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A review by serendipitysbooks
Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch is a fictional account of a 17th century German witch trial involving Katharina Kepler, mother of famous astronomer Johannes Kepler. I really enjoyed the voice of Katharina and the way she was portrayed, with her positive characteristics highlighted as well as the negative ones - opinionated, meddlesome, forthright, sarcastic, and cantankerous - which probably partly underlie why the accusations were made in the first place. The story also highlighted the petty jealousies and resentments which underlay the accusations as well as the farcical nature of the trial - leading questions, mob mentality, no proof of a link between cause and effect and more. Reading about witch trials in a setting that wasn’t America or England was interesting but it was Katharina herself which made this book shine
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry