jennykeery's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
laurenjpegler's review against another edition
4.0
A really interesting take on the Pendle Witches. It blended together the supernatural and the superstition, which actually complimented one another really well. I just wasn’t too keen on the jumpy narrative - short chapters that brush over things aren’t really my fave to read, I like when the author gives us all the details and all the descriptions. Still, really great and really short read!
loulounaomi's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
gorecki's review against another edition
4.0
“She pulls her few strands of matted hair and hides her head. He shields what is left of her mind against what is left of his body.”
How is a witch born? It’s simple: one moment she’s a plain woman, the next she’s a devious and malignant, wingless servant of Satan at the end of someone’s pointed finger. You can say a lot about religion, but you can’t say it lacks imagination.
It wasn’t really just a story for many people some 3-4 centuries ago, though, with accusations like this being their actual lives, or more like their untimely ends. Reading The Daylight Gate reminded me of all the stories I read when doing research for my Master’s thesis on witchcraft beliefs and all the stories I came across then. You can get lost in the maze. You can loose your mind in it. Many did: both in pointing fingers at every person they don’t like and in starting to believe they are indeed what they’re accused of being.
The Daylight Hour is a short and feverish dream - I’d call it a beautiful nightmare. Though it’s not without its shortcomings and vague confusions. Did I love it? I did, but I suspect it’s because of my previous reading and my having to write a sixty-page paper on the topic. Would you love? See, that I don’t know. What I do know, is that I enjoyed it more when I read big chunks of it in one go, when I just dived in and stayed in it for hours. When I didn’t question it, but just believed it and went with it. The moment I started jumping in and out of it was the moment my interest wavered, but fortunately only slightly. I loved this book for the insanity, unhinged-ness, but most of all for those little nuggets of pure, all-sweeping love and tenderness. The ones that shine through a single sentence. The ones that are like a Familiar: a secret passion that visits you when you’re alone at night.
“He scarred her arm where she had no glove but she did not care because she loved him and she knew that love leaves a wound that leaves a scar.”
“Cow dung and blood, urine, vomit and human faeces were thrown from the upper windows of those buildings that lined the route. And all the time people were clapping and singing. This was pleasure. This was a holiday.”
How is a witch born? It’s simple: one moment she’s a plain woman, the next she’s a devious and malignant, wingless servant of Satan at the end of someone’s pointed finger. You can say a lot about religion, but you can’t say it lacks imagination.
It wasn’t really just a story for many people some 3-4 centuries ago, though, with accusations like this being their actual lives, or more like their untimely ends. Reading The Daylight Gate reminded me of all the stories I read when doing research for my Master’s thesis on witchcraft beliefs and all the stories I came across then. You can get lost in the maze. You can loose your mind in it. Many did: both in pointing fingers at every person they don’t like and in starting to believe they are indeed what they’re accused of being.
The Daylight Hour is a short and feverish dream - I’d call it a beautiful nightmare. Though it’s not without its shortcomings and vague confusions. Did I love it? I did, but I suspect it’s because of my previous reading and my having to write a sixty-page paper on the topic. Would you love? See, that I don’t know. What I do know, is that I enjoyed it more when I read big chunks of it in one go, when I just dived in and stayed in it for hours. When I didn’t question it, but just believed it and went with it. The moment I started jumping in and out of it was the moment my interest wavered, but fortunately only slightly. I loved this book for the insanity, unhinged-ness, but most of all for those little nuggets of pure, all-sweeping love and tenderness. The ones that shine through a single sentence. The ones that are like a Familiar: a secret passion that visits you when you’re alone at night.
“He scarred her arm where she had no glove but she did not care because she loved him and she knew that love leaves a wound that leaves a scar.”
“Cow dung and blood, urine, vomit and human faeces were thrown from the upper windows of those buildings that lined the route. And all the time people were clapping and singing. This was pleasure. This was a holiday.”
georgina_bawden's review against another edition
3.0
I think your enjoyment of this is likely to hinge on whether you realise it's a Hammer Horror imprint or not. Knowing it's Hammer meant I kind of understood why it was full of hideous hags and gruesome spells. It is absolutely not trying to delve into the real history of the Pendle witch trials. It is trying to be a bit scary, a bit shocking. It leans a bit seventies video nasty in attitude to sexual violence (there's a lot of it) but tries to temper it with feminism (you don't get the gory details). The main problem I found was a lack of depth, which is inherent to the novella format. I love characterisation and boy does a short format tend to prioritise plot.
misiekisoscillating's review against another edition
5.0
Every JW book I read is better than the one before. THIS ONE is the best. I could see with vivid colour every single thing happening in the book, in front of me. As if there is witchcraft traced into the book itself, that helps me see so clearly inside the book. It is a filthy and foul book, and it is perfect. Every character was bold and bright in my mind, I know them. Alice was the perfect main character, Christopher was tragic and beautiful. Elizabeth was also tragic and beautiful. Alice’s love for both of them was tragic and beautiful. This book is powerful.
abbie_'s review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
2.0
I have a hit and miss relationship with Jeanette Winterson - Lighthousekeeping was brilliant, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, good, Sexing the Cherry left me absolutely baffled. I’d have to say The Daylight Gate falls beneath them all - I didn’t hate it, but I definitely didn’t love it either. It sits somewhere between historical fiction and fantasy, drawing on the Pendle witch trials but doused in a good amount of horror to make it something of Winterson’s own.
.
The main creative difference Winterson admits here is that her version of Alice Nutter is nothing like history’s Alice Nutter. Winterson plays with the idea that these women truly were witches, so expect supernatural and magical elements. But she doesn’t need to exert too much imagination when depicting the violence enacted against women in the 1600s. Some of the descriptions, especially pertaining to Jennet, a child, turned my stomach and I wondered if they were absolutely essential to include. We’re all aware of the violence women suffered during James I’s campaign to wipe out both witchcraft and Catholicism in England, I’m not sure such graphic depictions of r*pe and inc*st added a great deal beyond shock value.
.
I’m writing this review about two weeks after I finished it, and all that’s stayed with me is the shock violence. Probably not one I’d recommend off the cuff, but if you have a particular interest in witch trials then this one might offer you something more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, and Religious bigotry
thereadingmum's review against another edition
This is the kind of story I would describe with the Hokkien phrase "pek chek" - to be annoyed or frustrated. Why? Because firstly I know it's going to end badly for the heroine. This isn't a spoiler given it's based on a historical event. Like knowing a story about Anne Boleyn isn't going to end well.
The fact that it seems like Winterson is setting Alice Nutter up as a strong but compassionate female makes this even worse.
After reading several reviews I've decided to spare myself the stress.
The fact that it seems like Winterson is setting Alice Nutter up as a strong but compassionate female makes this even worse.
After reading several reviews I've decided to spare myself the stress.
juliannef's review against another edition
2.0
The Daylight Gate is a novel about the Pendle Witch Trials. The names used in the book were all real people who lived in 1612 but that's as far as fact can take this book. The proofreading errors and the completely unbelievable romantic sub-plot spoil the read, as does the bland writing style.
dllh's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fine story told pretty well, but it didn't really do a whole lot for me. I guess I wanted more?