⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Pros: eery, slow burn, witchy, feminine rage, historical fiction/horror, beautiful artwork
Cons: I kinda liked everything about this book but the pace was a little slow and I would've liked a few things explored more deeply and other things could've stood to be shortened/omitted.
TW: Violence, Animal death/cruelty, Torture, Racism, Body Horror, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Blood, Insects
For a full review of this book plus a discussion, you can watch the entire meeting of Weirdo Book Club on our YouTube channel!
For the month of July, Weirdo Book Club was feeling witchy so we selected Slewfoot by Brom as our main read. It is a spooky, historical horror fiction set in 1666 New England in the Puritanical village of Sutton.
I loved this book; whatever this genre/aesthetic/trope/style is- give me all of it! The characters were amazing and easy to connect with, especially Abitha and Samson. The setting was immersive, the Pagan meets Puritan vibe of the whole thing made it mystical and fun but also a little enraging at times, damn, uppity, hypocritical Puritans. While reading it, a lot of personal anger from my evangelical Christian days came back to the surface and that was unexpected but not entirely unwelcome. Aside from that, I really enjoyed getting to experience Samson come into his own, find out who he is, etc. and the same for Abitha (plus, she is brimming with sweet, sweet feminine rage)
A few folks said they didn't enjoy it because it was slow and the writing style just didn't appeal to them. I concur about the pacing; the first chunk of the book was very slow going. I wanted certain things expanded on (Samson and Abitha's relationship, more on Mamunnahpet- just MORE.) Mamunnahpet had me especially confused; he was referenced and brought up for a long time before he ever made an appearance and his existence was never really explained. At least, I felt really confused about him. At the same time of wanting more... I also wanted less. I felt like some things were way too drawn out and could've been shortened or even omitted at times, which would have freed up some time and space for what the people really wanted... revenge.
All in all, this book was a really good time, solid witchy, Pagan vibes, feminine rage, etc. If you enjoy any of these things, I think you will enjoy this book. Plus, the artwork is gorgeous so I definitely recommend buying the physical copy to display on your shelf.
I am so glad we selected this book for our July read. If you'd like to join us for our next read, please do! You are absolutely invited and we would love to have you.
Also, please enjoy my GoodReads review and follow me there if you'd like! This review is a great summary of all the things I plan to discuss at length below.
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