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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
As others have noted, this book isn't exactly fiction or non-fiction. I thought it captured the horrors of the time, but also described well how normal folks kept living their daily lives in a world turned upside down. I was fascinated.
The concept of this book - a docudrama presenting the impact of the black death on a small town - was very unique and unfortunately I think there's a reason for that. The book tried to be both factual and personal but ultimately ended up being not enough of either. The narrative, due to being based largely on court records, felt distant and impersonal, and the factual elements were repetitive so I came away feeling like I hadn't learned nearly enough for how many pages I read. There were definitely interesting elements in the role of religion and how news spread, however, I think some of my appreciation came from my own comparisons with covid-19 rather than the book itself. I'm giving it two stars because I do feel like I got something out of it, just not enough to warrant anything higher.
As other people have commented, the author was trying for a work of history with the feel of a novel, and unfortunately it didn't work as either.
I had trouble finding books that focused on the Black Death in the 1340's. Luckily, I discovered this one and it was a fascinating read!
It's non-fiction but most of it reads like a novel. I think it's been referred to as a "docu-drama" type thing, which I think is accurate. Each chapter starts out with an overview of the month or year, and then the chapter is about the people living in the village of Walsham and how their lives were directly or indirectly affected by the plague.
The sources Hatcher uses are things like court rolls and church sermon records, which sound extremely boring! But, using these tools, Hatcher weaves a little soap opera drama of the village in the late 1340's....we learn who is having arguments and what they're about, and how the church influences daily life.
It's very hard to understand the people in the medieval period because their lives were so different from ours...the main difference being religion. We read about people who really did believe that, if they went on a pilgrimage, or prayed enough, or confessed every small sin, that they would be saved. Because God would never let his loyal flock catch this horrific disease.
The affect the plague had on England was huge. The chapters that tell the tale about the months after the plague had ended are full of changes and new ways of thinking.
This book is a great read and really helped me understand the events, and impact of the Black Death.
It's non-fiction but most of it reads like a novel. I think it's been referred to as a "docu-drama" type thing, which I think is accurate. Each chapter starts out with an overview of the month or year, and then the chapter is about the people living in the village of Walsham and how their lives were directly or indirectly affected by the plague.
The sources Hatcher uses are things like court rolls and church sermon records, which sound extremely boring! But, using these tools, Hatcher weaves a little soap opera drama of the village in the late 1340's....we learn who is having arguments and what they're about, and how the church influences daily life.
It's very hard to understand the people in the medieval period because their lives were so different from ours...the main difference being religion. We read about people who really did believe that, if they went on a pilgrimage, or prayed enough, or confessed every small sin, that they would be saved. Because God would never let his loyal flock catch this horrific disease.
The affect the plague had on England was huge. The chapters that tell the tale about the months after the plague had ended are full of changes and new ways of thinking.
This book is a great read and really helped me understand the events, and impact of the Black Death.
informative
medium-paced
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
I'm not quite sure what people saw in this book. The narrations sounds no different from the historical background given at the beginning of each chapter.
It's a redundant book (though I guess life is redundant) and really feels like it just dead-ends rather than ending like a story.
What I will give it is that reading it in a post-covid timeframe gives interesting context and makes me realize that the changes between the 1350s and the 2020s aren't the different after all. So that I'm glad I gleaned some knowledge and context there.
It's a redundant book (though I guess life is redundant) and really feels like it just dead-ends rather than ending like a story.
What I will give it is that reading it in a post-covid timeframe gives interesting context and makes me realize that the changes between the 1350s and the 2020s aren't the different after all. So that I'm glad I gleaned some knowledge and context there.
informative
medium-paced
Read way too much like a history book instead of fiction. Just could not get through it. Oh well, plenty more books in the sea!
This book is a unique melding of historical text and fictional narrative. It allows us to have as accurate an account of what it might have been like during the period of the Black Death and how a small town/village in England may have endured it. The text explores the society as it would have been prior and then during and after, allowing for a very in-depth look at how a society collapses and then slowly begins to emerge in a new form after such a catastrophic event. It's engaging, thought-provoking, and heartbreaking in its capturing of humanity all while remaining steadfastly within its narrator's confines and viewpoints of the period at hand. To capture something that must have been so horrific, devastating, and unimaginable in this way is a truly gifted thing to have accomplished, and Hatcher does that extremely well here. If you haven't looked into the period before or the human experience during it, I recommend this text. It makes us understand what happened well over 600 years ago in a new light.