About book The Physick Book Of Deliverance Dane (2009)
I own a very old house in Salem with its own connection to the witch trials of 1692, so the description of this book jumped right out at me, but then I read some of the poorer reviews and nearly passed it over, I am so glad I chose to ignore them. If you like books that are about real people, not closet vampires and werewolves, that build quietly and are full of atmosphere that invokes another time and place; that are well written and have a touch of magic and romance then you will like this. Comparing one book to another is always risky I think but if you liked The Lace Reader, and Garden Spells, you might like this, they have something of the same quality. I listened to this in an audio book read by Katherine Kellegren, which was very well done. I was perusing the shelves at my public library when I saw the title: "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" and I was intrigued and somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered the title from a Book Page supplement that the library makes available to the public. I grabbed it along with 2 other titles and started the book that evening.Connie (who later on makes the connection that her given name is Constance, gasp! A Salem name) is working on her PHD in American history when she is called to go to her grandmas home, which is in a run down state, so it can be sold. While cleaning and looking around she comes across a Bible with a small key stuck in the spine and with small scroll of paper with the name Deliverance Dane written on it. This sends her on a journey, along with "a handsome steeple jack " (as the book describes him) to find out who Deliverance Dane is. Intertwined or parallel to this is the story of the Salem with trials and how Deliverance Dane came to be tried as a witch along with Connie's lineage to her.My main complaint about this book is that I needed The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane in one hand and Websters Dictionary in the other to understand some of the professorial language the author uses throughout the book. I suppose if colonial history, in particular arcane practice of divining, healing with herbs and witchcraft with a little alchemy thrown in is your thing, and you can understand professor speak then you will love this book.My other complaint was that the author wrote her characters conversation phonetically. Since it takes place in and around Salem, Massachusetts you will spend a great deal of time saying words like "Mahcy" instead of "Mercy" out loud as well as some of the other words you come across. For me as a reader, if a character is described as having a 'thick southern accent/drawl' when I read that person's words I can hear their words being spoken in my mind, I don't need it to be spelled out phonetically to get it.I also saw coming (spoiler alert) that her Professor Chilton would be the villain, that aspect was pretty transparent. Even her own abilities, as it were, I saw coming.All of this being said, the whole plot of the story was pretty good, and I did enjoy it, I just wish it was a little less 'wordy' and less of a collegiate read but still, if you like a little history of the Salem Witch Trials then this is a book for you.
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I picked this book because I'd just finished Mary Sharratt's excellent Daughters of the Witching Hill and wanted more of the same. This was so disappointing, light and fluffy and with no substance whatsoever. Can't believe they had the nerve to compare it to The Historian!The main character Connie, was so dull and empty and for someone who was supposed to be studying colonial history sure as hell didn't have much cop on when it came to figuring out words from the past. The fact that the author felt the need to portray Connie as someone who had the intellect of a child means she felt that as readers we wouldn't possibly be able to understand the complex plots and reveals!! Please! So insulting.I was so frustrated with the short snippets from the past, which were very well done but disjointed.Overall a complete meh, go for Daughters of the Witching Hill instead, that was fantastic.
—ArieAngelEyes
I own a very old house in Salem with its own connection to the witch trials of 1692, so the description of this book jumped right out at me, but then I read some of the poorer reviews and nearly passed it over, I am so glad I chose to ignore them. If you like books that are about real people, not closet vampires and werewolves, that build quietly and are full of atmosphere that invokes another time and place; that are well written and have a touch of magic and romance then you will like this. Comparing one book to another is always risky I think but if you liked The Lace Reader, and Garden Spells, you might like this, they have something of the same quality. I listened to this in an audio book read by Katherine Kellegren, which was very well done.
—adam
This was an interesting piece of fiction, based on the Salem witch trials.
—Lexie
Pretty good about a modern tale and the Salem witch trials.
—MusicLover99
