The Wise Woman--Book Review

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The Wise Woman: A Novel. Philippa Gregory. Touchstone. 2008.

Book review by Tracey
I am definitely a fan of Ms. Gregory but I cannot say that this was my favorite work. The story was well written as always, but I couldn’t get past my feelings about the main character, Alys. In this story, Alys does what she thinks she must to survive extreme hardship and poverty. Never having been in a situation that would cause me to give up all pride and connive my way through life left me unable to sympathize with many of Alys’ choices. In fact, it now occurs to me that I didn’t really like any of the characters in the book. Maybe I should rethink my wish to experience medieval Europe in the flesh. Honestly though, the characters are very interesting and the theme of the wise woman is a compelling one. Most women have at least heard about older and perhaps poorer members of our sex who in the past were accused of witchcraft. It must have been a very fine line to walk between being a healer and trying to help people and being accused, tortured and killed for not managing it to your customers’ satisfaction. I would definitely never tell you not to read this story, as I think Ms. Gregory is a wonderful storyteller and another reader might really be taken with the characters in this tale.

Tracey.

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