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A review by helenlittle
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
The themes explored in this book, although they happened centuries ago, feel just as relevant today. The book does a great job showing how feminine relationships and strength function to hold a community together and enable its survival, but also how that strength is feared, and how institutionalized violence can be horrifically wielded to oppress it. It’s truly a much needed female take on witchcraft.
Although I learned a lot, the book had some issues functioning as a work of fiction. I struggled with the pacing, which slumped throughout the middle of the book. Everything escalated really quickly at the end, with barely any time for the reader or characters to take in the horror of the plot. I also found the main queer relationship a little lacking— while it was fascinating and fitting to see the ramifications of a queer relationship in the book’s setting and plot, I didn’t find much emotion behind the characters’ attraction toward each other. All mentions of their attraction felt like telling instead of showing, which may be because the characters themselves don’t have particularly unique personalities, which was fine for the purposes of the plot and themes (think everyday woman, under threat of being accused as a witch), but it made the characters and their romance fall a bit flat.
Although I learned a lot, the book had some issues functioning as a work of fiction. I struggled with the pacing, which slumped throughout the middle of the book. Everything escalated really quickly at the end, with barely any time for the reader or characters to take in the horror of the plot. I also found the main queer relationship a little lacking— while it was fascinating and fitting to see the ramifications of a queer relationship in the book’s setting and plot, I didn’t find much emotion behind the characters’ attraction toward each other. All mentions of their attraction felt like telling instead of showing, which may be because the characters themselves don’t have particularly unique personalities, which was fine for the purposes of the plot and themes (think everyday woman, under threat of being accused as a witch), but it made the characters and their romance fall a bit flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Murder