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A review by thequeercaseofmarius
Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is a pretty decent book, well-researched and very easy to read. Cunning Women was unlike the usual kind of stuff I read but I still enjoyed it, the world was very vivid and the mix of Old English with modern English was well-done and easy to understand. I also really liked how the author managed to effortlessly weave the characters’ reality and beliefs into the story, so magic could be real or not in this novel. I don’t know.
The romance aspect was pretty sweet, however I do think Daniel was too selfless and was giving up too much for Sarah from the get-go; much like Peeta did in the first Hunger Games book. I just don’t see this trope as realistic or healthy, and it gives young readers the idea that a girl being rude to a guy is just evidence that she’s wildly attracted to him and he should just be more smothering and insistent. Also, the cunning folk in this story work with the devil, and I’m pretty sure cunning folk are not demonic in real life so I found that aspect of the story disappointing.
But as I said this isn’t the usual kind of stuff I read, and I still thought it was an enjoyable novel. If you like romance, history, and folklore, you’d probably enjoy Cunning Women.
Edit: I was right! Sources and evidence from the appropriate time periods show that Cunning folk practised Christianity, and even called upon saints in the conjuring of folk magic. There has been some popular arguments originating from the Victorian era that say that accused witches had been practicing pagans, and even that the devil is a Christian reimagining of a pagan deity. I think these are the theories that Cunning Women was based upon, but most modern historians don’t believe the surviving paganism theory to be true and I don’t either.
The romance aspect was pretty sweet, however I do think Daniel was too selfless and was giving up too much for Sarah from the get-go; much like Peeta did in the first Hunger Games book. I just don’t see this trope as realistic or healthy, and it gives young readers the idea that a girl being rude to a guy is just evidence that she’s wildly attracted to him and he should just be more smothering and insistent. Also, the cunning folk in this story work with the devil, and I’m pretty sure cunning folk are not demonic in real life so I found that aspect of the story disappointing.
But as I said this isn’t the usual kind of stuff I read, and I still thought it was an enjoyable novel. If you like romance, history, and folklore, you’d probably enjoy Cunning Women.
Edit: I was right! Sources and evidence from the appropriate time periods show that Cunning folk practised Christianity, and even called upon saints in the conjuring of folk magic. There has been some popular arguments originating from the Victorian era that say that accused witches had been practicing pagans, and even that the devil is a Christian reimagining of a pagan deity. I think these are the theories that Cunning Women was based upon, but most modern historians don’t believe the surviving paganism theory to be true and I don’t either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Abortion, Rape, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Death of parent