Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore

17 reviews

rosalind's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Excrement, and War

rebecca1's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.75

Found this a slog in parts, and better in others. No string sense of character from the protagonist. Some impenetrable language - I googled a lot atfirst and then gave up a bit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore 👹
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨

🧙‍♀️ The plot: Manningtree, Kent, 1644. War and famine breed poverty and superstition across England. When the Witchfinder, Matthew Hopkins, comes to town, telling tales of women who can be in two places at once and bargain with the Devil for misfortune to befall their neighbours, Rebecca West finds herself suspected. What must she do to survive?

When I think of witch trials, I think of Salem, Massachusetts and pilgrims in tall hats. But like many terrible things from history, they were a British export. This novel brings to life the witch hunting hysteria that took place in England 50 years before the trials in Salem, vividly conjuring the material and religious conditions that led to this brutality.

It's rare to read a book about historical injustices against women and not feel the contemporary gaze intruding on the narrative. But here, you quickly become entrenched in the fearful logic of this community - in fact, you feel its pull all the stronger for your awareness that it's wrong. Living through war and famine, it makes a tragic kind of sense that, if there is a providential God who rewards the righteous, then poverty and misfortune look like evidence of sin. The fortunate clutch their fortunes all the tighter; the most vulnerable, usually women, are mistrusted, blamed, killed. It's what makes Hopkins such a successful villain, because you see how he gains power while remaining as flawed and fragile as everyone else.

Belief and self-deception are big themes and for the most part I thought they were brilliantly executed, but there were a couple of moments where it seemed like you were meant to question if witchcraft had been real the whole time which was a bit jarring to me. The use of decorous language also went OTT at times - mostly it helped to make it feel vividly like the past, but sometimes it was like being beaten over the head with a thesaurus.

🐈‍⬛ Read it if you like vivid prose, social commentary, twisted villains and protagonists with great character development.

🚫 Avoid if you hate over-descriptive language or if you want a really plot-driven read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Religious bigotry, and Classism

epellicci's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Blakemore has created a fantastically immersive story with The Manningtree Witches. The book is slow-paced and I felt it took a while for the story to get going, however Blakemore catches every little detail, and when the book does pick up the pace, I was grateful to the extent the writing had gone to at earlier stages to bring Manningtree and its characters to life. Full of personality, twists, and heartbreak, this book has brought to life in vibrant colour the history of a 1600's Essex and the feverous spirit of the witch trials and the misogyny, fear, and powerful men that fulled them. I was surprised at the moments of tender hope, and warmed by the strength and voice that embodies Blakemore's female characters.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Misogyny

Moderate: Child death, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Miscarriage and Slavery

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, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Torture, and Violence

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

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

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

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

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

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