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The Witch's Trinity: A Novelby Erika Mailman
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:The year is 1507, and a friar has arrived in Tierkinddorf, a remote German village nestled deeply in the woods. The village has been suffering a famine, and the villagers are desperately hungry. The friar's arrival is a miracle, and when he claims he can restore the town to prosperity, the men and women gathered to hear him rejoice. The friar has a book called the Malleus Maleficarum — "The Witch's Hammer" — a guide to gaining confessions of witchcraft. The friar promises he will identify the guilty woman who has brought God's anger upon the town; she will be burned, and bounty will be restored. Tierkinddorf is filled with hope. Neighbors wonder aloud who has cursed them and how quickly can she be found? They begin sharing secrets with the friar.
Güde Müller, an elderly woman, has stark and frightening visions — recently she has seen things that defy explanation. None in the village know this, and Güde herself worries that perhaps her mind has begun to wander — certainly she has outlived all but one of her peers in Tierkinddorf. Yet of one thing she is absolutely certain: She has become an object of scorn and a burden to her son's wife. In these desperate times her daughter-in-law would prefer one less hungry mouth at the family table. As the friar turns his eye on each member of the tiny community, Güde dreads what her daughter-in-law might say to win his favor. Then one terrible night Güde follows an unearthly voice and the scent of charred meat into the snow-filled woods. Come morning, she no longer knows if the horror she witnessed was real or imagined. She only knows that if the friar hears of it, she may be damned in this life as well as the next. The Witch's Trinity beautifully illuminates a dark period of history; it is vividly imagined, elegantly written, haunting, and unforgettable. Review:"A grandmother's family turns against her in Mailman's uneven debut historical about witch trials in 16th-century Germany. The people of Tierkinddorf, on the brink of starvation following years of bad weather and poor crops, suspect a witch has cast a spell on them. Under the guidance of a visiting friar, the townspeople burn at the stake a local healer. When their luck does not improve, attention turns to the healer's longtime friend, Gde Mller, the novel's narrator and a widow who lives with her son, Jost; her daughter-in-law, Irmeltrud; and their two children. Gde has been recently tormented with visions of witches and of the devil disguised as her late husband, and is uncertain whether the apparitions are real. When Jost and the other village men strike out on a hunting expedition, Irmeltrud begins, in her husband's absence, a campaign to finger Gde as a witch. Mailman creates an intense atmosphere of hunger, fear and claustrophobic paranoia, though the secondary cast is flat and Gde's mental state doesn't always allow for lucid narration. Fans of supernatural fiction will want to give this a look. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"In searingly simple prose, Mailman probes the human psyche, peeling back the layers of the basest human instincts to expose the dangerous frailties of the human soul." Booklist Review:"Beautifully written, nary a word out of place...deeply satisfying." The San Francisco Chronicle Review:"Plunges readers into the storm of ignorance, superstition, and religious frenzy that incited mass hysteria...a disturbing story told with clarity and precision, an old story that has resonance today." Boston Globe Review:"Güde is certainly a pitiable figure, as she is starving, abused, and probably suffering from senile dementia. However, her story isn't particularly original, nor does Mailman bring a fresh perspective to the oft-told tale of witch burning. Not recommended." Library Journal Review:"A well-constructed novel and a gripping, well-told story of faith and truth." Khaled Hosseini, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Kite Runner Review:"A linguistic enchantress has arrived among us, gifted in transmogrifying the mundanities of historical fiction into tableaux of indelible terror and abiding beauty." James Morrow, author of The Last Witchfinder Review:"Evocative and engrossing...a frightening tale of both the weakness and strength of the human soul. I was gripped immediately by the story; it reminded me of Year of Wonders and I read it in nearly one sitting." Robert Alexander, national bestselling author of The Kitchen Boy and Rasputin's Daughter Synopsis:An elegantly written, haunting debut, this novel takes readers on a frightening and fascinating journey back to a time when the answer to the question Are you a witch? could mean life or death. About the AuthorErika Mailman traces her roots to a Massachusetts relative who twice stood trial for witchcraft. She lives in Oakland, CA. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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