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breadbummer's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Very interesting, very informative. As with any audiobook, it can kind of up in the air regarding how the narrator adds or subtracts from the story being told and, while it was given a distinguished and serious tone, the reading itself was a bit dry. Worth reading overall, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Animal death, Torture, and Child abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Sexual assault, War, Violence, Slavery, Medical trauma, Body shaming, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Homophobia
Minor: Abortion and Cannibalism
rosemaryandrue's review
dark
informative
medium-paced
3.25
This is the story of many women and men from across the centuries and around the world who have been tried for witchcraft, and the often surprising historical currents that led them there, and influenced whether they would be allowed to live or die.
I was born about an hour away from Salem, Massachusetts, though I never went to visit until 2019. Of course I went in October, which is the absolute peak of their tourist station, and battled my way through a crowded open air market to check out all the witchy sights. In this day and age, it can be tough to imagine how seriously the accusations were taken back then, but Witchcraft does an excellent job of putting things in perspective.
In this book, we are taken on a trip to attend thirteen different witch trials, which take place across diverse points in space and time. I liked how the author showed us how society's perspective on witchcraft evolved from trying to persecute those that were sincerely believed to be in the league with the devil to charging them for presenting themselves as workers of magic. Gibson does an excellent job of explaining the complicated history that often led up to the accusations.
However, I did feel that the writing was dry at times, almost more academic than popular nonfiction; despite the interesting stories related, I found myself getting a little bored at times. I also thought the modern-day section of the book was markedly weaker than the rest of it, as the author didn't do a very good job of diving into the material as she did with the older historical cases.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Colonisation
Moderate: Classism and Misogyny
Minor: Abortion
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