If you love atmospheric historical fiction with a feminist edge, "The Mercies" will sweep you away. Kiran Millwood Hargrave transports readers to 17th-century Norway, where a group of women are left to fend for themselves after a devastating storm. The bond that forms between the women - especially Maren and Ursa - is both heart-wrenching and empowering. With lush, poetic prose, the book paints a vivid picture of a harsh and unforgiving landscape, highlighted by themes of grief, resilience, friendship, and survival. Fans of stories inspired by real history, as well as anyone who appreciates nuanced explorations of women’s relationships and the dangers of religious zeal, will find a lot to love here.

Who May Not Like This Book:

If you prefer fast-paced plots or uplifting reads, this might not be for you. Some readers found the pacing slow, especially in the middle. The tone is often somber and bleak, and the depiction of everyday hardships can feel relentless. Those who are already familiar with witch trial tales may also find parts of the story predictable. A few reviews noted that the dialogue sometimes felt too modern or YA-inspired, detracting from the historical immersion.

A beautifully written and haunting tale of female strength and suspicion, perfect for lovers of dark historical fiction. Not light reading, but deeply memorable.

About:

In the remote fishing village of Vard in 1617, a catastrophic storm wipes out nearly all the men, leaving the women to fend for themselves and face suspicion of witchcraft. The story follows Maren, who lost her family in the storm, and Ursa, a newcomer married to a witch hunter sent to the village. As tensions rise and accusations fly, the women must navigate fear, superstition, and betrayal in a patriarchal and treacherous society. The writing style is immersive, atmospheric, and historically accurate, depicting the harsh landscape and the struggles of the characters with vivid detail and a tense tone that builds as the story progresses.

Characters:

The characters are well-developed, with Maren and Ursula representing different facets of womanhood and resilience in the face of male oppression.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is characterized by beautiful, atmospheric prose that immerses readers in the stark realities of 17th century Norway, though some dialogue may feel simplistic.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot centers around the aftermath of a devastating storm that claims the male population of a village in Norway, leading to a community of women navigating survival and the threat of witch trials.

Setting:

The setting is the remote and harsh landscape of early 17th century Norway, which significantly impacts the story's themes and character dynamics.

Pacing:

Pacing is uneven, beginning slowly before building tension through the narrative; the final sections are notably more gripping.

The men came scrambling down the black rock like dark, swift insects, glinting and hard-bodied with blades and scythes. They began to swing and cut before the whale was even dead. It bucking and all o...

Notes:

The Mercies is inspired by a true incident in 1617 when a storm off the coast of Vard Island killed forty fishermen.

The novel is set during a time of religious oppression in Norway, with Lutheranism trying to dominate over indigenous beliefs.

Women in the story find comfort and companionship in each other as they navigate grief and survival after losing nearly all the men in their lives.

The arrival of a witch hunter and his wife escalates tensions, leading to witch trials and executions of women accused of sorcery.

Characters in the novel struggle with themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the need for survival in a patriarchal society.

The writing combines rich, atmospheric details with a focus on the harsh realities of life in a remote fishing village in the harsh climate of Norway.

Maren, one of the main characters, takes on traditionally masculine roles such as fishing and hunting after the men are gone.

Ursa, the witch hunter's wife, faces cultural shock and struggles with her husband's treatment of women in their new environment.

The novel explores the complexities of female relationships, including both support and hostility.

The title 'The Mercies' alludes to the lack of mercy shown by men in authority towards the women they seek to control.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings for The Mercies include themes of death, grief, domestic violence, witch hunts, and historical oppression of women.

Has Romance?

The novel contains a significant romantic subplot that develops between the main characters Maren and Ursa.

From The Publisher:

The women in an Arctic village must survive a sinister threat after all the men are wiped out by a catastrophic storm in this "gripping novel inspired by a real-life witch hunt. . . . Beautiful and chilling" (Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe).

When the women take over, is it sorcery or power?

Finnmark, Norway, 1617. Twenty-year-old Maren Magnusdatter stands on the craggy coast, watching the skies break into a sudden and reckless storm. All forty of the village's men were at sea, including Maren's father and brother, and all forty are drowned in the otherworldly disaster.

For the women left behind, survival means defying the strict rules of the island. They fish, hunt, and butcher reindeer-which they never did while the men were alive. But the foundation of this new feminine frontier begins to crack with the arrival of Absalom Cornet, a man sent from Scotland to root out alleged witchcraft. Cornet brings with him the threat of danger-and a pretty, young Norwegian wife named Ursa.

As Maren and Ursa are drawn to one another in ways that surprise them both, the island begins to close in on them, with Absalom's iron rule threatening Vardø's very existence.

"The Mercies has a pull as sure as the tide. It totally swept me away to Vardø, where grief struck islanders stand tall in the shadow of religious persecution and witch burnings. It's a beautifully intimate story of friendship, love and hope. A haunting ode to self-reliant and quietly defiant women." (Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize winning author of Shuggie Bain)

February 2020

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349 pages

Ratings (24)

Incredible (4)
Loved It (11)
Liked It (8)
Did Not Like (1)

Reader Stats (74):

Read It (24)
Want To Read (41)
Not Interested (9)

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About the Author:

Kiran Millwood Hargrave is a British author, poet, and playwright. Her debut book, The Girl of Ink & Stars, won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, and British Children's Book of the Year. Her second book, The Island at the End of Everything, received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and VOYA. She holds degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and lives by the river in Oxford. The Mercies is her debut novel for adults.

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The Mercies

Kiran Millwood Hargrave

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