Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian

24 reviews

darkanddreary's review

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.75

the ending was amazing! it just took way too long to get there 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Violence

prtt949's review

emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

If thou are afraid to read a book with old English, prithee take the chance to give this one a read. Seriously though when I first picked up the book, I was worried it was going to be like reading Shakespeare with language we do not use today. I kept reading though it and for some reason after about 25% into the book you barely notice the language and the book is one of those books that are hard to put down as you really have a connection with the lead character Mary Deerfield. 

Unfortunately, if you know anything about history you pretty much know what happens to anyone accused of being a witch. I do not think this is a spoiler at all.

The characters are rich, the setting describe nicely, and the pace of storytelling is quite fast. I really enjoyed this one. I gave it 4 stars as I usually reserve (recently) to books that change me as a person. Really great book and I hope to read other stories by this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Violence

clevelandy99's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was an excellent book! Quite the page turner— I couldn’t put it down (or, pause the audiobook I should say.) The plot was excellent, surprising and fresh. The characters were complex and believable.

 I think one of my favorite aspects of the book was the way the author handled the historical context— while context and vocabulary was steeped in the time the book is set in, it wasn’t as dense as puritan writing often was. This allowed for a more immersive experience when reading from the modern perspective. I loved that experience. 

Another favorite aspect from this book: I loved Mary. I rooted for her the entire story. Sometimes characters make “wrong” decisions that can be really frustrating, but I was on her side even when I disagreed with her tactics. 

This has been one of my favorite reads in a long time! Definitely recommend it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation

Minor: Blood, Racism, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

sjanke2's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence

henrygravesprince's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Miscarriage, Incest, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Colonisation

Minor: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

kb_sherman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexism

Moderate: Alcohol, Infertility, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Animal death, Colonisation, Incest, Infidelity, and Vomit

kimveach's review

challenging dark emotional informative tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a fascinating look at one of the first divorce cases in 1600s Boston amongst the Puritans.  While the book was slower-paced than his contemporary novels, I still had a hard time putting it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism and Colonisation

Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Incest, Infidelity, and Terminal illness

haileybones's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

 Hour of the Witch intrigued me from the moment I saw its cover in a pre-release promotional e-mail. The setting and premise called to mind a film that captivated my imagination - The Witch (2015) - and I was intrigued. With trials, historical setting, and religious themes? Sign me up!

 
But instead of a supernatural suspense, Hour of the Witch is part family drama, part procedural, and part crime solving with a bland (at best) main character whose values reflect the modern era more than Colonial Boston. The setting itself was underutilized and underdeveloped. There is little in the way of rich description or historical context, even though the novel is quite lengthy. 

 

The main source of tension is between Mary and her husband, Thomas, who abuses her with enough plausible deniability that she is powerless to stop it. After asking for divorce and being accused of witchcraft on tenuous circumstantial evidence, she is forced to prove both her husband's guilt and her own innocence. Over two court proceedings, we follow Mary's many attempts to assert agency in her life.  

 

Mary herself was a frustrating character to read. We are assured of her intelligence and kindness, but she constantly takes unnecessary risks with obvious, potentially life-ending consequences for herself and those associated with her. She schemes and plots carefully for months to

kill Thomas

, then backs out at the last minute and is suddenly careless with the evidence. Her

romance with Henry Simmons

is extremely underdeveloped and feels like a deus ex machina to

get her out of the colony and have a long-desired baby

.

 

The "twists" throughout were pretty predictable if you're familiar with

abusive family systems

and the time period. I was instantly suspicious that

Thomas had killed his first wife

and knew what was going on as soon as

Peregrine's apples turned out to be poisoned

. I mean, I guess I have serious

Daddy Issues™

myself, so maybe I was more on the ball than your average reader?

 

By the end, each facet of the mystery has been neatly solved, its culprit given comeuppance, and the solution spoon fed to the reader, wrapped in a tidy bow by an all-too-happy epilogue that would have felt more at home in a romance novel than a historical thriller. Yawn.

 

The book is too long, the pacing is slow, and the cast and plot themselves could have been tightened significantly. I'd advise a library borrow before clicking "Add to Cart". 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Alcoholism, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Vomit, Rape, Sexual assault, and Miscarriage

thefoxyreader's review

informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 

Don’t let the marketing ruin this book for you like it almost did me. Hour of the Witch is NOT a thriller. It has one suspenseful scene and some growing dread throughout, but it overwhelmingly is a historical fiction courtroom drama. Sort of like if John Grisham wrote an episode of Law & Order: Puritan Victims Unit.

SYNOPSIS: Mary’s husband is the woooooorst. He beats her, belittles her, and rapes her. When he sticks a fork in the back of her hand, she’s done. Mary leaves him and pursues divorcing his abusive ass. But she forgot that it’s 1600s Boston, and she quickly learns that folks are beginning to suspect she’s a witch.

You can tell that Chris Bohjalian did a lot of research on the time period and location. I appreciate when an author’s research shows in the writing. For the most part, everything felt authentic to the period, and I love that he presents women in this time period as being smart and having a desire to be independent but not being able to achieve their wants and desires because of the way society was built to benefit white men.

The straight-forward approach was an interesting choice to take, and I appreciate that even though witchcraft isn’t real, the characters still believe in it and fear it. I thought we might get some lite witchcraft or at least some plausibility that it existed, but Bohjalian really sticks to the HISTORICAL part of historical fiction.

Despite the impressive research and interesting premise, <i>Hour of the Witch</i> is not without its flaws. The biggest missed opportunity is in the character of Henry, the dark-headed eff-society-and-all-its-conventions newcomer to town. I wish there had been more of a build to his relationship with Mary. This could have been the ultimate forbidden romance since she’s married and suspected of witchcraft. Their relationship just happens too quickly instead of being dangled like the apple in front of Adam and Eve.

And I get that Bohjalian is sticking to the realism, but I’m single and could have really used a scene where these two characters have an intense makeout on the docks in the dead of night. I get there’s no way they could do that without getting caught, but just give us a tiny bit of spice, please.

Bohjalian also relies too much on repetition to where it becomes borderline parody. If you don’t call a fork “the devil’s tines” after finishing this book, then I don’t believe you actually read it. Same goes for “prithee,” “drink-drunk,” and “white meat for brains.”

Overall, this book isn’t bad by any means, but I think it could have benefited from another editing/rewriting session to increase the tension and make the characters and story more interesting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

deezy's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Violence