Friday, October 12, 2007

WITCH'S TRINITY by Erika Mailman



I found WITCH'S TRINITY to be quite chilling. And not because it is particularly gruesome. I think it bothered me because deep down I feel that we are still capable of reaching such depths of mob mentality.

The book focuses on the Inquisition and witch trials in Germany in the 1500s. A small German town has been suffering from famine and a priest arrives in town to help them find a "solution." The story is narrated by an old woman named Gude who fears the consequences of the priest's actions. I found it hard to put the book down. The idea of burning women as witches seems ludicrous in this day and age. And yet it wasn't so long ago when mobs would lynch black men in the South. Or how about the McCarthy hearings where friends denounced each other? It is easy to get along with everyone when things go right. True character comes out when things go wrong. This historical novel is a cautionary tale for all of us.

3 comments:

Literary Feline said...

This does sound good! I will have to add it to my wishlist. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!

Gary said...

You're right - there's a lot going on today that has the potential of pushing us down a bad road or three. It's incredible to think about how recent McCarthy and Brown v. Board of Education were, just to name a few. Scary indeed.

Erika M said...

Thank you so much for the positive review of my book! And I agree with you... history teaches us not to be complacent.
Erika Mailman