Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

27 reviews

amylovesbooksandyarn's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

I hadn't heard of this book untill my close friend told me she was doing a buddy read and read me the synopsis and I was intrigued. (She also had a beautiful versions with spayed edges of bees and I am a sucker for a pretty book) 

That this was based a real phenomenon that occured in the 16th century and was so odd and mysterious it drew me in. 

This is not a happy book but it was a beautiful book.  The author is also a poet and her writing style whilst not written as a poem is very descriptive and rich.  In the authors note it draws links between the attitudes of the 16th century and current times and I feel that makes it even more sad. 

I am now hoping to read the Mercies by the same author.  . 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Blood, Suicide, Mental illness, Homophobia, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Religious bigotry

albon's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Pregnancy, Racism, Animal death, Confinement, Suicide, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Police brutality

znvisser's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.25

Hmm this wasn't for me. For the first third of the book, nothing much happens. And just when I was about to DNF, the story picks up and gets interesting, only for it all to sizzle out again. This book had a compelling premise but unfortunately the main character was by far the most boring bit, her character only formed by motherhood, religion and whining. The other characters were way more interesting, and I understand that this helps create mystery for the MC, but a lot of repetitive time is spent mostly with her and I didn't really care for it. The use of the antagonist felt like reading a children's story, as if this book was somehow supposed to be a family tale. So even though I appreciated bits in the middle part, where this story crackles and comes to life, to me it wasn't worth struggling through the rest of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Outing, Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Infertility, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Miscarriage, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, Violence, and Infidelity

Minor: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Alcohol

quillyreads's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Beautiful writing, but not the best plot. It’s very slow paced and muted for about 3/4 of the book, then packs everything in the last few chapters. 

And it crams a LOT in. Too much, perhaps. As the books tries to ambitiously comment on grief, miscarriage, religious mania, tyrannical religious zealots, homophobia, xenophobia… It can’t investigate these themes in the depth they deserve or with the time or character development they require to become a theme, rather than just an embellishment. 

Also, I just couldn’t connect with the characters. There’s little character development. And despite the huge amount of happenings in the final sprint of the book, the ending feels like it’s back to the start. The only difference is

there’s now a baby in the house.

I just couldn’t vibe with this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Infidelity

Moderate: Xenophobia and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Islamophobia

slinkmalink's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Other than the weird dream I had the night I finished it I really loved this book.

Though I was sad about a lot of things and wished that theyd had happier endings,

even though it was clear from the moment they mentioned the poppy that Ida wasn't going to survive I wanted her and Nethe to escape and live their own lives

, and

I felt that Lisbet really deserved a happier life away from Henne with her own child and possibly also Eren

, by the time I got to the end I was really convinced by it, it felt the most genuine way for the story to end 

in unexpected and grief forged love and finding the little miracles eg. of a child even through a life they wouldn't have chosen

and I think it would've been unsatisfying for them to all have happily ever afters bc that is simply not how the world worked especially for women and queer people and immigrants

I knew a little about the dancing plague (from horrible histories ofc) but not really anything about why people think it happened and how everyone else reacted to it. I thought the chapters about the dancers were beautifully written and worked really well at conveying the context that is thought to have led to the plague in a personal way, especially with regards to what women specifically endured at the time 

Also everything about the bees was beautiful

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, and Death of parent

edamamebean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Every once in awhile a book comes along that makes reading feel like a fever. This was definitely one of those books, once I was reading it I couldn’t stop and the ending brought tears to my eyes. I highly recommend but please check the content warnings before picking this one up!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Outing, Grief, Infidelity, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Violence, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexism

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcoholism

hue's review against another edition

challenging informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Bitter, tragic, loving. Not a light topic to touch upon at all, but Kiran Millwood Hargrave does it so well. It's an immense joy to read what she's written, especially historical fiction like this and her former glory The Mercies. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Miscarriage, Child death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Animal death, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bellwetherbird's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Child death, Sexism, Homophobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

rachellekcmo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The historical setting of this book, and particularly the dancing plague, was one that was not familiar to me before reading this story. I think the author did well in depicting the natural setting as well as the political and religious forces working at that time. It did take some time to build this world for the reader, but I don’t think the overall pacing suffered. The second half was gut wrenching. I look forward to reading more by this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Lesbophobia, Infertility, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Islamophobia

jesselynn's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

A very emotive and dramatic story set in and around Strasbourg in 1518, at the time of the infamous Dancing Plague.

We follow Lisbet, a heavily pregnant young woman who keeps bees alongside her husband and mother-in-law. Lisbet is desperate for her unborn child's survival, due to multiple previous miscarriages, which wounds her and familial relationships deeply. When her husband's sister Agnethe returns from seven years in the mountains atoning for a mysterious sin, the path of her life is forever changed.

The content is very emotionally stimulating, with really moving and detailed language and a narrative that is very centred around Lisbet's feelings and emotional state. The cast of characters are interesting, with Lisbet's sister-in-law Nethe being a favourite of mine. The story explores a very harrowing sapphic relationship, as well as themes of religious fervour, immigration and xenophobia. The story is not an account of the Dancing Plague as such, but the events of the summer and strange event are an atmospheric setting, the rhythm of the dance weaved throughout Lisbet's story in interludes. The novel is much more character focused than a simple retelling, which I liked. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially women's historical fiction. Tread carefully if pregnancy, infertility and miscarriage is a trigger point for you. 

Thanks to Picador for the reading copy in exchange for an honest review. I'll definitely be recommending this one to my customers and am looking forward to future works from Kiran Millwood Hargrave!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Animal death, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Confinement, Death of parent, Infertility, Blood, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Classism, and Miscarriage