Nom de Plume

The Salem witch trials continue to fascinate, both for readers and for writers. The novel is told from three points of view : Charity Fowler (who would do well to remember her name), her father Lucas, and her exotic aunt Susannah who appears the night Charity’s mother dies in childbirth. Charity harbors a dark secret and fears for her soul–a matter exacerbated by her strict and righteous father. Instead, she seeks solace from a group of conniving girls who tempt her into their play at witchcraft. She loses all sense of reason, and begins to think of her aunt as the devil.

Well, you can see where this goes. Ho hum.

About midway through, our trio of protagonists become caricatures; their characters aren’t believable, their actions hard to fathom, and their emotions unreal. The best part of the book was the section from Charity’s point of view; she is half mad from her own failings and the restrictions of Puritan society. But alas, this section is obviously not sustainable, and I can understand why Chance switches the POV. Unfortunately, this is to the detriment of the book.

All in all, this was a lifeless book–once Charity is no longer the focus–that may be historically accurate, but is eminently forgettable.