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kukushka 's review for:
The Black Death: A Personal History
by John Hatcher
The book is a blend of fiction and nonfiction that is a little short on details for the nonfiction crowd (though quite a lot can be found in the endnotes), and lacking the narrative the fiction audience might want. I think I would have preferred that it lean a bit harder in either direction.
I did like that each chapter (arranged chronologically from the before to the after) begins with the nonfiction narrator giving some context for what is to follow. Then, the fiction part will follow a character as they experience some aspect of what was going on.
The real strength of this book is in giving a sense of what the plague would have felt like for those living through it. There are humanizing anecdotes that help to flesh out village life in turmoil.
I particularly liked that the author chose scenes that would best illustrate the point. The book opens with a "good death", someone dying at they are supposed to - old, and in the presence of a priest and family. It worked well to contrast with the pandemonium that followed.
Overall, this wasn't a bad book, by any means. But I would have appreciated some stronger writing in the fictional portions.
I did like that each chapter (arranged chronologically from the before to the after) begins with the nonfiction narrator giving some context for what is to follow. Then, the fiction part will follow a character as they experience some aspect of what was going on.
The real strength of this book is in giving a sense of what the plague would have felt like for those living through it. There are humanizing anecdotes that help to flesh out village life in turmoil.
I particularly liked that the author chose scenes that would best illustrate the point. The book opens with a "good death", someone dying at they are supposed to - old, and in the presence of a priest and family. It worked well to contrast with the pandemonium that followed.
Overall, this wasn't a bad book, by any means. But I would have appreciated some stronger writing in the fictional portions.