Hour of the Witch

A Novel

De: Chris Bohjalian

Narrado por: Grace Experience, Saskia Maarleveld, Danny Campbell, Cassandra Campbell, Arthur Morey, Mark Deakins, Julia Whelan, Kaleo Griffith, Kirby Heyborne, Rebecca Lowman, Mark Bramhall

New York Times Best Seller

From the acclaimed author of The Flight Attendant: “Historical fiction at its best…. The book is a thriller in structure, and a real page-turner, the ending both unexpected and satisfying” (Diana Gabaldon, best-selling author of the Outlander series, The Washington Post).

A young Puritan woman - faithful, resourceful, but afraid of the demons that dog her soul - plots her escape from a violent marriage in this riveting and propulsive novel of historical suspense.

Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is 24 years old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary's hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life.

But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary - a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony - soon becomes herself the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary's garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows.

A twisting, tightly plotted novel of historical suspense from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying story of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.

©2021 Chris Bohjalian (P)2021 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

One of the Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Fiction for 2021

A Real Simple Best New Book

A Read It Forward Most Anticipated Book

A Lit Hub Most Anticipated Book

A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Book

A GoodReads Most Anticipated Book

An AARP Most Anticipated Book

“Hour of the Witch is historical fiction at its best.... Insightful and empathetic.... Thick with details as chowder is with clams.... Handled with great skill and delicacy. The book is a thriller in structure, and a real page-turner, the ending both unexpected and satisfying.” (Diana Gabaldon, The Washington Post)

"Harrowing.... In the hands of a master storyteller like Bohjalian, [Hour of the Witch is] an engrossing tale of a woman who insists upon the right to navigate her life, and the consequences when she does.” (Danielle Trussoni, New York Times Book Review)

"Bohjalian does an admirable job of bringing his numerous players to life in all their complexity.... Hour of the Witch - part courtroom thriller, part psychological suspense novel - holds a reader’s rapt attention all the way to its startling conclusion.” (Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal)

Liked it!

At first I thought that I couldn't listen to thou art... any longer, but then the story grew on me. Any other comments would be a spoiler. Otherwise, I'm glad I wasn't born during those times.

don't let the bad reviews deter you

I purchased this book a few months ago because I've been wanting to read it for a long time and just never got the chance. I read the reviews after purchasing and was horrified. It kept me from listening to the book and I was so annoyed with myself that I hadn't read the reviews before purchasing. I decided to finally give it a try and it was so good. I didn't think the narrator was boring at all, she gave the story reverence. I was still very captivated by the story and was so sad when the book was over.

Narration does not help this story

Reader has great diction but terrible inflection, found it irritating to listen to her, sounds like a diction class student. Too bad some of the readers who introduced new chapters weren’t solicited to assume reading for their characters throughout.
Unfortunately the story isn’t much better, i guess geared to YA audience. Predictable, terrible decision making that made me wince and say don’t do that! Quite like a horror movie where the victim freezes and screams uselessly instead of taking action. Probably one of the few times I wanted the protagonist to fail. Best part was the ending. And not because the novel was finally ending but because it truly was a surprise. Best part of the story.
PS I will not choose a future book if narrated by this same person.

Tough to finish

Two and a half stars charitably rounded up. The first hurdle was all the thees, thous and prithys. It was as if the author learned a few words from the 1600s and used them exclusively over and over. And over. Then there was the unneeded descriptions of masturbation, and finally a lead character who consistently made stupid decisions. I did finish the book but it was difficult.

Excellent historical fiction!

This book truly kept my interest. The reading was very clear and I liked the various voices - it helps to distinguish the characters and avoids being too monotone. I will definitely be listening to more audio books from this author. Well done to the author and the performance/production crew!

Thoroughly enjoyed this audio book -

I know there are strong opinions on the narration, but I can say I didn't find it off-putting at all. I enjoyed the story and the rhythm of the narration. For me, it suited the story.

As for the story, I enjoyed it and was surprised at the ending. Well-played, and well-written, the excerpts from the documents of the time-period were especially interesting and gave substance to the story.

I would recommend this audio book without hesitation.

MEK

Amazing!

I loved this book so much! I hated to have to take a break from it and couldn't wait to get back to it. It was spellbinding. All I can say is WOW!

Story good but some annoyances

The pace was a bit slow

The authors use of thee/thou seemed wrong: these were not Quakers? Even Quakers don’t say thee to superiors

I find the ending less than impressive but saying why spoils the ending. It could have been done with more art

Brilliant

Set in New England during the puritanical days of the mid 1660s, Mary Deerfield has the audacity to object to her husband’s physical and emotional abuse. She wants to divorce him, but must has just cause according to men in her community. Women, in those times, were property of their parents first and then their husband, expected to endure what society considered justified discipline. Abuse was considered justified punishment.

I spent most of my time reading HOUR OF THE WITCH feeling angry for Mary and for all women. Imagining myself in her situation would have been a foregone conclusion. I wouldn’t have fit in. Fortunately, Mary’s parents believed her and supported her desire not to be mistreated, which to me is a low bar for decent parenting, but those were different times.

Faulting townspeople would be overly simplistic, as they were raised to believe in good vs evil and Satan as a real source of evil with a capital E, not merely synonymous with bad. Part of their beliefs stemmed from predetermination, that humans were destined to be good or evil, very few shades of gray existed. Speaking out against injustice could result in public flogging, excommunication from the church and polite society, shunning from family, even being hanged as a witch. Bravery could be deadly.

Chris Bohjalian is one of the most brilliant storytellers of our time. His impeccable research and attention to detail reminds me of Jodi Picoult’s approach to writing. I’ve been a fan of both since their earlier careers and they are the only writers whose literary fiction I enjoy. They make me think and reconsider my beliefs. Salem and the witch trials, the groupthink and gang-like mentality have parallels in today’s society and social media. I’ve been on the wrong side of a misinterpreted comment meant to be supportive and couldn’t believe the vitriol.

Though marketed as a literary thriller, I wouldn’t use thriller because though the pace is steady and tension high, it’s more a study of character and era and a brilliant one at that.

HOUR OF THE WITCH is a must read for historical and literary fiction lovers, particularly those interested in feminism and equality.

Good Story

Historical Fiction is my favorite. I enjoyed learning about that time of witches, church, state, and family.