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A review by clairewords
Tituba of Salem Village by Ann Petry
5.0
I read this for two reasons, one I've been wanting to read Ann Petry for a while, [b:The Street|44087805|The Street|Ann Petry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575588033l/44087805._SY75_.jpg|968007] and [b:The Narrows|52623328|The Narrows|Ann Petry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584926447l/52623328._SY75_.jpg|1311202] were republished in 2020, so I'm looking forward to reading them, but the main reason I chose this title is because I'm an avid reader of [a:Maryse Condé|93912|Maryse Condé|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1220159791p2/93912.jpg], who wrote [b:I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem|89526|I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem|Maryse Condé|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567697640l/89526._SY75_.jpg|86405] having been inspired by Ann Petry's book.
I've read nothing about the witch trials before, though I'd heard of them, but I'm glad that this was my introduction, to see this little segment of American history, through the eyes of an innocent black slave, Tituba and her husband John.
As the book opens and Tituba and John are in the kitchen of the Barbados home they live in, the scene is so evocative, you can't imagine how their lives are going to change so abruptly, having been so stable for so long - but then the harsh reality of them being commodities, sold like jewels, to pay a debt, their lives irrevocably changed, within 24 hours they are on a ship heading for the Bay Colony of Boston.
Petry's descriptions of the environment are so evocative, the contrast so great, from the warmth of the island to the damp, unwelcoming cold climate of Massachusetts.
Tituba is a wonderful character, depicted with compassion and understanding, put in a situation where young people are drawn towards her but unable to overcome their own inner hurts, exaggerate and invent scenarios, combining imagination and superstition creating drama that spirals out of control into very real consequences for those accused of "witching", until the farce that it is, becomes all too clear, though not without lives having been lost.
I've read nothing about the witch trials before, though I'd heard of them, but I'm glad that this was my introduction, to see this little segment of American history, through the eyes of an innocent black slave, Tituba and her husband John.
As the book opens and Tituba and John are in the kitchen of the Barbados home they live in, the scene is so evocative, you can't imagine how their lives are going to change so abruptly, having been so stable for so long - but then the harsh reality of them being commodities, sold like jewels, to pay a debt, their lives irrevocably changed, within 24 hours they are on a ship heading for the Bay Colony of Boston.
Petry's descriptions of the environment are so evocative, the contrast so great, from the warmth of the island to the damp, unwelcoming cold climate of Massachusetts.
Tituba is a wonderful character, depicted with compassion and understanding, put in a situation where young people are drawn towards her but unable to overcome their own inner hurts, exaggerate and invent scenarios, combining imagination and superstition creating drama that spirals out of control into very real consequences for those accused of "witching", until the farce that it is, becomes all too clear, though not without lives having been lost.