Reviews

An atmospheric, heart-wrenching, thought-provoking journey through Scotland. I was impressed and touched by how Allyson Shaw grapples with both personal and ancestral traumas; they were written about in a genuine, respectful, deep way.

sarah_grey's review against another edition

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I wanted more history and women and how it is different than the tourist signs, and less meandering thoughts about unrelated things. I wanted this book but more ruthlessly edited.

dulcimermaid's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

2.5

This book was a little light on the history and a little heavy on the memoir for my tastes. The writing is very academic without much of the historical substance, and I find it curious that the author criticises the commodification of the deaths of these women while participating in such with this book. In combination with the focus on the book's more memoir-oriented elements, it comes across a little gauche. I did enjoy several passages in this book, and the epilogue, however.

jmc513's review against another edition

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4.0

I picked up this book in an impulsive visit to a London bookstore, without much information, other than the promise of a historic account of the Scottish witch-hunts. Not knowing much about either Scottish history, or the history of witchcraft, I was guilty of the same witch-tourism the author denounces. Expecting something closer to a chronic about these stories, the book’s critique of the enduring violence against the victims of the hunts, humanising them through a very personal memoir, took me by surprise.

Despite the unexpected turn, I welcomed the perspective Shaw’s generous account provided, even though I disconnected from the form the narrative took. Reading Ashes and Stones gifted me knowledge and invited me to revise my own complicity in sustaining this violence. I was also shocked when holding this history agains the ongoing scapegoating against immigrants, and the continuing genocide perpetrated by the sons of the white men that persecuted these women, now directed at other people they deem inferior and want to eradicate.

hanjaks's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

2.25

This book should have ticked a lot of my boxes but I think being Scottish and having visited a few of the sites and even lived in the towns and cities mentioned (including a shoutout for my childhood hometown) I found the author’s writing style and descriptions of said places and locations prone to hyperbole which I found jarring when I was otherwise enjoying the more historic sections.

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