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burningupasun's review against another edition
4.0
"What is a witch? I noticed that when he said the word, it was marked with disapproval. Why should that be? Why? Isn't the ability to communicate with the invisible world, to keep constant links with the dead, to care for others and heal, a superior gift of nature that inspires respect, admiration, and gratitude? Consequently shouldn't the witch [...] be cherished and revered rather than feared?" [...] "Everyone gives that word a different meaning. Everyone believes he can fashion a witch to his way of thinking so that she will satisfy his ambitions, dreams, and desires."
I picked up this book after finding it on an article called What to Read After Watching Lemonade, and what a good choice it was. Intense, emotional, upsetting, enlightening, and more. I did find some faults in it; at times the writing was a little stilted though I attribute that to it being a translation into English, and there were some minor weird modern incongruities that were a bit jarring (i.e., Hester using the word "feminist" which definitely didn't exist at the time). But overall, this was an amazing read.
This incredibly powerful, emotional book was of course about Tituba, the slave woman from the Salem Witch trials, given a story of her own rather than being relegated to a brief mention in the stories of the (white) people whose names we all learned in history class. It is a story about love and loss and slavery and helplessness and power and magic and good and evil... but it is also very much a story about women. Not just Tituba, though she is of course the main vessel of the story here, but all the varied, complex women that surround her.
Though there are men in this story, it is the women that shine. The women that have the magic in them, the women that are corrupted by the evil of the patriarchal world they live in, the women who ruin themselves for men and then heal through their own inner strength and the help of other women. I couldn't help feeling as I read, that the very natural, healing magic Tituba is shown is meant to represent, on some level, the feminine in general. Her powers are a woman's powers, and as a woman she is subject to the whims of men who try to change women into what they want them to be, to "satisfy his ambitions, dreams, and desires".
"Can't we ever keep our daughters away from men?" Is a concept first muttered by the spirit of Tituba's mother, and then repeated by Tituba herself. And it is Tituba who later also says, "Life is too kind to men, whatever their color."
This was a book that was very much about the plights but also the strength of women. In the afterword at the end, the author herself says: "It seems to me that I stress her condition as a woman more than I stress her condition as a black. John Indian, who was as black as she was, managed to find a way out of the common plight. So the book is more about the discrimination and the ruthlessness against women than against people of color in general."
Though it is the women of this book who suffer most-- as they did in the Salem witch trials, and as Tituba's people and other black women did as slaves-- the book ends in a very spiritual, almost uplifting sort of way, imagining Tituba and other women like her as spirits guiding women and black people to an eventual better future.
I picked up this book after finding it on an article called What to Read After Watching Lemonade, and what a good choice it was. Intense, emotional, upsetting, enlightening, and more. I did find some faults in it; at times the writing was a little stilted though I attribute that to it being a translation into English, and there were some minor weird modern incongruities that were a bit jarring (i.e., Hester using the word "feminist" which definitely didn't exist at the time). But overall, this was an amazing read.
This incredibly powerful, emotional book was of course about Tituba, the slave woman from the Salem Witch trials, given a story of her own rather than being relegated to a brief mention in the stories of the (white) people whose names we all learned in history class. It is a story about love and loss and slavery and helplessness and power and magic and good and evil... but it is also very much a story about women. Not just Tituba, though she is of course the main vessel of the story here, but all the varied, complex women that surround her.
Though there are men in this story, it is the women that shine. The women that have the magic in them, the women that are corrupted by the evil of the patriarchal world they live in, the women who ruin themselves for men and then heal through their own inner strength and the help of other women. I couldn't help feeling as I read, that the very natural, healing magic Tituba is shown is meant to represent, on some level, the feminine in general. Her powers are a woman's powers, and as a woman she is subject to the whims of men who try to change women into what they want them to be, to "satisfy his ambitions, dreams, and desires".
"Can't we ever keep our daughters away from men?" Is a concept first muttered by the spirit of Tituba's mother, and then repeated by Tituba herself. And it is Tituba who later also says, "Life is too kind to men, whatever their color."
This was a book that was very much about the plights but also the strength of women. In the afterword at the end, the author herself says: "It seems to me that I stress her condition as a woman more than I stress her condition as a black. John Indian, who was as black as she was, managed to find a way out of the common plight. So the book is more about the discrimination and the ruthlessness against women than against people of color in general."
Though it is the women of this book who suffer most-- as they did in the Salem witch trials, and as Tituba's people and other black women did as slaves-- the book ends in a very spiritual, almost uplifting sort of way, imagining Tituba and other women like her as spirits guiding women and black people to an eventual better future.
leadabird's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Incest
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
[Review from Oct 2020.]
“Mama Yaya taught me the sea, the mountains, and the hills. She taught me that everything lives, has a soul, and breathes. That everything must be respected. That man is not the master riding through his kingdom on horseback.”
This book is not just a fictionalized version of the events at Salem told from Tituba’s perspective but a brilliant, brilliant mock epic historical fantasy story, with strong feminist, supernatural, and other themes all treated with a sort of postmodern irony, based on the entire life of Tituba as imagined by author Maryse Condé. Tituba was one of the women accused, tortured, and imprisoned during the Salem witch hunts, whose life is completely reimagined, and revenged, by Condé in this incredible book.
“Tituba knows the words that cure every sickness, that heal every wound, and untie every knot. Don’t you know that?”
I really struggle with historical fiction and historical nonfiction about the history of witchhunts because I still feel like it’s *such* an important part of human history that has still not fully been understood or even properly addressed, and the repercussions of those events still echo very strongly through to today. This book comes closest to addressing the most important subjects of racism, colonialism, misogyny, patriarchy, capitalism, and religious zealotry and oppression responsible for those historical events and filling a *much* neglected gap in the literary repertoire where the genres of historical fiction and feminist literature intersect.
“Are you a witch?” he shouted. “Yes or no!”
I sighed. “Everyone gives that word a different meaning. Everyone believes he can fashion a witch to his way of thinking so that she will satisfy his ambitions, dreams, and desires…”
I have included this book on my “historical fantasy” bookshelf, but I, Tituba is really more accurately categorized as a mock epic historical fiction novel with strong supernatural themes, and I’m pretty sure that this is the only novel of that type that I have ever read. And a) it was brilliant and b) it was by far the best form for Condé’s story of the life of Tituba. I especially *loved* that Condé made this story 100% more of a tribute to the woman that Tituba is/was, and the legacy she and women like her have left to their descendants that has so often gone unrecognized beyond their own communities, and often even inappropriately uncelebrated there as well, than yet another novel focusing on the largely irrelevant minutiae surrounding the “trials” at Salem that most treatments of that time do.
[From Angela Davis’s Foreward:] “This historical novel refuses to be confined within the ideological limits of the era during which it unfolds.”
When you do read this book, I highly recommend getting the edition that has the interview with Condé at the end because I think it is very important to understand her intention with this book in order to get the full message. A lot of the reviews I’ve seen that give this book a low rating clearly did not understand the full purpose of the story and were judging it based on preconceived notions about historical fiction and historical fantasy “witch hunt” tales. Condé’s book is very philosophical and understanding the philosophy is key to fully appreciating the novel. I hope that makes sense…
“I do not belong to the civilization of the Bible and Bigotry. My people will keep my memory in their hearts and have no need of the written word. It’s in their heads. In their hearts and in their heads.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW // slavery, rape, child abuse, child murder, racism, murder, suicide, animal sacrifice, miscarriage, abortion, Christian zealotry, severe misogyny, white patriarchy, really gruesome and upsetting torture scenes, brutal antisemitism, incest
(Also, if you’re going to read Magic Lessons, which I don’t recommend, but if you are, please read this one first. Just, trust me. 😉)
Further Reading—other witch hunt books that I do recommend (in light of there being a lot out there that are *not* good…):
- The Mercies, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (fictionalized story based on the Vardø Witch Hunts)
- The Familiars, by Stacey Halls (fictionalized story based on the Pendle Witch Hunts)
- Tyll, by Daniel Kehlmann (one section of the book features an excellent depiction of a witch hunt in 17th c. Germany)
- The Witches, by Stacy Schiff (nonfiction)
- The Discoverie of Witchcraft, by Reginald Scot (16th century document responding to King James I’s witchhunt mania)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Slavery, and Pregnancy
hallowmas's review against another edition
4.0
This was beautifully written. I highly highly highly recommended it to everyone.
mayasorel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
charlott_e's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Blood
Moderate: Rape
abookhunter's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide, and Abortion
karenholmes's review against another edition
5.0
Tituba was a real woman who lived in the town of Salem around 1692 and accused other women of witchery. But we didn't know much about her story, of why she did what she did because she is the least known of them all. Why is that? She was black so, she wasn't as important.
Maryse Conde recovers what little she has gathered from historians and builds a story around her figure, she makes her travel from Barbados to Boson and then Salem just to come back where she started. A life of slavery and suffering that ends as tragically as it did most of the times. But the voyage is so worth it. Exploring themes such as racism and patriarchy Maryse Condé builds a story of a strong woman who suffered but discovered little pleasures and at the end fought all the odds that came to her and tried to remain faithful to herself.
CATALÀ
Quina meravella d'edició ens han portat Tigre de Paper! I quina gran història! Com deia a dalt en anglès, la Tituba es una dona negra que va nèixer esclava a Barbados a mitjans dels 1600 i que va viatjar a Boston i desprès al poble de Salem per tornar a la seva Barbados natal. Fou una de les bruixes del judici de Salem però poc en sabem d'ella. Així que la Maryse Conde juga amb el que ha trobat i ens explica una història de patiment i plaer, de lluita i de sometiment.
Tota la seva vida està feta de patiment però també de moments per apreciar la vida i els petits plaers que proporciona.
Maryse Conde recovers what little she has gathered from historians and builds a story around her figure, she makes her travel from Barbados to Boson and then Salem just to come back where she started. A life of slavery and suffering that ends as tragically as it did most of the times. But the voyage is so worth it. Exploring themes such as racism and patriarchy Maryse Condé builds a story of a strong woman who suffered but discovered little pleasures and at the end fought all the odds that came to her and tried to remain faithful to herself.
CATALÀ
Quina meravella d'edició ens han portat Tigre de Paper! I quina gran història! Com deia a dalt en anglès, la Tituba es una dona negra que va nèixer esclava a Barbados a mitjans dels 1600 i que va viatjar a Boston i desprès al poble de Salem per tornar a la seva Barbados natal. Fou una de les bruixes del judici de Salem però poc en sabem d'ella. Així que la Maryse Conde juga amb el que ha trobat i ens explica una història de patiment i plaer, de lluita i de sometiment.
Tota la seva vida està feta de patiment però també de moments per apreciar la vida i els petits plaers que proporciona.