Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian

16 reviews

pomoevareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Hast thou read Hour of the Witch?

I can always count on Bohjalian to carry me to the time and place of his novels and this one sees us in Boston, Massachusetts in 1662-63. Religiosity rules and witches hang.

Mary Deerfield is 24 years old and five years into her marriage with an older man, Thomas. Thomas is cruel and belittling to Mary and after one very serious incident involving a fork-also known as the Devil’s Tines, she petitions the court for a divorce. Divorce is almost unheard of in this Puritan society. Nearby, women have been hung for being possessed by the Devil and cases are beginning to be heard here in Boston. 

This story is divided into two books, The Book of the Wife and The Book of the Witch. The first focusses more on world building and introducing characters whereas the second ramps up the energy and adds in a slow burn thriller component.

I think about the fact that the story is set in a time period hundreds of years ago and yet where are we today when it comes to domestic violence? Not far enough. While obvious strides have been made, we still see women dying each week by their intimate partners and the power imbalance whether by sex, religion, money or size rules. I have been out of the victim services field for several years now but spent a large majority of my time working on intimate partner violence cases. Despite the Canadian government taking away the responsibility for victims to charge their abusers and having primary aggressor protocols, a day never seemed to go by when a new file didn’t cross my desk. Ownership of victims, never spelled out that way but all the same, was what so many cases boiled down to. 

Well researched and entertaining, Hour of the Witch was a pleasure to read. My only curiosity is what would have happened if Mary’s father didn’t import forks?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Infidelity, Colonisation, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

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

ekmoore11's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Miscarriage, Colonisation, Blood, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Confinement

Minor: Incest, Death of parent, and Infidelity

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.

stephaniezd's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

What a masterpiece!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Infertility, and Colonisation

Moderate: Miscarriage and Death

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

deirdrelk's review

sad slow-paced

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

2.0

I really wanted to like this book but the plot just wasn’t there. It was just pages and pages of abuse wrapped up in historical fiction, with almost no mystery to the plot. The only thing that kept me from giving it one star was the ending. I am confused where all the positive reviews are coming from.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Infertility, Misogyny, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Racial slurs, Bullying, Death of parent, and Miscarriage

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

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