beguinage, a community of women originally from Bruges who came to England to lead lives independent of marriage or the convent. When the town suffers from flood and plague, and the women are unaffected, the people in the town start to suspect them of harboring a holy relic. Meanwhile, the village is controlled by a group of men called the Owl Masters and haunted by the specter of the Owlman, who delivers nothing but death and destructionto the places and people he visits.

The story is narrated by a number of characters, including the beguinage's leader, Servant Martha; the angry and bitter beguine named Beatrice; the town's self-righteous priest, Father Ulfrid; Osmanna, daughter of the lord of the manor who is sheltered by the beguines; and one of the village children. The novel contains a curious and intriguing combination of pagan belief and Christianity, witchcraft and superstition.

I don't normally read books with supernatural themes, but The Owl Killers grabbed me from page one and refused to let me go. One of my favorite things about this book is the characters; each narrator has their own strong, unique voice (my favorite was the sensible, practical Servant Martha). Maitland shows the middle ages as they really were, and she does so perfectly. Maitland delivers the symbolism a little heavy-handedly (of the "a candle blows out and someone dies" variety), but I nevertheless enjoyed this novel. Read it, and you'll never feel the same way about owls or men in masks again.

Maitland's second novel has a healthy dose of all the things that make a book worth your time. Folklore, mystery, history, all combine to bring the rigid, oppressive, superstitious-steeped time period to glorious life. It's never easy to 'buck the system' and in Medieval times it could be down-right deadly, as the Beguines learned. The many interesting, complex characters will elicit sympathy, disgust, anger, or compassion and you'll remember them long after you finish the final page. I hope Karen Maitland is hard at work on her third novel; I'm patiently waiting.

The Owl Killers is a story set in 1300's England where both Christianity and paganism are fighting for a foothold in the tiny village of Ulwich. The village is torn between the Church's demanding of their share of their meager earnings, the payments to the lord of the manor and the Owl Masters who use terror and superstition to try bring the people back to ancient pagan ways. Into this mix comes a group of Christian women who live in their own beguinage, a community where they live without men as celibates but without taking the veil. When the village is struck by disaster after disaster both the Church and The Owl Masters seek to blame the women for all the bad luck coming their way, this despite the fact that this self sufficient group has shared their food, cared for the ill and sheltered those in need. The tension slowly ratchets up until the dramatic conclusion.

Maitland is quite adept at rich details that make you see and feel the desperation of this small village and the conflict between different factions that takes no heed of those in desperate need. The story is told in alternating voices, those of the women of the beguinage; Father Ulfrid- the inept village priest; the young daughter of the manor; one of the poor children of the village; an embittered member of the beguinage; each provides a distinct point of view of the village and the events occurring around them.

My one complaint is that the story sometimes weaves between brutal reality and witchcraft blended with the supernatural; I would have liked a clearer point of view. What I really appreciated where both the glossary of medieval terminology and the author's notes that provided a wonderful explanation of the climate changes that occurred at that time as well as the background into the formation of the beguinage- which existed in many parts of Europe right through 1927. Well researched, well written and very atmospheric. Definitely worth the read if you enjoy medieval historical fiction.

Karen Maitland's "The Owl Killers" takes place in 1321, in Ulewic, a poor and benighted village "crouched with its back to the forest" in a desolate corner of England. Ulewic is ruled by the hypocritical and dictatorial Robert D'Acaster and its so-called spiritual leader is Father Ulfrid, a weak-willed, selfish, and cowardly priest. The residents eke out a hardscrabble living and death is their constant companion. Yet the church demands tithes even from the impoverished, and D'Acaster expects his underlings to regularly hand over a portion of their meager income.

The only bright spot is the beguinage, a community of courageous and formidable women, who farm, trade, treat the sick, feed the poor, and pray. They are not nuns, although they vow to remain celibate as long as they are part of the collective. Led by Servant Martha, the members of the beguinage are an altruistic group of remarkable females who support themselves and are committed to good works. Unfortunately, they have settled near a cursed place that is soon to be brought low by a series of calamities, including flood and famine. The gullible villagers are egged on by D'Acaster and Father Ulfrid to turn against their main benefactors--the beguines--whom they blame for their misfortunes.

Maitland is a brilliant storyteller who evokes the bleak mood of the dark ages with stunning authenticity. One of the greatest tributes one can give to a work of historical fiction is that it transports the reader to another time and place so completely that the present melts away. "The Owl Killers" takes us back to an era when life was cheap, food was scarce, the church was a power to be reckoned with, and a common laborer was fortunate to survive with his family intact from one year to the next.

The author has created a well-constructed and intricate narrative of awesome power, populated by a large and memorable cast. In the beguinage we meet Servant Martha, a stoic and strong leader who brooks no nonsense from anyone; Healing Martha, whose kindness and ability to treat a variety of ailments make her both beloved and indispensible; Beatrice, who would like to be a "Martha" (one of the leaders), but is tainted by soul-destroying bitterness; and Agatha, the youngest of Robert's daughters, a rebel who is destined to play a pivotal role in the proceedings. Philip D'Acaster is Lord Robert's licentious, cruel, and self-serving nephew; he is every bit as evil as his malevolent uncle.

The story is told from alternating viewpoints, resulting in a rich and smoothly blended narrative. Although the darkness is relieved by occasional passages of understated humor, the tale grows in intensity as it proceeds to its climactic conclusion. "The Owl Killers" occurs during a period of unrest, Maitland informs us in her excellent historical notes. "Significant and rapid climate changes" led to "widespread droughts, flooding, and crop failure." These catastrophes bred panic, lawlessness, a reversion to pagan beliefs and rituals, and a rebellion against the church and its hidebound traditions.

"The Owl Killers" could have been merely an engrossing tale of good vs. evil--the villains are as depraved and vicious as any you will come across--but the story goes much deeper. Maitland explores the power of women to band together as a force for positive change; the difficulty of uprooting superstition and prejudice, especially during times of economic crisis; and the responsibility of leaders (both secular and clerical) to protect and guide those whom they have promised to serve. The author implies that we live in difficult times, as well, as we struggle to cope with global warming, financial turmoil, and conflicts between various ethnic and religious groups. Will we emerge from our troubles more unified and self-confident, or will we turn against one another, seeking scapegoats on whom we can vent our frustrations?

I don't think I've ever read anything quite like The Owl Killers. Set in a fictional English village but based on a real sociological phenomenon of the era, the tale is vivid in its depiction of the harsh realities of its time. That, of course, means this is not the book for anyone who is looking for bodice-ripping Arthurian fantasy, but it's perfect for historical fiction fans. Maitland has a terrific knack for subtle character development and interpersonal tension, and the tale she tells leaves us with the unsettling possibility that human nature hasn't changed all that much in 700 years.

Bad harvests, severe economic inequalities, an almost comically weak civic leader, an even more comically evil village bigwig, and an all-female community whose members dare to be different - it's a surefire recipe for tension, and this story has that from cover to cover. As a series of seemingly minor incidents builds to a desperate situation in which tragedy is all but inevitable, the women of the outsider community mostly do their part to ease the tension and help the villagers, as well as welcoming other outsiders who need their help - and are of course repaid with suspicion and abuse, some of it from within their own ranks. In part because the characters are well-drawn, the story can be slightly predictable at times; but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. If anything, I was that much more drawn into the tale as I hoped the women could overcome the village's mob mentality and Father Ulfrid's miserably weak "leadership", not to mention hoping the Owl Masters' reign of terror would be broken, no matter how remote those possibilities seemed. There are also a number of supernatural-flavored subplots throughout the tale to keep the reader guessing just what is underfoot.

This is about as pure good-vs-evil as it gets. Highly recommended!

I had a personal rule that I would never pay more than $9.99 for a Kindle edition of any book. But I had downloaded and enjoyed the sample of "The Owl Killers," and only when I went to order did I realize the book (at the time of this review) was over the set limit.

But I was already hooked. THAT'S how they gitcha! Fortunately, it was worth it.

This book centers around a group of women ("Beguines") who aren't nuns, but who live a spiritual life devoted to service. It is the early 1300s. They had traveled to England from Belgium before the story begins, a time when a crossroads between pagan tradition, the Catholic church, fear and "modern" spiritual thinking collide. Modern for the Middle Ages, anyway.

Various characters advance the story from their personal viewpoints, including a child from town, a landowner's daughter cast out from her home, the village priest and women from the Beguinage.

Layered with minutiae detail of life at the time adds delicious and frightening texture to what otherwise might have been a basic ghostly story of greed and horror. Fans of "Pillars Of The Earth" and "World Without End," maybe also those with an abiding interest in the Salem witch trials, should enjoy this book very much.

It was interesting to read how each character saw the other. The Servant Martha (the leader of the communal group) presents a kind, thoughtful manner, while others in the group complain that she's cold and unyielding. We all think we know who we are. If we could look into the minds of those around us, they might disagree.

The writer, Karen Maitland, shares a fascinating look at history from an unusual vantage point. The brutality back in the day is shocking. Through this aspect, she also puts a microscope on brutal conditions that still exist in parts of the world today. She did a masterful job.

A final note: if some think that Maitland couldn't latch on to whether the "Owl Masters" were real or myth within the story, I would argue that the characters themselves didn't know. This character believed, that character didn't; it's part of what made the book such a non-stop read. Enjoy!

The setting for this novel is a fictional English village named Ulewic. During 1321-22, the village is struggling with a number of natural and supernatural forces. The villagers' lives are shadowed by the Owl Masters and haunted by the Owlman who leaves death and destruction in his wake. The novel centres on a beguinage, a religious community of women, originally from Bruges and newly established outside the village. The tensions between the beguinage, the village priest and the townspeople themselves build through ignorance, fear, envy and are fuelled by illness, natural disaster and manipulation.

The narrators include a number of different characters, alternating throughout the story and each with their own perspective of events. For this novel, this works particularly well because of the combination of pagan and Christian beliefs, of belief in the supernatural and superstition. The narrators include: the Servant Martha (the leader of the beguins), the teenaged Agatha/Osmanna (the cast out daughter of Ulewic's most powerful man who is accepted into the beguinage); Father Ulfrid (the village priest) and a village child.

I enjoyed this novel. I liked some characters, detested others and was fascinated by the concept of beguinage. This novel is of the Dark Ages in both time and setting, but some aspects transcend the passage of time.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

In 1321, the English villagers of Ulewic are pulled in two directions. The Owl Masters demand a return to paganism while the Beguines Christian women want to be left to worship as they choose in peace. However, the tiny town has had several catastrophes from plague to flooding to famine so many residents blame the Beguines.

The village priest blames the disasters on those females living in the beguinage. The Owl Masters ally with the priest insisting the unnatural women have caused crop failure and sudden animal deaths because they are witches.

This is a fascinating look at a medieval conflict that has relevancy today with it's for or against dividedness. The story line focuses on religious disputes and indirectly sexism. Insightful although too abrupt with sudden changes of perspective, fans of medieval historical tales will want to read THE OWL KILLERS AS KAREN Maitland scrutinizes intolerance and partnering by people of influence in positions of moral authority for personal agendas.

Harriet Klausner

I thought this book was fantastic, up until the end. Maitland just kind of...abandons her readers there. The "tie-up" at the end of the plot twists was unsatisfactory, and I put the book down thinking that it had such potential. I wish the author put as much effort into making sure her plot fit together, as she did in writing an otherwise engaging story.

If you like this medieval time period you will truly enjoy The Owl Killers. Another of Karen's best. If you haven't started with Company of Liars you are missing out. I am just starting her latest: The Gallows Curse and expect it will live up to the others.