Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore

14 reviews

darcyjanea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, Misogyny, and Miscarriage

Minor: Child death and Death

clea's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Beautifully rich, lyrical (but also quite dark) prose; the author's roots in poetry are obvious and help to create an immersive and captivating atmosphere of 17th century Britain. Due to this high level of writing and heavy use of "advanced" vocabulary, it was a little difficult for me to read. After a while, I had to take breaks from reading because my concentration eventually started decreasing (but this is mainly due to the fact, that English is not my first language) and this prevented me from really getting involved, engaged in the story. 
But it is still a fascinating story that reports the atrocity of witch hunts. The use of dark humor helped to alleviate the tension and allow the reader a brief but longed-for escape from the horrors of the characters' reality. Every character is multi-faceted and we get a profound understanding of their actions and motivations. They feel authentic and I think that A.K Blakemore did a really great job at narrating her story in such a human way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Sexual content, and Torture

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, and Miscarriage

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.25

 The Manningtree Witches was an engrossing piece of historical fiction, which was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize. Combining known facts from the Essex witch trials (actual trial excerpts are interspersed throughout the story) with a healthy dose of speculation the author has created a compelling tale, one that highlights the way witch trials were used to control and penalise women on the margins of society, especially those who did not conform to accepted norms of womanly behaviour or who were viewed as somehow threatening by males. It’s a story that is beautifully told - I wasn’t a bit surprised that the author of this debut novel is an award winning poet. I was suitably enraged by the actions of the men and cheering on the women for their acts of rebellion, both large and small, even while knowing what it would likely cost them. The atmosphere of suspicion, mistrust and betrayal was well portrayed and the book is one well-worth reading.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Confinement

Moderate: Child death

closelywatchedfilms's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Rape, Slavery, and Trafficking