The Mercies

The Mercies

by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

5 out of 5

Synopsis
Finnmark, Norway, 1617. Twenty-year-old Maren Magnusdatter stands on the craggy coast, watching the sea break into a sudden and reckless storm. Forty fishermen, including her brother and father, are drowned and left broken on the rocks below. With the menfolk wiped out, the women of the tiny Arctic town of Vardø must fend for themselves.

Three years later, a sinister figure arrives. Absalom Cornet comes from Scotland, where he burned witches in the northern isles. He brings with him his young Norwegian wife, Ursa, who is both heady with her husband's authority and terrified by it. In Vardø, and in Maren, Ursa sees something she has never seen before: independent women. But Absalom sees only a place untouched by God, and flooded with a mighty evil.

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.

Inspired by the real events of the Vardø storm and the 1621 witch trials, The Mercies is a story of love, evil, and obsession, set at the edge of civilization.



Review
Maren and Ursa are from very different backgrounds, but they are women in a world run by men. Their friendship is the only bright light, and even that might not be enough to save them.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Maren has grown up Vardø, a small community where the men go out to sea fishing, whilst the women tend the home.
A sudden and ferocious storm kills almost all of their men in a single day.
After the grieving period is done, the aide sent from other parts of Norway are not enough and they are wasting away from hunger. The women dare to take on the role of going out onto the sea and catching their own fish.
Over time, their independence grows, they find that they do not need men to rule them, they only need each other.
In time, this heresy is noticed by the wrong men, who come seeking to stamp out witchcraft, and any sign of women acting out of turn.

Ursa is the daughter of a merchant who has fallen on hard times. She does her duty, marrying Absalom Cornet, a man with an important appointment by the King of Norway. Except his duty will drag her away from her sister and everything she knows, to the middle of nowhere.
Having been brought up a young lady, her basic skills are non-existent, and she is completely reliant on Maren helping her run her home.

This was a beautifully-written historical novel, following Maren and Ursa, and their lives in Vardø, which has always been a tough place to live. The consequences of the storm are about to bring a whole load of new difficulties.
As some women find independence, others lean more heavily on their faith, believing God will provide. Dangerous factions arise in the small community. A divide that Absalom Cornet, and other ambitious people, are only too keen to use.

The relationship between Maren and Ursa is so sweet. It is at the core of everything, but the depth of their feelings is only expressed near the end.
First and foremost, they are friends, providing support for each other at every turn.

This is based on real event in Norway's history, and this story feels very alive and believable throughout. There is so much about the oppression of women that still resonates today.

I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of the author's work.

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