heatherace's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
carolinethereader's review against another edition
3.0
This was quite a good book but feels pretty middle of the pack for me in terms of feminist reading. I was interested in how modern treatment of women would be explored with witch trials and historic mistreatment as a backdrop but I think these historic elements fell a little flat.
Still a good book, just not a whole lot of stand out moments.
Still a good book, just not a whole lot of stand out moments.
lostinvellichor's review against another edition
5.0
In Defense of Witches is one of the best books non-fiction books I’ve read in years. This is not lighthearted fare but a well researched, seriously deep dive into the social conditioning of/surrounding women and how we’re perceived, treated, expected to behave/live our lives, etc…The ways we’re conditioned to consider the (mis)treatment of women are so pervasive that we often don’t even notice/acknowledge them consciously until they’re spelled out for us…and this book SPELLS IT OUT in an unflinchingly honest way that you can’t ignore or unsee, and I think that’s so important and necessary.
The section on motherhood was especially poignant for me and brought up a lot of intense emotions. I think so many women will find it so relatable, it gives words and life to emotions/feelings/thoughts so many of us have about our experiences that we feel obligated to politely ignore or suppress. I can’t even begin to count how many sections I highlighted, how many times my eyes filled with tears, or how many times I screamed UGHHHH YESS! in my head while reading this book. This should honestly be a must-read for every female identifying person, and probably everyone else besides as well. I will absolutely be recommending it to all the women in my life and making sure my own daughter reads it when she’s older.
Thank you so much to St Martins Press for providing me with this eARC.
The section on motherhood was especially poignant for me and brought up a lot of intense emotions. I think so many women will find it so relatable, it gives words and life to emotions/feelings/thoughts so many of us have about our experiences that we feel obligated to politely ignore or suppress. I can’t even begin to count how many sections I highlighted, how many times my eyes filled with tears, or how many times I screamed UGHHHH YESS! in my head while reading this book. This should honestly be a must-read for every female identifying person, and probably everyone else besides as well. I will absolutely be recommending it to all the women in my life and making sure my own daughter reads it when she’s older.
Thank you so much to St Martins Press for providing me with this eARC.
radusreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
This books discusses "three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted: the independent woman, since widows and celibates were particularly targeted; the childless woman, since the time of the hunts marked the end of tolerance for those who claimed to control their fertility; and the elderly woman, who has always been an object of at best, pity, and at worst, horror.
And how today they continue to be harassed and oppressed."
This book is so interesting and adds stories, media sources, historical facts, current media and the outcome is a very fascinating and comprehensive narrative about females place in society and what happens when they try to change it.
Take back the word witch, take back our lucky number 13 and all the other symbols they told us are evil. Freaking losers. If I could go back in time I would go back to find the evil ahole that wrote the Malleus Maleficarum and give him and his followers a lobotomy. Periodt
Side note: I just started growing out my gray hair. I'm going into my witch era!
Thank you stmartinspress for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.
And how today they continue to be harassed and oppressed."
This book is so interesting and adds stories, media sources, historical facts, current media and the outcome is a very fascinating and comprehensive narrative about females place in society and what happens when they try to change it.
Take back the word witch, take back our lucky number 13 and all the other symbols they told us are evil. Freaking losers. If I could go back in time I would go back to find the evil ahole that wrote the Malleus Maleficarum and give him and his followers a lobotomy. Periodt
Side note: I just started growing out my gray hair. I'm going into my witch era!
Thank you stmartinspress for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.
pennym_'s review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
very thorough examination of the history of witch hunts and the ties to modern feminism. well written and engaging. chapters were a little too long for my taste but otherwise this was very worth the read
elisala's review against another edition
5.0
Un intéressant essai féministe, avec des idées que j'avais déjà et des infos pour les consolider. Et à l'inverse des infos que j'avais plus ou moins en tête, et des conclusions que je n'en avais pas tiré.
Et puis j'ai bien aimé le ton, l'auteure qui n'hésite pas à montrer ses propres contradictions, la petite pointe d'humour qui va bien, de-ci, de-là.
Chouette et instructif.
Et puis j'ai bien aimé le ton, l'auteure qui n'hésite pas à montrer ses propres contradictions, la petite pointe d'humour qui va bien, de-ci, de-là.
Chouette et instructif.
laurenbookwitchbitch's review against another edition
3.0
“…it is precicely because the witch hunts speak to us of our own time that we have excellent reasons not to face upon them. Venturing down this path means confronting the most wretched aspects of humanity. The witch hunts demonstrate, first, the stubborn tendency of all societies to find a scapegoat for misfortunes and to lock themselves into a spiral of irrationality, cut off from all reasonable challenge until the accumulation of hate-filled discourse and obsessional hostility justify a physical violence perceived as the legitimate defense of a beleaguered society.” In Dense of Witches: The Legacy of Witch Hunts an Why Women Are Still On Trial, French feminist Mona Challet writes with scholars research and a keen eye about the injustices (straight, mostly white cis) women face in persecution from the witch trails of old to the present day. I picked up this book because Carmen Maria Muchado one of my favorite authors of all time wrote the foreword and I was intrigued by the theme. I must condense that as someone who has studied this subject at length, I didn’t glean anything new from its pages, but for someone interested in diving into to the topic for the first time this is an excellent read. It can be dense at times, with most of the subject matter relevant to the present day, Chollet still manages to draw interesting connections to the history of witch trials in Europe. Her research is superb but I found myself wishing the book was more like the introduction!
Read this book if you: are interested in the history of the witch trials, you are a proud feminist, you read a lot of feminist theory
Do not read this book if you: aren’t a fan of nonfiction, you don’t enjoy dense scholarly work
Read this book if you: are interested in the history of the witch trials, you are a proud feminist, you read a lot of feminist theory
Do not read this book if you: aren’t a fan of nonfiction, you don’t enjoy dense scholarly work