JennieB Reviews / Book ReviewsGermany / Historical fiction / mystery / WitchesNo Comments
Blurb:
In the seventeenth century, witchfinders rule and paranoia thrives in a chilling novel about unrequited love, persecution, and betrayal by the bestselling author of The Road Beyond Ruin and Broken Angels.
In 1625, the Franconian village of Eisbach has been plagued by disease, famine, heinous crimes, and a merciless winter. Katarin Jaspers is the maidservant to the enigmatic Reverend Zacharias Engel, appointed by Rome to cure the village of suspected diabolism and save every God-fearing soul.
Zacharias soon finds his first witch, and the public burning of a local man could spell the end of misfortune. As a sense of peace settles over the village, Katarin finds herself increasingly infatuated with Zacharias, who is a disruption to her predictable existence and a balm for her cruel past. But peace for Katarin is short-lived. Margaretha Katz—the new midwife—is seen as a rival for the reverend’s attention. Fear and recrimination reach a fever pitch when a great tragedy sets the town fully on edge.
With the walls of winter closing in around Eisbach once again, rumours flourish and villagers turn on each other. Now, no one is safe from the pyre.
This was one of my rare Amazon First Reads that wasn’t suspense – I thought the description was vaguely (very vaguely) reminiscent of a book I really liked, Geraldine Brooks’ Year of Wonders. I took a chance on it (I haven’t had great success with Amazon First Reads historical fiction), and the results were a bit mixed.
The story is chiefly narrated by Katarin, a young (20ish) widow working as a servant for Reverend Stern as the story opens. Eisbach has experienced a rash of terrible crimes – the murders and disappearances of several children – making a community already suffering through a brutal winter even more despondent and on edge. Reverend Stern is elderly and suffering from a mysterious ailment, and is quickly sent to convalesce away from Eisbach. This move allows the prince-bishop of Wurzburg to bring in a younger and more proactive priest, not only to minister to the spiritual needs of the villagers but also to investigate the whispers that something evil is lurking in Eisbach.
Katarin quickly notices that Reverend Engel is very different from Reverend Stern – the latter was somewhat irascible and largely disinterested in the spiritual welfare of his congregation. Engel is much younger, handsome, and he strikes Katarin as brooding and mysterious.
Katarin narrates the story, punctuated by occasional chapters of a history written by a witch-hunter involved in the investigation in Eisbach. Katarin has had a difficult life, having been abandoned as an infant, raised as a servant in the castle, and then sold off to an older man when she was 13. Katarin’s husband was abusive and she was relieved when he died. Her life as a servant to the Reverend is fairly comfortable, especially in comparison to the rest of the village. She has one close relationship, with fellow servant Walter, whom she views as a younger brother.
As the Reverend’s investigation kicks off, Katarin is drawn in as an assistant of sorts, one whom Engel believes knows and understands the locals better than he can. Accusations are first directed at a man accused of killing his wife and children. The man, von Kleist, is suspected of being not just guilty of murder but of being in league with the devil. Von Kleist is duly tortured and burned to death; the latter spectacle seems to horrify some of the watching crowd, while others cheer. Everyone hopes that things will get better with the “evil” destroyed. (Spoiler: nah.)
Visiting von Kleist’s estate before the execution, Katarin notes that his previously full pens are all but empty of pigs and chickens and that his horses are gone. The suggestion is that there were multiple motives behind the accusations and prosecution of this particular man. The prince-bishop (I’d never heard of a “prince-bishop” before! Apparently it was a real thing!) remains a shadowy figure in the book, sinister and and all powerful.
Meanwhile, Katarin is disturbed by another newcomer to the village, a beautiful young healer named Margaretha, who is supposedly the niece of the older village healer, Maria. Maria was a friend of Katarin’s who has been suffering for some time from an unspecified illness. While Margaretha is said to be caring for her, Katarin is concerned that she’s not allowed to see Maria and is suspicious of Margaretha in general. When she begins to suspect a relationship between Zacharias and Margaretha, Katarin is even more disturbed, and not a little jealous. Her attraction to Zacharias has continued to grow and at times Katarin thinks it may be reciprocated, though Zacharais is never less than proper with her.
More calamities occur, and more “witches” are accused and burned. The situation in Eisbach appears headed to a crisis point.
An Age of Winters kept me absorbed pretty much throughout – the atmosphere was well done, the writing was strong, and Katarin is a sympathetic narrator. The ending, however, upends everything the reader assumes they know, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I expect twists in my suspense and mystery reading, but I was not anticipating them in a work of historical fiction.
It feels…a little unfair somehow? Like some unspoken contract has been broken. I may not be rational on the subject though. I will say that I didn’t see the twists coming, though in retrospect, there were some clues. So well done to the author there. My grade for this is a straight B.
Best,
Jennie
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Jennie
has been an avid if often frustrated romance reader for the past 15 years. In that time she’s read a lot of good romances, a few great ones, and, unfortunately, a whole lot of dreck. Many of her favorite authors (Ivory, Kinsale, Gaffney, Williamson, Ibbotson) have moved onto other genres or produce new books only rarely, so she’s had to expand her horizons a bit. Newer authors she enjoys include Julie Ann Long, Megan Hart and J.R. Ward, and she eagerly anticipates each new Sookie Stackhouse novel. Strong prose and characterization go a long way with her, though if they are combined with an unusual plot or setting, all the better. When she’s not reading romance she can usually be found reading historical non-fiction.