Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Genre: historical fiction
Review: We know that early English settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were very religious and thought a lot about the state of their souls and the devil. The historical record tells us so. According to Chris Bohjalian, they were concerned about the devil a lot. A good chunk of the first third or so of the book has them thinking about little else.
Things start to get more interesting when Mary Deerfield sues her husband for divorce on the grounds of cruelty. Even here, though, the question soon becomes more about whether she's been consorting with the devil (much of the evidence has to do with a three-tined fork, which is, as we all know, the devil's own instrument) as much as it does about whether her husband abuses her.
And there is intrigue as well. It is clear that someone is trying to cast a spell on someone in the Deerfield house, or trying to frame Mary for doing so. But who? And why? Though Mary's ruminations on whether she is unknowingly the devil's tool quickly become tiresome, Bohjalian is quite deft at drawing the reader into this mystery and in making the reader care about Mary's fate, both in life and after.
Of course, the reason that Mary faces such troubles from her community is, of course, that she's a smart woman who occasionally speaks her mind. That truth is lurking behind almost every word in the book, but Bohjalian is subtle in reinforcing it. So don't read this expecting a great deal of outrage about the subservient state of women in 17th century Boston. Do read it for an immersive look into one woman's life and attempt to be more than just a Goodwife to a cruel man.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.
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