Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Mercies

This story is capitivating, almost as if by magic.

That tasteless joke aside, its a beautiful piece showing how minor quibbles can lead to such devestating consequences.

The relationships and social connections throughout are stitched together with a raw, real intensity. Its beautiful.

A warning though, it can be intense so just a heads up!

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mapscitiesandsongs's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This was easily one of the most bleak, depressing and aggravating books I've ever had the pleasure to read.

I literally had to put the book down a few times because I couldn't handle it any longer. Nevertheless I quite enjoyed it, if you can call it that. The writing is beautiful and atmospheric. I was instantly transported into the rough and bleak landscape of Northern Norway. The characters are all well-written. This is especially true for the two main characters Ursa and Maren, but also for the kirke women in Vardø. I wanted to jump into the book and strangle all of them. An author has to be very good in their craft for me to actually want to do that. Loved the LGBTQIA+ aspect of the story. I also found the ending quite fitting for such a bleak book. A happy ending wouldn't have made sense and I appreciate the author for choosing the most realistic outcome.

I can highly recommend the audiobook, which is read by Jessie Buckley. The way she pronounced all the Norwegian names and words really drew me into the story.

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waterbridge147's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-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

4.5

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serian's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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mcdermott_af's review

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.0

I’m very glad that I finally picked this book up out of my to read pile. Prior to reading this, I had never heard of any witch trials in Norway. Despite knowing quite a lot about other, more well known, witch trials I was still shocked at how quickly the town changed. The book itself was beautifully written and each of the characters had flaws and a decent amount of depth. Like with many books though, I felt like the ending was lacking.

I wanted things to be wrapped up neatly. I wanted to know what happened to the main characters after the trials. I wanted to know if they lived or died. If they found happiness despite the hell they had witnessed. Alas, the story was left open ended which is the only reason it does not get 5 stars.

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