Book Review: the Heretic's Daughter

I took a course on 19^th Century Women’s Literature in college and fell in love with the works of the Bronte sisters: dark, eerie yet romantic tales written in classic prose with a descriptive tone that carries readers on a lyrical journey through time and space.

Recently, my reading interests have been consumed with business and networking books, with mostly light-hearted, quick-read chick-lit novels tossed in when I have free time. The Heretic’s Daughter, by Kathleen Kent, is a deep read that is both entertaining and insightful—a page-turner with depth. Both the tone and themes are reminiscent of some of my favorite 19^th Century classic novels penned by great women authors.

For the writer in me, beautiful turns of phrase made the process of reading as enchanting as following the story. Early on in the book, several passages caused me to pause, left breathless by their eloquence. For instance, “It was deep into the season and so bitterly cold, the liquid from our streaming eyes and noses froze onto our cheeks like frosted ribbons of lace.”

Too many books on today’s bestseller list contain heart-pounding plots with little in the way of true craftsmanship on the writer’s behalf. Other so-called “literary” novels place too much emphasis on how the story is told, without caring if the story, itself, will hold a reader’s interest. Kent is a true wordsmith who never sacrifices plot or character development for the sake of quality prose, and successfully delivers all these elements in a captivating 332 pages.

The book spans the time period of 1690 to 1752, jumping around to tell the story. Chapter heads make it easy to follow the time changes as we peek into the different stages of Sarah Carrier’s life. Young Sarah, only 10 when the novel begins, is the daughter of Martha Carrier, one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch during the Salem Witchhunts.

The book explores the lives of the Carrier family: mother Martha Carrier, a strong-willed woman who eschews the conventions of church life; father Thomas, a large man who seems to elicit deep respect bordering on fear from others in the town; sons Richard, Tom and Andrew; young Sarah Carrier, age 10, the point-of-view character; and toddler Hannah. At the book’s start, young Andrew is afflicted with smallpox and the reader knows life will not be easy for the Carriers in 18^th Century Massachusetts, just outside of Salem.

When the children go to live with their aunt in a nearby town, Sarah bonds closely with her cousin Margaret. Is Margaret a witch or is she not? For that matter, is Martha? There are hints throughout the book – odd healings and other events that make you wonder if there could be something behind the accusations. In general, most of the supposed “witchcraft” can be easily chalked up to coincidence and false persecution, but it lends an additional air of mystery to the story. To be sure, there are dark secrets within the Carrier family, and Martha is a strong, strong woman. But a witch? Probably not.

The book is historical fiction and therefore, the characters are based on real people. However, as characters in finely-crafted fiction should do, each fills an important purpose, driving the plot forward and developing Sarah’s personality through her interactions with them. Sarah’s relationship with her mother is complex, lending even more depth and emotion to Sarah’s guilt over Martha Carrier’s inevitable death.

Mysteries, family relationships, religious beliefs, coming-of-age, bonds between women, and personal strength are all explored in this fascinating tale. One of the more powerful lines in the book comes toward the end, in Martha Carrier’s last words to her daughter: “There is no death in remembrance… Remember me and a part of me will always be with you.” A part of “The Heretic’s Daughter” will always remain with me.

I’ve often heard people say that first novels are never a writer’s best work. This is Kathleen Kent’s first novel, and, if that’s the case, I can only say I can’t wait to read more!

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This review is part of BlogStop Book Tours.

Please check in to the other writers' blogs on this tour to read more reviews!

Blog Stop dates and blogs:

September 1 - Devourer of Books

September 5 - Anything That Pays… A Freelance Writer’s Blog

September 8 - Literarily

September 10 - Writers, Witches and Words… Oh My!

September 12 - Book Room Reviews

September 15 - Something She Wrote

September 17 - She Reads Books

September 19 - Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?

September 22 - Presenting Lenore

September 26 - Sharp Words

September 29 - Write Now

You can purchase The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent here:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

The Bunko Babes, A Review

From page one I really tried to like “The Bunko Babes” by Leah Starr Baker. The book is an unusual blend of contemporary Christian fiction meets chick-lit. Think Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood finds religion. (How’s that for a 5-second tagline?) Given my diverse blend of interests and philosophies, it sounded like just the type of book I’d love—and tell my friends about.

You’d also think, based on this somewhat contradictory description that the book may not appeal to everyone. Certainly, some of my fellow BlogStop Book Tours reviewers, including Julie Fletcher at Not Enough Coffee, opened the seafoam green cover with skepticism, only to find within an endearing—and enduring--tale.

The Christian overtones are not evangelistic and should not turn off mainstream readers. The Bunko Babes does provide enthusiasts of Christian literature a unique book that addresses their values and ideals. The Bunko Babes happen to be Christian and, for the most part, exemplify these values throughout the book, but this does not detract from the story.

The intricate yet well-thought-out plot emphasizes life challenges, friendship and growth. When the book begins, lead character Becca Thornton has “plenty of room to grow,” as fellow BlogStop blogger Carolyn Erickson so eloquently and diplomatically phrases it in her own review at Mama Needs a Book Contract.

The Bunko Babes is about a group of eight women at varying stages of their lives with two common bonds: Bunko and friendship. The women meet weekly to play Bunko, a game of chance played with three dice, and, while each week a new winner is crowned, so much more occurs at these important get-togethers.

The women struggle with such issues as pregnancy, infertility, infidelity, and seeing a husband sent off to war. The weekly Bunko games become the glue that holds their lives together, their counseling sessions, and their escape.

When Becca starts developing odd physical symptoms and ailments, the suspense builds, as we wonder what’s wrong. Later, when we find out she is diagnosed with lupus, we keep reading to see how she will handle her debilitating illness. Just as the main character wonders about her own survival, so do we.

Sounds pretty good, right? Eight women, lots of laugh, suspense, drama, strong female characters. What’s not to like?

In spite of the main character’s declarations about how important her friends are to her, Becca’s actions in the beginning don’t show this to be the case. Instead, she comes off as self-centered, shallow, and a bit petty; she judges her friends for their clothes and how they keep their houses and seems to spend an inordinate amount of time describing everyone’s outfits, including her own. It’s hard to get into a book when the main character grates on your nerves. I had to keep reminding myself that the writer is not the character and Becca Thornton was created this way—to be realistic and flawed.

Nevertheless, if Becca were real and if I were one of her seven Bunko Babe pals, I’d be the first one to tell her to get over herself. Yes, Lupus is a terrible illness, but the situations her friends were going through were no less challenging, and Becca says some very cruel things, particularly to her best friend Jessica. I know books’ heroines are supposed to be flawed, but I failed to find any redeeming qualities in Becca throughout most of the book. Becca becomes a modern anti-hero, but even anti-heroes (Hell Tanner of Damnation Alley comes to mind as one of my favorites) must be likeable, even as their actions are immoral. Becca’s character has the opposite issue; she’s not exactly evil in a compelling way, but she’s not easy to like, either.

Her redemption may be in her brutal honesty and self-exploration. Even though I may not like the petty character traits she reveals, it’s hard to fault her for her telling the truth.

She’s honest to a flaw—with the readers, with her friends… The only one Becca seemed to lie to was herself, by not seeing how un-Christian and detestable her thoughts and actions were. Still, it did leave plenty of room for the character to grow.

I also discovered some literary flaws in the book. As these are more pet peeves of mine than anything else, it seems fair to say I just didn’t enjoy the author’s style, rich with adjectives and providing little variance in the sentence structure. But that’s okay. I don’t like Danielle Steele’s style either, but she tells a page-turner of a story, and has the seven figure sales of her books to prove it! Many people fault Dan Brown’s literary abilities (personally, I enjoy his writing) but he still sells millions of books, too.

Unfortunately, The Bunko Babes’ ending felt rushed; we didn’t really get to see or immerse ourselves in Becca’s new personality, so I’m left wondering if the character’s change will be permanent. However, this is an important point. Long after I closed the book—for all certain aspects annoyed me—I found myself thinking about it, discussing it with others, even discussing it with the author in a blog comment conversation.

For someone who reads as much as I do, it’s not often that I come across a book that impacts my life and has me thinking about it long after I’ve tucked it away on an overstuffed bookshelf. And that, to me, is the mark of a worthwhile read. While I can’t say I thoroughly enjoyed The Bunko Babes, I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it and feel as if my life has been enriched by the experience.

This is one of the beautiful things about Mary Lewis' Blog Stop Book Tours; they are a great way to introduce readers, and the reviewers, to a diverse blend of interesting titles we may not otherwise pick up. I'm proud to be a small part of this book tour. Please check out the other reviews on the tour, and drop by the home of Blog Stop Book Tours, too.

July 1 - Not Enough Coffee

July 3 - Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?

July 7 - Mom Is Just A Nickname

July 11 - Mama Needs A Book Contract

July 14 - Something She Wrote

July 16 - Virtual Wordsmith

July 18 - Writing From Kiddom

July 23 - Anything That Pays… A Freelance Writer’s Blog

July 25 - From The Cheap Seats

July 28 - A Mama’s Rant