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Book Review
Feb. 6th, 2012 02:24 pmThe Angel Makers
by Jessica Gregson
This novel is based on a historical event. In a small, remote rural village in Hungary, when the men leave for WWI and soon after a prison camp for Italian officers is established nearby, things change drastically for the women left behind. They gain a new freedom, friendships among them build and deepen, and affairs with the nearby prisoners spring up. When the war ends and the men return, the women are no longer willing to put up with abusive husbands, and that's when the poisonings start.
This fictional version of the story is told mainly through the eyes of Sari Aranyi, a young woman who has largely been an outcast in the village because of her intelligence, oddness, and medical knowledge. Her life is especially improved during the war: she starts working with her friend Judit (the local midwife and wise-woman) and gains independence, as things loosen up in the village people are less suspicious of her, she develops friendships, and becomes involved with an Italian soldier. However, when her fiance returns from the front, he has become brutally cruel and violent, such that Sari, with the help of Judit, poisons him in order to preserve herself. Then they help another abused woman. And then things go south.
The story was quite interesting, and although I enjoyed this book, I also found it a little too light. I wish Gregson had gone a little deeper into exploring the events and the characters' motivations. Sari was a very interesting character and I would have liked to have more about her inner life and feelings. Gregson was content to stay very much on the surface. I liked what she did do, but I wish she had done more.
I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway.
by Jessica Gregson
This novel is based on a historical event. In a small, remote rural village in Hungary, when the men leave for WWI and soon after a prison camp for Italian officers is established nearby, things change drastically for the women left behind. They gain a new freedom, friendships among them build and deepen, and affairs with the nearby prisoners spring up. When the war ends and the men return, the women are no longer willing to put up with abusive husbands, and that's when the poisonings start.
This fictional version of the story is told mainly through the eyes of Sari Aranyi, a young woman who has largely been an outcast in the village because of her intelligence, oddness, and medical knowledge. Her life is especially improved during the war: she starts working with her friend Judit (the local midwife and wise-woman) and gains independence, as things loosen up in the village people are less suspicious of her, she develops friendships, and becomes involved with an Italian soldier. However, when her fiance returns from the front, he has become brutally cruel and violent, such that Sari, with the help of Judit, poisons him in order to preserve herself. Then they help another abused woman. And then things go south.
The story was quite interesting, and although I enjoyed this book, I also found it a little too light. I wish Gregson had gone a little deeper into exploring the events and the characters' motivations. Sari was a very interesting character and I would have liked to have more about her inner life and feelings. Gregson was content to stay very much on the surface. I liked what she did do, but I wish she had done more.
I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway.
