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Poison
Francisca de Luarac, the daughter of a poor Spanish silk grower, is a dreamer of fabulous dreams. Marie Louise de Bourbon, the niece of Louis XIV, dances in slippers of fine Spanish silk in the French Court of the Sun King and imagines her own enchanted future. Born on the same day--in an age when superstition, repression, and the Inquisition reign--the lives of these two young women unfold in tandem, barely touching. Each hoards the memory of her adored lost mother like an amulet. Francica's obsession with her lover, a Catholick priest, will shaper her fate. Marie Loouise is yoked by political expediency to the mad, imptoent Carlos II of Spain. But even as their twin destinies spiral inexorably toward disaster, both Queen and commoner cultivate a dangerous, secret life dedicated to resistance, transcendence, and love. Written in gorgeous prose that has the sheen of silk, Kathryn Harrison's POISON vividlyreminds us of the persistence of desire, the passion that exists between mothers and daughters, and the sorcery of dreams.
339 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1995
52 people are currently reading
733 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Harrison
47 books296 followersKathryn Harrison is the author of the novels Envy, The Seal Wife, The Binding Chair, Poison, Exposure, and Thicker Than Water.
She has also written memoirs, The Kiss and The Mother Knot, a travel memoir, The Road to Santiago, a biography, Saint Therese of Lisieux, and a collection of personal essays, Seeking Rapture.
Ms. Harrison is a frequent reviewer for The New York Times Book Review; her essays, which have been included in many anthologies, have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, Salon, and other publications.
She lives in New York with her husband, the novelist Colin Harrison, and their children.
She has also written memoirs, The Kiss and The Mother Knot, a travel memoir, The Road to Santiago, a biography, Saint Therese of Lisieux, and a collection of personal essays, Seeking Rapture.
Ms. Harrison is a frequent reviewer for The New York Times Book Review; her essays, which have been included in many anthologies, have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, Salon, and other publications.
She lives in New York with her husband, the novelist Colin Harrison, and their children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
December 9, 2012
Set in seventeenth century Spain, this book follows the stories of two women, born on the same day, but in very different circumstances. Francisca is the daughter of an impoverished silk farmer, accused of witchcraft and imprisoned by the Inquisition. Maria Luisa is the queen of Carlos II, and a niece of Louis XIV, miserable in her marriage and desperate to have a child. The author scrambles up history, over-focuses on the nastier aspects of the time, such as torture, a fixation on breast milk, and seeing how depraved and low everything is. I hated this novel and can only give it two stars. NOT recommended at all.
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Kathry...
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Kathry...
June 1, 2021
I'm a fan of historical fiction and this one checked all the boxes for me: lots of specific details about the time period, P.O.V from high society and peon folks, secret rendezvous, murder (?), and intrigue. This book was jam-packed with lots of details and plot and was easy to read. Perfect high-brow beach read. Will definitely check out more books by Harrison.
December 31, 2015
A novel set in Spain during the 1600s, focusing half on Queen Marie Louise, the French wife of Carlos II (who is primarily famous today for being the most extreme example of Hapsburg inbreeding, and he certainly suffered for his ancestors' choices), and half on a young peasant woman imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition. I liked the parts about the Queen more than the other character, if only for the reason that the Queen's plot had actual characters and events, rather than the ramblings of a solitary person under torture, but by the end of the book I had lost interest in her too.
I was annoyed by the abundance of historical inaccuracies (the old story about Columbus being the first to prove the world is round, the wrong dates for the use of laudanum, descriptions of an extensive tunnel system dug by the Inquisition – I've never heard of this before, but since the only reference I can find to it online comes from a horror movie, I'm going to assume it's not exactly solid history), but Harrison straight-up says in her afterword that she wasn't so much writing about history as being vaguely inspired by it, so I suppose I can't blame her for that. And anyway, the focus here isn't really about why anything happens; instead it's on themes of sin and guilt, luxury and poverty, and the love between a mother and child. I, personally, would have been way more interested in a book about how the Inquisition functioned or why people are drawn to such religious extremism, but all that's here is "THE SPANISH INQUISITION SUCKED" which, thank you, I had pretty much already figured out.
The prose jumped around in time and frequently included sentence fragments or abruptly changing tenses. There was also endless descriptions of dreams: daydreams, nightmares, prophetic dreams, fever dreams, hallucinations, half-forgotten dreams, repeated dreams, etc, etc, until it was sometimes hard to tell what was actually happening and what was merely imagined by the characters. In short, it didn't work for me. Which is too bad! The first few pages were so promising.
I was annoyed by the abundance of historical inaccuracies (the old story about Columbus being the first to prove the world is round, the wrong dates for the use of laudanum, descriptions of an extensive tunnel system dug by the Inquisition – I've never heard of this before, but since the only reference I can find to it online comes from a horror movie, I'm going to assume it's not exactly solid history), but Harrison straight-up says in her afterword that she wasn't so much writing about history as being vaguely inspired by it, so I suppose I can't blame her for that. And anyway, the focus here isn't really about why anything happens; instead it's on themes of sin and guilt, luxury and poverty, and the love between a mother and child. I, personally, would have been way more interested in a book about how the Inquisition functioned or why people are drawn to such religious extremism, but all that's here is "THE SPANISH INQUISITION SUCKED" which, thank you, I had pretty much already figured out.
The prose jumped around in time and frequently included sentence fragments or abruptly changing tenses. There was also endless descriptions of dreams: daydreams, nightmares, prophetic dreams, fever dreams, hallucinations, half-forgotten dreams, repeated dreams, etc, etc, until it was sometimes hard to tell what was actually happening and what was merely imagined by the characters. In short, it didn't work for me. Which is too bad! The first few pages were so promising.
January 22, 2025
This book did a lovely job of encapsulating the complex experience of womanhood that can be related to modern day life while tying in the suspicion, witchcraft, and historical context of 17th century Spain. The two women Francisca and Maria are inches apart in their respective fates. Their life experiences contradict each others while validating societies incredulous expectations of women. while this book was melancholy, It was peppered with slight humor at the insane expectations for women of the time. I was fascinated by the terror that the inquisition caused and the horrors of the Catholic Church. Katherine Harrison did a lovely job of embodying the shame and depression that comes with womanhood. This book had beautiful prose and was a delightful read.
July 8, 2025
Poetyckie rozległe opisy, nieprowadzące do nikąd. Historia mogła się tak naprawdę skończyć w każdym momencie, a efekt byłby dokładnie ten sam. Trochę zmarnowany potencjał, szczególnie, że myślę że za dwa miesiące ją zapomnę. Dodatkowa gwiazdka za opisy i metafory, które naprawdę zawsze trafiały w punkt
June 19, 2023
3.75/5 stars
September 13, 2025
The prose is sensual and lush beginning to end. The subject matter is more than often grotesque. Reading this book felt like drinking blood, in more ways than one.
March 16, 2009
Well, "Poison" is not one of my favorites, not by a long shot. While Harrison is obviously devoted to her craft (you can tell by the way each sentence is so elegantly put together that the author is less storyteller than she is an artist, whose medium is words), the WAY she chose to tell her story left me cold and more than a bit confused.
Let me state up front that I'm a simple sort: I'm the most comfortable with traditional literary devices, like well-developed characters, linear(ish) storylines, and plots featuring protagonists and antagonists involved in the resolution of a conflict or two.
While "Poison" wasn't the cruelly incomprehensible, post-modern torture that is Robbe-Grillet's "The Voyeur", or if that doesn't conjure a clear enough image for you, perhaps think of that less-foreign, more-current fiend, Kathy Acker, and you'll understand what I mean. Still and all, Harrison's writing shares more with Robbe-Grillet and Acker than I'd like.
The story in "Poison" was told as a narrative from several alternating perspectives, and it wasn't always clear to me who was doing the narrating at any given time. This problem was compounded by the fact that, to me, the characters were (a) all female, and (b) didn't each have her own, distinctly individual voice...they were almost interchangeable, but only in regard to their voice. The characters were distinctly separate, living in different areas, and at different times, though there was some overlap. Worst of all was how the author jumped around in time: the story's telling wasn't linear, and I was further confused because it was never immediately clear who, exactly, was narrating at any given time, and when it was they were speaking: is the narrator speaking posthumously, as a youth, or some other time along their life's journey? Is the character reflecting or are events happening as they are described? When I'd finally manage to orient myself, there'd be a new paragraph...and we'd be switched to a different perspective and I'd be lost yet again.
Props where they're due: the sex was pretty hot, although there wasn't NEARLY enough of it to make up for the book's...deficits. All in all, the book was pretty much a drag.
Let me state up front that I'm a simple sort: I'm the most comfortable with traditional literary devices, like well-developed characters, linear(ish) storylines, and plots featuring protagonists and antagonists involved in the resolution of a conflict or two.
While "Poison" wasn't the cruelly incomprehensible, post-modern torture that is Robbe-Grillet's "The Voyeur", or if that doesn't conjure a clear enough image for you, perhaps think of that less-foreign, more-current fiend, Kathy Acker, and you'll understand what I mean. Still and all, Harrison's writing shares more with Robbe-Grillet and Acker than I'd like.
The story in "Poison" was told as a narrative from several alternating perspectives, and it wasn't always clear to me who was doing the narrating at any given time. This problem was compounded by the fact that, to me, the characters were (a) all female, and (b) didn't each have her own, distinctly individual voice...they were almost interchangeable, but only in regard to their voice. The characters were distinctly separate, living in different areas, and at different times, though there was some overlap. Worst of all was how the author jumped around in time: the story's telling wasn't linear, and I was further confused because it was never immediately clear who, exactly, was narrating at any given time, and when it was they were speaking: is the narrator speaking posthumously, as a youth, or some other time along their life's journey? Is the character reflecting or are events happening as they are described? When I'd finally manage to orient myself, there'd be a new paragraph...and we'd be switched to a different perspective and I'd be lost yet again.
Props where they're due: the sex was pretty hot, although there wasn't NEARLY enough of it to make up for the book's...deficits. All in all, the book was pretty much a drag.
January 21, 2013
The author, while taking creative license with historical facts, does so brilliantly. Those who are already familiar with French and Spanish royalty in the 1660's will still find a tale plaited with mysteries.
As a storyteller, she excels.
As a poetic author, she shines. When every sentence lilts, it is easy to go so overboard that the reader is knocked unconscious by the heady perfume of poetry and lose the story under the petals- Kathryn Harrison does not fall prey to that pitfall, and pulls it off wonderfully instead.
I will be very interested to see what she's writing ten and twenty years from now...
(I was indecisive between four and five stars. She got the fifth because of her poetic storytelling skill.)
Edit: I've noticed how other reviews have commented on how dark and depressing it can be. I did not find it to be gratuitous in it's descriptions of torture (the Spanish Inquisition is never pretty), if anything, she managed to smooth over the horror while conveying enough to keep it clear what was occurring.
In short, it is for mature readers, and/or ones that are comfortable with such topics. There is torture, sex, death, and birth. Without a spoiler, it gets messy. Life is messy. Those wanting light fictional reads should avoid this story.
As a storyteller, she excels.
As a poetic author, she shines. When every sentence lilts, it is easy to go so overboard that the reader is knocked unconscious by the heady perfume of poetry and lose the story under the petals- Kathryn Harrison does not fall prey to that pitfall, and pulls it off wonderfully instead.
I will be very interested to see what she's writing ten and twenty years from now...
(I was indecisive between four and five stars. She got the fifth because of her poetic storytelling skill.)
Edit: I've noticed how other reviews have commented on how dark and depressing it can be. I did not find it to be gratuitous in it's descriptions of torture (the Spanish Inquisition is never pretty), if anything, she managed to smooth over the horror while conveying enough to keep it clear what was occurring.
In short, it is for mature readers, and/or ones that are comfortable with such topics. There is torture, sex, death, and birth. Without a spoiler, it gets messy. Life is messy. Those wanting light fictional reads should avoid this story.
January 15, 2015
While the writing is flowing and rhapsodic, the content is confused and choppy, jumping back and forth and time and between characters, as well as between the first and third person. While clearly intended to be witty and clever, after a while it is simply baffling. Even worse, it devolves into sheer tedium, as the reader slogs through page after page of elegant and poetical turns of phrase, waiting with a sordid mix of unease and impatience for the many long-hinted-at horrors to befall the doomed main characters.
It doesn't help that the author (as she brazenly points out in her afterword) deliberately chose to monkey with many crucial facts surrounding the lives and deaths of several of her characters - in particular the dramatic and completely unhistorical demise of the Queen Mother, as a sort of poetic justice for supposedly murdering her daughter-in-law!? Historical fiction is, as a matter of course, an exercise in fantasy coupled with large grains of truth. But "Poison" was just too hard to swallow.
It doesn't help that the author (as she brazenly points out in her afterword) deliberately chose to monkey with many crucial facts surrounding the lives and deaths of several of her characters - in particular the dramatic and completely unhistorical demise of the Queen Mother, as a sort of poetic justice for supposedly murdering her daughter-in-law!? Historical fiction is, as a matter of course, an exercise in fantasy coupled with large grains of truth. But "Poison" was just too hard to swallow.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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September 12, 2020The parallel stories are told in lush, intricate, intimate, sensual language. Almost dizzying to read some of it.
The narrator grows up on a silkworm farm, and the writing continually reminded me of the kinds of silk being produced in those decades of the Sun King's reign--elaborate, busy patterns which were then sewn into elaborate, busy clothes. Clothes so rich and heavy that, Harrison notes more than once, they weighed a body down with their many-layered beauty. Well, her prose is a bit like that, and I did think it perfect for this story.
This book is a whole banquet of delicious episodes and sentences.
I will mention that Harrison tells us that she takes some liberties with the historical record. In fact, she gives one example of an outright lie that makes quite a significant difference--keeping someone alive who wasn't. I'm not bothered by these kinds of things myself; I always expect historical fiction writers to insert their "might have beens;" those are the best fun for me of reading (and of writing) historical fiction.
The narrator grows up on a silkworm farm, and the writing continually reminded me of the kinds of silk being produced in those decades of the Sun King's reign--elaborate, busy patterns which were then sewn into elaborate, busy clothes. Clothes so rich and heavy that, Harrison notes more than once, they weighed a body down with their many-layered beauty. Well, her prose is a bit like that, and I did think it perfect for this story.
This book is a whole banquet of delicious episodes and sentences.
I will mention that Harrison tells us that she takes some liberties with the historical record. In fact, she gives one example of an outright lie that makes quite a significant difference--keeping someone alive who wasn't. I'm not bothered by these kinds of things myself; I always expect historical fiction writers to insert their "might have beens;" those are the best fun for me of reading (and of writing) historical fiction.
April 12, 2011
This very unusual historical novel illuminates the plight of women in Spain during the Inquisition. The principal characters share the same birthday and both are doomed. Francesca, the erotic daughter of a silk farmer is accused of witchcraft. Maria, a French princess married to the revolting (and impotent) king of Spain gets the blame for being barren. The book is filled with fascinating information about silk worms, cures for infertility, ancient medical practices, 17th century superstitions, and the abusive practices of the Catholic Church. I thought Harrison created a slightly humorous undercurrent with all the preposterous details she included. These details and the fact that the protagonists didn't seem quite real mitigated the gloominess of this story for me. The book is gorgeously written.
August 12, 2009
This book was phenomenally interesting... but phenomenally depression. It takes place during the Spanish Inquisition, and tells the story of 2 different women... one the Queen of Spain, and the other a poor farm girl who is accused of witchcraft (because she had an affair with a Catholic priest).
Before you read this book, I recommend that you look up some information about "Mad King Carlos II" of Spain. It will provide you with some valuable information about the Spanish royal family, and why they were the way they were... (hint: inbreeding plays a major role...)
Before you read this book, I recommend that you look up some information about "Mad King Carlos II" of Spain. It will provide you with some valuable information about the Spanish royal family, and why they were the way they were... (hint: inbreeding plays a major role...)
September 20, 2010
Beautifully written, about love during the time of the Spanish Inquisiton, and the danger in being a woman during a time when women and love were suspect. Two parallel lives, one a commoner in love with a priest, the other a French princess married to the mad King Carlos II of Spain, one destroyed because of love, the other destroyed for lack of it. The two main characters are so well developed you really feel you are conversing with them as they reminise about their lives as they near its end. Beautiful.
November 22, 2008
This was a well-written book about the scary effects of the church's power in Spain a few centuries ago. The summary on the back of the book was wrong as it stated that the queen's future was dreamt of by Francisca, when that didn't happen at all. I don't know why it even said that. Maybe whoever did the write-up didn't actually read the book.
March 27, 2010
I started out with hope for an interesting historical novel, but winds deeper and deeper into some kind of madness....not sure if its the characters' or the author's. Made me start to feel as sick as the characters and gave up 3/4 the way through and I hardly ever give up on a book that's taken me that far.
December 23, 2010
My favorite of Kathyrn Harrison's novels, that darts between two women in vastly different social spheres and suffer this sort of debilitating and bleak lack of choice that I only really truly understood toward the very end. I found this paralyzingly creepy, but maybe that was only me. And maybe it's just Kathryn Harrison -- whose work I usually find paralyzingly creepy on some degree.
August 10, 2011
Though there is no fault with Harrison's prose, which is gorgeously delivered, I was not a fan of the narrative style. I found it difficult to follow, and felt that the majority of the novel was exposition, which was quite boring. Though there are some real gut wrenching moments, I had to push myself to finish the book and be done with it.
January 14, 2012
I have to agree with with those who found Francisca's story distracting. Her narration seems to offer nothing more than padding. The book would have been a much tighter and compelling tragedy if it only followed the Queen's hardships.
August 5, 2011
I loved the way the author captured the characters every nuance of feeling but the subject matter was a bit dull for me. I already knew how it ended and the journey to get there seemed long, tedious, and convoluted.
September 13, 2014
The writing was beautiful in this book. The story was very interesting. Very much a woman's book, with issues of motherhood, dreams unfulfilled, passion & lose. My only drawback was I found the continuity was difficult
August 7, 2021
OMG! I have been racking my brain for days trying to remember the title of this book! I finally put the correct words in a search engine and poof! Here she is!! It’s been many years since I’ve read this book, but I remember it being really good! Going to reread soon!
August 5, 2024
Świetna powieść, nasączona historycznymi smaczkami.
Dużo lepsza od książki o córce Rasputina tejże autorki, choć też trzeba brać poprawkę na fantazję Harrison i zastrzeganie, że nie czuje potrzeby, by kurczowo trzymać się faktów.
Dużo lepsza od książki o córce Rasputina tejże autorki, choć też trzeba brać poprawkę na fantazję Harrison i zastrzeganie, że nie czuje potrzeby, by kurczowo trzymać się faktów.
March 6, 2009
Very disjointed writing style which is why it gets I star. Did make me do research into Queen Maria Louisa and Carlos II. Disturbing period of history
June 17, 2024
Aby zrozumieć moje rozczarowanie w pełni przedstawię Wam krótko zarys fabuły. Nasza bohaterka – Francisa, pochodzi z niezbyt bogatej rodziny hodowców jedwabników w XVII wiecznej Hiszpani. Opowiada nam o swoim życiu od jej najmłodszych lat, jak i o życiu żony hiszpańskiego króla – francuskiej królewny Marii Luisy. Życia tych dwóch kobiet nie łączy więcej niż rok urodzenia oraz nieszczęśliwe życie. Francisa bowiem zakochuje się w księdzu, niestety ich romans przyłapała inkwizycja i ksiądz Alvaro (serio miał tak na imię) zostaje prawdopodobnie zabity, a ona sama trafia do lochów inkwizycji. Maria Luisa natomiast ma ten typowy przypadek nieszczęśliwej królowej, która po prostu nie może zajść w ciążę.
Brzmi ciekawie? Dla mnie bardzo. Gdyby nie fakt, że cała historia jest nam tak naprawdę zaspoilerowana od samego początku, a ciekawych plot twistów praktycznie nie ma. Francisa już na pierwszych stronach mówi o swoim romansie z inkwizycyjnej sali tortur i chociaż co prawda, historię królewny poznajemy jednak chronologicznie, to nie jest ona opisana w sposób porywający.
Innymi słowami – zmarnowany potencjał. Zły układ fabuły, za mało zmiany w postaciach.
Co do samego tematu, to czułam się, jakbym czytała takie gorsze „Księgi Jakubowe” przez podobną narrację, ale to naprawdę nieadekwatne porównanie. Historycznie, opowieść o Marii Luisie wydaje się prawdopodobna i jestem w stanie w nią uwierzyć, chociaż nie przyprawiała mnie o ciarki.
Zaskoczyła mnie ilość pikantnych scen w wątku romantycznym, ale jednak chaotyczne jego poprowadzenie popsuło jakiekolwiek napięcie.
Tytuł ładny.
Brzmi ciekawie? Dla mnie bardzo. Gdyby nie fakt, że cała historia jest nam tak naprawdę zaspoilerowana od samego początku, a ciekawych plot twistów praktycznie nie ma. Francisa już na pierwszych stronach mówi o swoim romansie z inkwizycyjnej sali tortur i chociaż co prawda, historię królewny poznajemy jednak chronologicznie, to nie jest ona opisana w sposób porywający.
Innymi słowami – zmarnowany potencjał. Zły układ fabuły, za mało zmiany w postaciach.
Co do samego tematu, to czułam się, jakbym czytała takie gorsze „Księgi Jakubowe” przez podobną narrację, ale to naprawdę nieadekwatne porównanie. Historycznie, opowieść o Marii Luisie wydaje się prawdopodobna i jestem w stanie w nią uwierzyć, chociaż nie przyprawiała mnie o ciarki.
Zaskoczyła mnie ilość pikantnych scen w wątku romantycznym, ale jednak chaotyczne jego poprowadzenie popsuło jakiekolwiek napięcie.
Tytuł ładny.
January 12, 2018
4 stars.
Donated by a friend. I had the distinct feeling I've read this book before. The problem with my memory is I have books in my attic and shed that I've read, but can't remember. One of these days I need to catalog all of them. Anyone want to donate some bookcases?
The story is set in Spain during the Inquisition (circa 17th century), interweaving stories about the royal family (King Carlos, Queen from France Maria Louisa, and the King's mother Marianna) with a family involved in the silkworm trade. It's funny, the previous novel I read was called "The Silkworm".
I might have rated it higher if I didn't feel like I'd read it before and wanted to rush through to get to my next book.
Read: 1/7-11/2017
Donated by a friend. I had the distinct feeling I've read this book before. The problem with my memory is I have books in my attic and shed that I've read, but can't remember. One of these days I need to catalog all of them. Anyone want to donate some bookcases?
The story is set in Spain during the Inquisition (circa 17th century), interweaving stories about the royal family (King Carlos, Queen from France Maria Louisa, and the King's mother Marianna) with a family involved in the silkworm trade. It's funny, the previous novel I read was called "The Silkworm".
I might have rated it higher if I didn't feel like I'd read it before and wanted to rush through to get to my next book.
Read: 1/7-11/2017
March 11, 2021
I would give Kathryn Harrison five stars for the syntax alone. God, her words, her images are so lush. She takes a point and just drives it home with variation after variation. Like a Mozart or Beethoven theme and variation, she's a master at taking a motif, silkworms, for example and looking at every possible aspect of knowing a silkworm. But then, I wondered where was the story going. It was almost like a very long writing exercise. I missed the arc of the story and wasn't sure there was one. But it was so lush, I almost didn't care. Almost. By the end of the book I was skipping ahead, the descriptions got a little tedious, and when I got there, I was left emotionless. But for language alone, Harrison is truly magical.
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July 31, 2022Harrison's writing is smart and engaging, and the two main characters here--the fictional Francisca de Luarca, daughter of a Spanish silk grower, and the historical Marie de Bourbon, the wife of Carlos II of Spain--show that even from two very different positions in society, for women during the Spanish Inquisition, it matters little if you are a grower or wearer of silk: your life is not your own. The author does a remarkable job with detail...you can feel the silk, smell the tinctures, hear the quiet of the Inquisitors' approach.
This book will appeal to those who like historical novels, stories of relationships between mothers and daughters, class, Spain, and the 17th century.
This book will appeal to those who like historical novels, stories of relationships between mothers and daughters, class, Spain, and the 17th century.
August 8, 2018
I found this book fascinating and beautifully written. I always lkke books that leave me wanting more of the world and cause me to search out more information. I will admit at times that the narrative was confusing, but I actually didn’t mind the back and forth between different time periods of Francisca’s life. Each section simultaneously revealed more but yet caused questions that kept me reading, curious and wanting to understand it all, to have the big picture.
April 14, 2024
I could not put this down. This was the best kind of reading experience, one where I was immersed in a dark dreadful but also gorgeous world and didn’t want to leave. I loved the flawed, feisty main character. As a mother of two young children, I found the descriptions of breastfeeding and childbirth to be especially poignant. There is a cool feminist streak to this novel. Also, who can resist a hot priest? Definitely checking out Harrison’s other work.
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