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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
elemarani's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lihayes's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful historical fiction! This is the first I've read of Gaskell and plan to read more - I love her style of writing.
solppho's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
betanianne's review against another edition
4.0
This is a series of four short stories, which I did not expect. Definitely gothic, with prophecies and Salem witch trials and superstitions. Very different from North and South, but if you're into Romanticism or Gothic horror, you'll probably enjoy this.
o_claire_de_la_lune's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Un roman quelque peu déprimant mais qui dépeint avec une justesse parfaite la montée de l'irraison dans une société déjà fanatisée. Très court mais essentiel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Slavery, Torture, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicide attempt
midnightbagel's review against another edition
4.0
*4.5 stars*
This is everything The Crucible wasn’t for me.
This is everything The Crucible wasn’t for me.
desert_side_notched's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated
2.5
itsmeashleygee's review against another edition
3.0
This felt more like a treatment of the psychology behind the Salem Witch Trials than a fully formed novella, but still an intriguing and interesting read. The characters are definitely meant to represent types and are not fully formed or developed, but Gaskell provides an insightful look into the internal motivations and paranoias surrounding the trials.
Gaskell’s narrator speaks directly to her contemporary audience at several points in the novella, which can lead to a feeling that the narrator thinks something like the witch trials couldn’t be possible again in her time. This was my major complaint with the book, that the past felt too cleaved from the present.
Gaskell’s narrator speaks directly to her contemporary audience at several points in the novella, which can lead to a feeling that the narrator thinks something like the witch trials couldn’t be possible again in her time. This was my major complaint with the book, that the past felt too cleaved from the present.
gatonolivro's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
apechild's review against another edition
4.0
Read as part of a larger volume.
26/02/2022 Lois the Witch
This was traumatic. Just heartbreaking and infuriating. Possibly one of the most effective accounts of witchhunts and witchtrials that gets to the heart of the awfulness of it all, and what it was to be accused. And just to witness the idiocy of mass hysteria and people blindly doing and believing what they are told and never stopping to think things out for themselves.
Lois Barclay is 18 and recently orphaned. This is the 1600s in a village in England, and with no one to take her in, she decides to travel to live with her mother's brother, in accordance with her mother's dying wish. Her brother had emmigrated to the New World, and lives in Salem. History tells us that moving there was a really, really bad idea.
Gaskell creates this world brilliantly, reminding us that in those times people took their bibles literally and truely believed in all the witchcraft nonsense. So much so that Lois actually wonders at one point if the accusations must be true, and later is terrified when the city goal is full and she's told she'll have to share her cell - with a witch! I was also impressed by the comments and sympathy towards the native Americans portrayed in the story, and the note that they had had their lands taken from them.
26/02/2022 Lois the Witch
This was traumatic. Just heartbreaking and infuriating. Possibly one of the most effective accounts of witchhunts and witchtrials that gets to the heart of the awfulness of it all, and what it was to be accused. And just to witness the idiocy of mass hysteria and people blindly doing and believing what they are told and never stopping to think things out for themselves.
Lois Barclay is 18 and recently orphaned. This is the 1600s in a village in England, and with no one to take her in, she decides to travel to live with her mother's brother, in accordance with her mother's dying wish. Her brother had emmigrated to the New World, and lives in Salem. History tells us that moving there was a really, really bad idea.
Gaskell creates this world brilliantly, reminding us that in those times people took their bibles literally and truely believed in all the witchcraft nonsense. So much so that Lois actually wonders at one point if the accusations must be true, and later is terrified when the city goal is full and she's told she'll have to share her cell - with a witch! I was also impressed by the comments and sympathy towards the native Americans portrayed in the story, and the note that they had had their lands taken from them.