Reviews

The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris

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rach22's review against another edition

2.75

I enjoyed the story overall. It was very well researched. I loved the setting and the idea, however the execution wasn’t all there. It is nice to read books set in the Highlands.

I liked the premise - it is such a good idea for a story to be about the last witch in Scotland. However half of the book didn’t even mention witchcraft and it felt like everything was over explained and the author thought the reader was dumb. The dialogue was not great. I could overlook it to begin with but there came a point where I just didn’t enjoy it any more. So much more could have been developed - Aila & Jack’s story, the story of the troupe and Janet, Peggy’s story could have been looked into more. There was so much potential and a beautiful setting but in the end it just fell flat.

I also found it kind of annoying to listen to all the over dramatic stuff about women when at the end of the day the book was written by a man. I don’t believe a man who has no experience in that department (being a girl) should write a book all about it, particularly one from a young girl’s point of view, and also vice versa. It also grinds my gears a bit, because back then in the rural highlands you would have strong female characters but you would also have quieter women. Just because they were quiet does not mean they were stupid and naive. Also in the 1700s I believe that in general, women were alright with their position in society as that is all they had ever known. There was such poverty at the time and both men and women had to work so hard that they probably didn’t have much time to think about feminism. They probably got frustrated with it at times but they definitely had more pressing matters like croft work, children, families etc. to attend to.

I am sad this book was so bland and I’m sorry that I have written such a scathing review. However this book just missed the mark. Also the ending was dumb. It could have been so emotional but I don’t believe there was enough put into the build up for it to elicit proper emotions. It is a real shame because the author clearly put a lot of work into the research and that came across well. However, I did enjoy the story and it reminds us of a time in Scottish history that should not be forgotten.

sarahb_513's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense

4.0

I really enjoy books about witches which have a base of truth in them. What an important story to tell. The author did a great job of pairing fiction with (what is so far known) fact. Narrators did a great job too! Definitely a great listen if you like this genre. Hard to listen to at times and extremely infuriating hearing the way women were treated.