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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fictionalized Case Study in "Witchcraft",
By
This review is from: The Witch's Trinity: A Novel (Hardcover)
I have always had an interest in the "supernatural" and our perceptions of it, and have read a few non-fiction books about the witch hunts that have gone on both in the Colonies and in Europe. This book takes place at a time of great unheaval in Germany, when first plague and then famine has ravished many small villages in 1507. Güde is an older woman living with her son's family in one such villge.
The children are skinny and the parents are all starving, giving what they can to their children, including Güde and her son and daughter in law, Jost and Irmeltrud sacrifice for their children. All the villagers are hungry and a suspicious eye is cast when a Friar and his notary come to visit the village looking for witches. Güde's friend Künne is the first victim. Soon, Güde herself is taken, accused by her own daughter in law and Rome's representive Friar Fuch's in his scary black robes. The frightening tale is told from Güde's point of view; she is an elderly woman, who has lived an exceedingly long life for her times, and her own confusion of time and place plays into the accusations against her. It is easy to see how simple it would be to accuse the older people of the village--they make good scapegoats and are often senile. Not a perfect book, it is well written and has some very beautifully told passages evoking wonderful images, both dark and lovely. Many details play into the crafting of this cautionary tale. I thought of Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible quite often. Güde's character is so well fleshed out, and we get to understand her and know her so well, the other players seem a bit flat at times. An excellent book.
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spellbinding!,
By Kemble Scott (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Witch's Trinity: A Novel (Hardcover)
Erika Mailman's novel about witch burnings in 1507 Germany is so compelling you'll feel like you can smell the smoke from the pyre. It's also a vivid reminder of what happens when religious leaders twist the tenets of their faiths for their own evil agendas. This is historical fiction that turns out to be remarkably timely. ---Kemble Scott, Editor, SoMa Literary Review
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written,
This review is from: The Witch's Trinity: A Novel (Hardcover)
If you are a fan of Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders, my feeling is that you'll also be a fan of Mailman's truly engrossing novel THE WITCH'S TRINITY, given the similar themes of alienation, fear and mortality.
Set in the early 16th century, the novel delves into the darker side of the human spirit, where neighbors turn on each another and family members accuse one another of witchcraft for their own purposes. While the accusations of witchcraft are rooted in famine, mass hysteria and personal vengeance cause the German village of Tierkenddorf to become a frightening place to live, especially for the old and unprotected. Pick this book up. You'll be really glad you did!
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