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lauralindahl's review against another edition
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
cubaitlubin's review against another edition
It's too soon before the school year for a densely detailed historical nonfiction account, no matter how interesting the topic!
albearcamus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
An informative and interesting retelling of one of New England’s first and possibly least known witch trials.
Gaskill follows the lives of two settlers in the new Massachusetts town as the town develops and then descends into paranoia of witches and witchcraft, telling a personal and humane tale of people’s lives of the fears and struggles of settling in a new and wild land.
Gaskill follows the lives of two settlers in the new Massachusetts town as the town develops and then descends into paranoia of witches and witchcraft, telling a personal and humane tale of people’s lives of the fears and struggles of settling in a new and wild land.
sarahruthsreads's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
As someone obsessed with the Salem Witch Trials who was born in Springfield, I was really excited for this book.
It did a good job of showing generally what life would’ve been like in early Massachusetts and the social interactions of a small community, but really didn’t touch on witchcraft much, so I felt somewhat mislead in that regard. I also found that the book lacked nuance and failed to consider the impact of gender or religion that give the time period and the society context. The author actually seemed willfully blind to the impact of gender and sexism in the time period. The book was also painfully overwritten.
The epilogue also left a bad taste in my mouth - the descriptions of modern Springfield felt ignorant.
Overall I was disappointed in this book.
It did a good job of showing generally what life would’ve been like in early Massachusetts and the social interactions of a small community, but really didn’t touch on witchcraft much, so I felt somewhat mislead in that regard. I also found that the book lacked nuance and failed to consider the impact of gender or religion that give the time period and the society context. The author actually seemed willfully blind to the impact of gender and sexism in the time period. The book was also painfully overwritten.
The epilogue also left a bad taste in my mouth - the descriptions of modern Springfield felt ignorant.
Overall I was disappointed in this book.