Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian

9 reviews

blueyogi's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexism, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Racial slurs, Murder, Racism, and Infertility

Minor: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Miscarriage, Infidelity, and Sexual assault

maecave15's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Violence, Chronic illness, Rape, and Miscarriage

glitchkitsch's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexism, Infertility, Racism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Rape

Moderate: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Death, and Alcoholism

Minor: Toxic friendship, Abortion, Animal death, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Triggering content is period typical. It's historical fiction taking place in colonial New England, if you aren't prepared for sexism, racism, and a theocratic society, maybe skip this novel. The ending has

a satisfying payoff for the main character, though.

nday112's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Child death, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Colonisation

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

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

ae_young's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Murder, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

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

jcargabr's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.25

Wonderful historical fiction dealing with domestic violence, the patriarchy, and religion

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Violence