The Mercies

The Mercies
Written by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance
256 Pages
Published January 28th 2020
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia
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★★★★★
On Christmas Eve, 1617, the sea around the remote Norwegian island of Vardø is thrown into a reckless storm. As Maren Magnusdatter watches, forty fishermen, including her father and brother, are lost to the waves, the menfolk of Vardø wiped out in an instant.

Now the women must fend for themselves.

Eighteen months later, a sinister figure arrives. Summoned from Scotland to take control of a place at the edge of the civilised world, Absalom Cornet knows what he needs to do to bring the women of Vardø to heel. With him travels his young wife, Ursa. In Vardø, and in Maren, Ursa finds something she has never seen before: independent women. But Absalom sees only a place untouched by God and flooded with a mighty and terrible evil, one he must root out at all costs.

Inspired by the real events of the Vardø storm and the 1621 witch trials, Kiran Millwood Hargrave's The Mercies is a story about how suspicion can twist its way through a community, and a love that may prove as dangerous as it is powerful.
Throughout the island fishing village of Vardø, the women grieve for their husbands, their sons and their fathers as the weather churned the ocean, the fishermen losing their lives. The women of Vardø gathered their deceased loved ones, waiting until the season thawed the hardest terrain and farewelled those captured by the ocean as a man arrives on the Norwegian island. A man of the church to guide the female community spiritually and morally.

Maren Magnusdatter has lost her father, her betrothed and her brother, a newlywed young man expecting his first child. To survive, the women must become self reliant and although the newly appointed Christian Pastor believes it to be improper, food is scarce and the women, more than capable, embrace the role of hunters and gatherers.

The Mercies is based on an event that occurred during the early seventeenth century. A storm decimated Finnmark, forty men lost their lives in Vardø where it is said that the sky and sea merged to drown ten fishing vessels, resulting in the now infamous Vardøhus witch trials and genocide of Indigenous Sámi communities.

Maren is a formidable young woman, intelligent and resilient. Since the storm claimed the lives of the men of Vardø, including her father, brother and her betrothed, the atmosphere within the small coastal village is precarious, women who place their faith in Christianity and those who are tenaciously pursuing their independence. Neither mutually exclusive. The Christian women of Vardø are relying upon the Pastor and Lensmann Absolom Cornet, a Scotsman on behalf of the Monarchy instilled to ensure Christian values are being adhered and practised. The brutality and violence against women is confrontational, women are expected to marry and bear children, serve their community and attend church services. The Lensmann appointment has reverberated throughout the village, creating fissures within the community. On his journey to the small fishing village, Lensmann Cornet married Ursula, a dispirited young woman who reluctantly abandoned her family, her once privileged life and stately home for a small homestead on the island.

The tentative companionship of Maren and Ursula is tender and beautiful, Ursula enlisting the guidance of Maren to learn the customs of the Vardø community and tending to her home. As the Lensmann travelled under his appointment of the monarch, Ursula and Maren begun to depend on one another. Although Maren was betrothed to the young son of a village fishermen, she is attracted to women, preferring their company. Especially Ursula.

Maren's mother is becoming increasingly volatile, choosing the company of the Christian townswomen and isolating Diina and her grandson. Diina's shamanic faith victimising the young mother still grieving for her husband. The courage and fortitude of the women of  Vardø is inspirational, especially Kirsten Sorensdatter, trouser wearer and reindeer caretaker. Kirsten's independence reverberates in whispers throughout the village, those who disobey the Lensmann and refuse to follow the teachings of Christianity are branded as witches, held responsible for the storm. The women guided by Kirsten didn't survive, they thrived until the Lensmann arrived.

The Mercies is a narrative of quiet feminism and the fortitude of woman. The women of Vardø refusing to yield as they are sentenced to death by those shielding behind their faith. Women who refuse to adhere to Christianity and traditional female roles of caregivers, wives and homemakers are branded and sentenced. A remarkable story and beautifully told, The Mercies is unequivocally breathtaking.

10 comments

  1. This whole premise seems sooo outside my wheelhouse but even so I find myself super intrigued! The fact that the story is inspired by real events is even more of a draw. Wonderful review, Kelly!

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    1. It's so beautifully written as well Tanya. I'd love to see what you think of it!

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  2. Beautiful review, as always. I have not heard anything about this book, or the event it was based on - though it's always cool to hear books were based on a true story. I'm loving this cover - I didn't realize there were two women in the middle at first. Love little details like that. Thanks for sharing!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. It really is a testament to the strength of women Lauren and the romance was so, so lovely. I hope you can pick up a copy soon, I think you'll really enjoy this one.

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  3. I had never heard of this historical event. So interesting. The book sounds really powerful too.

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    1. Such a remarkable read, can't wait to see what the author is working on next!

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  4. Wait, this is based upon true events? That’s insane, I now really want to read up on the Vardo storm and find out more about it. This sounds like a powerful read about the strength of women and I really want to know more. Initially, I thought it didn’t look like a very me book but I’ve changed my mind, this is a book I definitely want to read after your review.

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    1. It is! I hadn't realised either but I did a little reading after I finished The Mercies and it's an incredibly tragic although fascinating historical moment. I do hope you can pick up a copy, it's such an amazing read!

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  5. To echo the comments above: this is real?! While reading your review, I couldn't get that disbelief out of my head. What amazing women they were.

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  6. I have this one, but haven't had a chance to read it yet! I'm happy to see you enjoyed it, and for reminding me that I need to get to it. I'd also forgotten what it was supposed to be about, so you've rekindled my interest.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?😷 💬

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