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sgrady 's review for:
The Black Death: A Personal History
by John Hatcher
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This is a difficult book to categorize neatly into genres, which I think may lend itself to being picked up by readers who are not the target audience and probably will not enjoy it, so keep that in mind while reading reviews.
This book is fiction in only the strictest sense that it is a fabricated story, but I believe it would satisfy the nonfiction reader far more than someone who primarily enjoys fiction. The author, John Hatcher, is a historian, and appropriately, this book seeks more to educate on history than it does to weave a compelling fictional narrative. Rather than a piece of historical fiction, I would describe this as a history book borrowing the tools of fiction to evoke empathy and to foster a more intimate understanding of the period in its readers. Hatcher himself describes it as a "docudrama", which I find to be accurate. Hatcher really sticks impressively close to the sources, taking as little creative license as possible.
In summary, the book follows a chronological path through one rural English village's experience leading up to, in the midst of, and following its brush with the Black Death, and provides fantastic insight into the day-to-day lives of medieval villagers during this bizarre and terrifying period. I found the exploration of the religious impact of this event compelling. However, what Hatcher has done best — and what many readers may find deeply boring, particularly towards the latter half of the book, so be warned — is capture the realities of the economic impact, which is as complex as you might imagine. Hatcher is a scholar of economic and social history, and it is quite clear that this is what he finds most worthy of emphasis in this book. Reading this in 2022, in the midst of the Great Resignation following the COVID-19 pandemic, this was particularly meaningful, and I did actually find it quite fascinating and gratifying. However, I do have to wonder if the extremely high emphasis on economics may have come at the expense of further exploring other cultural impacts of the plague.
Overall, this is a unique book, and an essential read if you are interested in the Black Death, or simply connecting more deeply to the lives of people from a distant past. Do not go into this expecting either a historical fiction novel or a straight academic history book — you will be disappointed. Embrace its genre-defying nature, and you will not be.
This book is fiction in only the strictest sense that it is a fabricated story, but I believe it would satisfy the nonfiction reader far more than someone who primarily enjoys fiction. The author, John Hatcher, is a historian, and appropriately, this book seeks more to educate on history than it does to weave a compelling fictional narrative. Rather than a piece of historical fiction, I would describe this as a history book borrowing the tools of fiction to evoke empathy and to foster a more intimate understanding of the period in its readers. Hatcher himself describes it as a "docudrama", which I find to be accurate. Hatcher really sticks impressively close to the sources, taking as little creative license as possible.
In summary, the book follows a chronological path through one rural English village's experience leading up to, in the midst of, and following its brush with the Black Death, and provides fantastic insight into the day-to-day lives of medieval villagers during this bizarre and terrifying period. I found the exploration of the religious impact of this event compelling. However, what Hatcher has done best — and what many readers may find deeply boring, particularly towards the latter half of the book, so be warned — is capture the realities of the economic impact, which is as complex as you might imagine. Hatcher is a scholar of economic and social history, and it is quite clear that this is what he finds most worthy of emphasis in this book. Reading this in 2022, in the midst of the Great Resignation following the COVID-19 pandemic, this was particularly meaningful, and I did actually find it quite fascinating and gratifying. However, I do have to wonder if the extremely high emphasis on economics may have come at the expense of further exploring other cultural impacts of the plague.
Overall, this is a unique book, and an essential read if you are interested in the Black Death, or simply connecting more deeply to the lives of people from a distant past. Do not go into this expecting either a historical fiction novel or a straight academic history book — you will be disappointed. Embrace its genre-defying nature, and you will not be.