Reviews with content warning for Suicide - I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem

This book was was absolute perfection and has changed my mind on historical fiction.

I picked this one up at my local library, the title caught my eye as I was walking out and I am so happy I stopped to pick it up as this might have been my favorite read this year.

I can't exactly put my finger on why I loved this book so much but I am going to say that majority of it has to be because of Conde's writing prowess. Conde was able to weave together a novel about this woman that history has forgotten in a heartbreaking, raw, and beautiful way.

This book has changed my perspective on historical fiction, I enjoyed the history and the value it added to the story. I am now much more open to reading historical fiction, I enjoyed the value the history added a lot more than I expected I would.

I am excited to read more work by Conde, and more historical fiction in the future.

Content Warnings

hannah_bookworm's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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rafacolog's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

lexaprose_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Highly recommend. It is very sad, but beautifully written.

Content Warnings

gravedavis's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Beautiful prose and lifelike characters — I was assigned this novel for a University Literature course and ended up returning to it a year later to read it outside of academic context. Tituba's character is far from perfect, but her rawness as a human draws the reader to her story and the colonial world it is told in. I found some of the themes left room for further exploration; the commentary that is made is very explicit and leaves little space for interpretation, whereas some of the more nuanced themes felt hollow at points. That being said, Condé's writing reads like butter. It's poetic and engaging, I was so engrossed and read the book in two short sittings. Would definitely recommend, especially if you are interested in witchcraft or the colonial Americas.

Content Warnings