Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

16 reviews

jedore's review

dark hopeful informative inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

"There's no New World anywhere on earth...no matter what we tell ourselves, men are all the same everywhere. We imagine a utopia, settle a new land, and declare that we're making something new and better. But it's folly, Isobel. Man's nature is full of shadows and dark desires. In every man's heart there is a coffin and a grave, that is what I know."

If you enjoy historical fiction about strong women navigating a world stacked against them, Hester delivers. While it follows a familiar formula for the genre, the writing was strong, and the fresh insights kept me engaged. More than anything, I loved Isobel, the main character—her resilience, artistry, and survival instinct made me deeply invested in her journey.

The novel’s biggest strength lies in its portrayal of women’s struggles across centuries, particularly regarding accusations of witchcraft. The story moves between the 1600s and 1800s, showing how these allegations were often used to control and silence women. The relationships between women in the book were complex—some lifted each other up, while others betrayed or tore each other down. And, as is so often the case in history, the men surrounding these strong women were weak, needing control to feel powerful.

Though the supernatural elements were light, the book had an almost spellbinding quality, weaving historical reality with folklore and imagination. While it didn’t completely blow me away, it was a solid, engaging read with a fresh take on the legacy of The Scarlet Letter.

Laurie Lico Albanese was inspired by the idea that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter could have been influenced by a real woman. Her research into synesthesia, Scottish history, and women’s hidden contributions to literature shaped Hester into a unique blend of fact and fiction.

I had never heard of color synesthesia before reading this book. It’s a neurological condition where people associate colors with letters, numbers, or sounds—essentially experiencing one sense through another. In Hester, this trait added a rich layer to Isobel’s character and her artistic perspective.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Domestic abuse, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

nataliecoyne's review

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I honestly feel a little bad about only giving this 3.25 stars, because the final few chapters were very interesting

(with everything about how multiple characters were helping runaway slaves).

Unfortunately, though, I found most of this book to be boring. I did push myself through it quite fast, but it was largely so that I could move on to something else. Admittedly, though, I've never actually read The Scarlet Letter so maybe, if I had, this would've been more interesting to me and I could've picked up on some "easter eggs" of sorts that I didn't know were meant to be easter eggs/references until much later in the book when they're directly addressed (for example, the visit to the graveyard). I probably even missed more because there were probably ones that weren't directly addressed.

Probably reading the original source material should be prioritized when picking up a retelling, but I recently enjoyed a different retelling (James) without ever having read the original source material (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) so I thought I'd be fine. Plus, from how I read the book description, this wasn't fully a retelling, but more of a behind-the-scenes of the inspiration of the book type thing.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Essentially I just don't think this book was for me. I wouldn't necessarily dissuade others from reading it, though, especially if you've read and enjoyed The Scarlet Letter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Colonisation

annaekwan95's review

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

prairieraven's review

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

brichambo's review

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent

kelisabeth's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mels_reading_log's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

“It’s not that we are witches or faeries or that we deny God. It is that we are more beautiful and strong together than apart.”  Men are scared of things they don’t understand. During the Witch Trials they hunted and murdered anyone who was different or skilled in a way they were ignorant to, all the while standing behind God as if He would endorse such foolishness. This story is the fictional story of the real Hester Prynne of the Scarlet Letter. I loved the strength, grit and determination of the outcast characters. They saw who they could trust and stuck together. This was such a good book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

spineofthesaurus's review

adventurous dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Excrement, Vomit, and Medical content

brichneyfloss's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Grief

jmschnepp's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Hester is the story of Isobel Gambel. She comes to America from her homeland, Scotland, with her husband, Edward. They leave Scotland to escape the poor house.

Edward signed on with Captain Darling for travel and trade. While he's gone, Isobel becomes close with Nathaniel Hawthorne. What ensues is an affair that produces a child and one of the most important and well-known pieces of literary fiction ever written.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy