What do you think?
Rate this book
De vrouwen van Falucska
Hongarije, 1914.
In het afgelegen dorpje Falucska is de jonge Sari een buitenbeentje: kennis van kruiden en traditionele geneeswijzen heeft haar de reputatie van een heks gegeven. Wanneer de oorlog uitbreekt, vertrekken de mannen naar het front. Achtergebleven in het dorp verwerven de vrouwen zich vrijheden die ze nooit gekend hebben. Als de mannen na de oorlog weer thuiskomen, laten de vrouwen zich niet meer dwingen in het strakke keurslijf van voorheen. Met de hulp van Sari bedenken ze een even begrijpelijk als monsterlijk plan...
In het afgelegen dorpje Falucska is de jonge Sari een buitenbeentje: kennis van kruiden en traditionele geneeswijzen heeft haar de reputatie van een heks gegeven. Wanneer de oorlog uitbreekt, vertrekken de mannen naar het front. Achtergebleven in het dorp verwerven de vrouwen zich vrijheden die ze nooit gekend hebben. Als de mannen na de oorlog weer thuiskomen, laten de vrouwen zich niet meer dwingen in het strakke keurslijf van voorheen. Met de hulp van Sari bedenken ze een even begrijpelijk als monsterlijk plan...
336 pages, Paperback
First published February 6, 2007
142 people are currently reading
1972 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 263 reviews
November 3, 2011
They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.. and having read this which is based on a true story, I'd say they may be right.
It's a novel about the abuse of power and how what can be a good thing in one's hands can become something else, something evil in another's.
Sari is a teenager branded as a slight "witch" because she has the power to use herbs and such to help with wounds, illness, and pregnancies. She feels ostracized by her little town and so when the wealthiest boy agrees to marry her when she becomes a certain age, she feels lucky. But he goes to war first, WW1 to be exact and while the men are gone from this small town, the women go a little stir crazy and trouble brews when some Italian POWs show up. You get the picture.. Eventually the women get used to men being gone, even Sari.
Marco, a handsome Italian POW makes Sari start to think about some things. "..you're happy for people just to tolerate you because of the person you've married?" Does she want to be liked for simply being Ferenc's wife when he comes back? Does the town respect her for her or just because of Ferenc? She's left little time to ponder because Ferenc does come back and he's not the same man. None of the men are the same. Every man is changed by the war.. wounded.. afflicted with nightmares.. And the women don't like them, have gotten used to not having them around.. prefer it even..
But some are downright abusive and what starts as good intentions.. kill this man, save a baby.. kill this man, save a woman.. ends up being greatly abused and Sari realizes the town never respected her at all and they may just try to blame her for it all.
Extremely well written, suspenseful at some parts, shocking in others. Lots of things happened that I didn't foresee. I couldn't predict this one at all. I could also see from "both sides of the fence" in this one. I didn't like what some of the characters did at times, but I could also understand. It takes a skilled writer to pull this off. I also enjoyed the conflicting emotions that Sari had about what she was doing at different parts of the story.
Love, sex, intrigue, murder, war.. this book has it all.
Favorite quote: (Judit's views on religion)"I have no respect for anything that only wants to stop people from doing things."
It's a novel about the abuse of power and how what can be a good thing in one's hands can become something else, something evil in another's.
Sari is a teenager branded as a slight "witch" because she has the power to use herbs and such to help with wounds, illness, and pregnancies. She feels ostracized by her little town and so when the wealthiest boy agrees to marry her when she becomes a certain age, she feels lucky. But he goes to war first, WW1 to be exact and while the men are gone from this small town, the women go a little stir crazy and trouble brews when some Italian POWs show up. You get the picture.. Eventually the women get used to men being gone, even Sari.
Marco, a handsome Italian POW makes Sari start to think about some things. "..you're happy for people just to tolerate you because of the person you've married?" Does she want to be liked for simply being Ferenc's wife when he comes back? Does the town respect her for her or just because of Ferenc? She's left little time to ponder because Ferenc does come back and he's not the same man. None of the men are the same. Every man is changed by the war.. wounded.. afflicted with nightmares.. And the women don't like them, have gotten used to not having them around.. prefer it even..
But some are downright abusive and what starts as good intentions.. kill this man, save a baby.. kill this man, save a woman.. ends up being greatly abused and Sari realizes the town never respected her at all and they may just try to blame her for it all.
Extremely well written, suspenseful at some parts, shocking in others. Lots of things happened that I didn't foresee. I couldn't predict this one at all. I could also see from "both sides of the fence" in this one. I didn't like what some of the characters did at times, but I could also understand. It takes a skilled writer to pull this off. I also enjoyed the conflicting emotions that Sari had about what she was doing at different parts of the story.
Love, sex, intrigue, murder, war.. this book has it all.
Favorite quote: (Judit's views on religion)"I have no respect for anything that only wants to stop people from doing things."
August 27, 2012
When WWI called the men away from their Hungarian village of Nagyar, their wives wept and wished them a speedy return.
Until they noticed something unusual.
With the men gone, life was a whole lot better. One by one, each wife experienced the same epiphany: Nobody was spending the family's scant savings on booze, getting drunk and beating the daylights out of her. And what's more, the ladies realized that men weren't all that necessary. They were managing the farms pretty darn well themselves. Sure they still had to work in the fields, but without having to cook hubby's meals, sew and mend and wash his clothes, dodge his fists, keep the kids out of his way--and all with another one of his babies in her belly--things were a whole lot easier!
And then things got even better. The Austrian army dropped off some Italian prisoners of war to help the ladies with their farmwork. Do the heavy lifting, as it were. And indeed they did. And thensome. Polite, attentive, even romantic, the eager POWS were a new species of male, one the ladies of Nagyar had never before encountered...and one they found altogether acceptable. Altogether.
But as with all good things, this new happy chapter came to an end when The Boys Came Marching Home. No more Love Italian Style. It was back to watching hubby eat first before she and the kids got a mouthful, back to loose teeth and black eyes, and back to slam bam without the thank you ma'am.
Things looked bleak indeed. Until late one night when one of the ladies sits down to consider her miserable future and notices that arsenic-laced strip of fly paper swinging from the lamp overhead. She comes up with A Very Interesting Idea. One she gladly shared with her friends. Pretty soon life started looking good again. Except maybe there were more flies around than usual.
Then wouldn't you know it, somebody went and spilled the beans and the authorities started poking their noses into Nagyar business.
Based on actual events that transpired in a Hungarian village, this is a fascinating little book. It's a fast, almost compulsive read that combines humor and shock value in one seamless stream. The characters are depicted in sharp relief, beautifully crafted so their individual personalities give us memorable portraits. And the plot...it's a pip. We get so caught up in the ladies' innovative solution to marital discord, it begins to seem perfectly logical and we resent the long arm of the law reaching in and stirring things up.
Incidentally, good ideas don't die. The Women of Nagyar were not the first or the last group of unhappy women to make use of this fast and easy alternative to group divorce. A quick internet search shows that misandry and murder syndicates are evergreen throughout history. In 1658, an ambitious bunch of Roman housewives took out 100 pesky husbands and nosy neighbors. In 1868, Marseiles pharmacist/herbalist named Joye Monsier helped quite a few desperate housewives disencumber themselves without waiting for a decree nisi. In 1925, one Madame Popova of the Ukraine helped 300 abused wives find solace. 1926 saw the opening of Yugoslavia's "Lucretia Club," whose members shared information about husband-murdering techniques and knitting patterns. The list goes on and on. But for some reason, Hungary holds the record. Since 1900, the country has led the field, claiming around 60 of the 100 most notorious cases of mass husband killing. Can't afford a lawyer? Afraid hubby will object to your leaving...in an objectionable way? No problem. The solution is as easy as...pie. Once you've given the recipe a little reboot.
The temptation to play Dixie Chicks' "Earl Must Die" while reading this book is almost insurmountable. Just don't do it if you also leave the book where your husband or sweetie can see it. Next time you and your girlfriends are sitting in the kitchen, laughing and gossiping, poor baby is going to be in the den hyperventilating and afraid to finish dessert. Especially if you asked him to pick up one of those Shell No Pest Strips on the way home.
On the other hand, he may start sending you flowers. Frequently. And for no reason. I'm just saying.
Until they noticed something unusual.
With the men gone, life was a whole lot better. One by one, each wife experienced the same epiphany: Nobody was spending the family's scant savings on booze, getting drunk and beating the daylights out of her. And what's more, the ladies realized that men weren't all that necessary. They were managing the farms pretty darn well themselves. Sure they still had to work in the fields, but without having to cook hubby's meals, sew and mend and wash his clothes, dodge his fists, keep the kids out of his way--and all with another one of his babies in her belly--things were a whole lot easier!
And then things got even better. The Austrian army dropped off some Italian prisoners of war to help the ladies with their farmwork. Do the heavy lifting, as it were. And indeed they did. And thensome. Polite, attentive, even romantic, the eager POWS were a new species of male, one the ladies of Nagyar had never before encountered...and one they found altogether acceptable. Altogether.
But as with all good things, this new happy chapter came to an end when The Boys Came Marching Home. No more Love Italian Style. It was back to watching hubby eat first before she and the kids got a mouthful, back to loose teeth and black eyes, and back to slam bam without the thank you ma'am.
Things looked bleak indeed. Until late one night when one of the ladies sits down to consider her miserable future and notices that arsenic-laced strip of fly paper swinging from the lamp overhead. She comes up with A Very Interesting Idea. One she gladly shared with her friends. Pretty soon life started looking good again. Except maybe there were more flies around than usual.
Then wouldn't you know it, somebody went and spilled the beans and the authorities started poking their noses into Nagyar business.
Based on actual events that transpired in a Hungarian village, this is a fascinating little book. It's a fast, almost compulsive read that combines humor and shock value in one seamless stream. The characters are depicted in sharp relief, beautifully crafted so their individual personalities give us memorable portraits. And the plot...it's a pip. We get so caught up in the ladies' innovative solution to marital discord, it begins to seem perfectly logical and we resent the long arm of the law reaching in and stirring things up.
Incidentally, good ideas don't die. The Women of Nagyar were not the first or the last group of unhappy women to make use of this fast and easy alternative to group divorce. A quick internet search shows that misandry and murder syndicates are evergreen throughout history. In 1658, an ambitious bunch of Roman housewives took out 100 pesky husbands and nosy neighbors. In 1868, Marseiles pharmacist/herbalist named Joye Monsier helped quite a few desperate housewives disencumber themselves without waiting for a decree nisi. In 1925, one Madame Popova of the Ukraine helped 300 abused wives find solace. 1926 saw the opening of Yugoslavia's "Lucretia Club," whose members shared information about husband-murdering techniques and knitting patterns. The list goes on and on. But for some reason, Hungary holds the record. Since 1900, the country has led the field, claiming around 60 of the 100 most notorious cases of mass husband killing. Can't afford a lawyer? Afraid hubby will object to your leaving...in an objectionable way? No problem. The solution is as easy as...pie. Once you've given the recipe a little reboot.
The temptation to play Dixie Chicks' "Earl Must Die" while reading this book is almost insurmountable. Just don't do it if you also leave the book where your husband or sweetie can see it. Next time you and your girlfriends are sitting in the kitchen, laughing and gossiping, poor baby is going to be in the den hyperventilating and afraid to finish dessert. Especially if you asked him to pick up one of those Shell No Pest Strips on the way home.
On the other hand, he may start sending you flowers. Frequently. And for no reason. I'm just saying.
October 25, 2013
I wanted to read this novel because it was based on a true story. A group of women conspired together in a small village in Hungary and over a period of a decade or so, murdered hundreds of people. Mostly men. The main conspirators sign the death certificates and furnished the arsenic to make the deaths look like a horrible illness. These women did so because of regular abuse. But death came so easy. It soon spread to include burdensome parents, nasty in-laws and maybe even some troublesome children.
THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
The Angel Makers retells the story taking some liberties to create central characters, fictitious back stories and lots of embellishments. Overall, it was an interesting read. But I was hoping it would have been a little more factual.
THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
The Angel Makers retells the story taking some liberties to create central characters, fictitious back stories and lots of embellishments. Overall, it was an interesting read. But I was hoping it would have been a little more factual.
July 10, 2023
This book went above and beyond my expectations. After reading the author's disclaimer that the book, although based on a true story, was "heavily embellished" by the author's imagination and that places and names had been changed, I felt disappointed. Why would this story which took place over a century ago need such protective measures? Although I still don't like reading books that use these devices, this book proved an exception to my bias.
I'll spare you a book report, but will offer this: Gregson is a gifted writer in every sense of the word, literally. You might want to keep a dictionary website open for quick reference.
The women are ordinary (well, maybe not, on second thought) Hungarian peasants from the plain who, in many instances, have lived under the thumbs of abusive, often drunken, husbands; that is, until World War I comes along and allows them a taste of a better life - without men.
When the men begin to return from the war the women find themselves dreading the resumption of their former lives, so they conspire, first hesitantly, then with unabashed determination, to remedy the problem. With proficiency and precise instructions, mother/daughter midwives, Judit and Sari, dispassionately dispense their potions to an ever-growing number of village women eager to execute their poisonous fix.
The author peppers this shocking story with a mixture of snark and dark humor, a combination that doesn't always work well in true-crime stories, but fits into this one perfectly. With that in mind, I'm better able to appreciate why Gregson wrote this as fiction "based on a true story."
Finally, I urge Jessica to write another book!
I'll spare you a book report, but will offer this: Gregson is a gifted writer in every sense of the word, literally. You might want to keep a dictionary website open for quick reference.
The women are ordinary (well, maybe not, on second thought) Hungarian peasants from the plain who, in many instances, have lived under the thumbs of abusive, often drunken, husbands; that is, until World War I comes along and allows them a taste of a better life - without men.
When the men begin to return from the war the women find themselves dreading the resumption of their former lives, so they conspire, first hesitantly, then with unabashed determination, to remedy the problem. With proficiency and precise instructions, mother/daughter midwives, Judit and Sari, dispassionately dispense their potions to an ever-growing number of village women eager to execute their poisonous fix.
The author peppers this shocking story with a mixture of snark and dark humor, a combination that doesn't always work well in true-crime stories, but fits into this one perfectly. With that in mind, I'm better able to appreciate why Gregson wrote this as fiction "based on a true story."
Finally, I urge Jessica to write another book!
January 15, 2012
According to the information I read before I selected this book, it is based partially on fact. Apparently, there actually was a village in Hungary where a midwife not only provided arsenic to kill abusive husbands but also sons, mothers-in-law, and anyone else who got in the way of a woman's will. The "true story" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ange... of_Nagyr%C3%A9v) is much more straightforward than the novel, which has a cast of colorful characters and a very sympathetic protagonist.
The plot is focused; very little happens in the way of action and scope. However, moving the "camera" around sparingly allows readers to drink in what's there with great depth. That's what I was hoping for, but while Ms. Gregson mentions the vastness of the landscape around the village and how awe inspiring/terrifying it is quite often, she never fully describes it in any detail. I never got a sense of the place. The people, in contrast, are more well-drawn, their emotions detailed, and their thoughts and motivations deconstructed. The women are painted much more sympathetically than the male characters, and other than a handful of Italian soldiers in the prison, most of them are loathsome. I just feel like there was a lot left on the table with this one that could have given it greater ooomph with regards to the story. A good read, sure, but not as great as it could have been.
The plot is focused; very little happens in the way of action and scope. However, moving the "camera" around sparingly allows readers to drink in what's there with great depth. That's what I was hoping for, but while Ms. Gregson mentions the vastness of the landscape around the village and how awe inspiring/terrifying it is quite often, she never fully describes it in any detail. I never got a sense of the place. The people, in contrast, are more well-drawn, their emotions detailed, and their thoughts and motivations deconstructed. The women are painted much more sympathetically than the male characters, and other than a handful of Italian soldiers in the prison, most of them are loathsome. I just feel like there was a lot left on the table with this one that could have given it greater ooomph with regards to the story. A good read, sure, but not as great as it could have been.
January 1, 2021
It's a sort of remote type of murder, as she's not the one directly doing the killing, and she's not the one who has directly been wronged, and in her mind she likens it to a war, where it becomes acceptable to kill people you've never met, because they mean harm to your country and your loved ones.I've remarked before on books that read as if the author let an encyclopedia-scale history text fall open to random spot and, should the revealed event be of rare enough appearance and/or sufficient enough sensationalism on the general field of contemporary literature, write about it accordingly. As I picked out this work as my last one of 2020 on the basis of it a. being on my shelves forever, b. having a number of pages suited to my remaining days of reading, and c. my friend thinking murder conspiracies a more titillating subject than either Soviet censorship or a potentially queer thriller, I had my suspicions about this work being more of the same mediocrity. After finishing it, I'm not exactly thrilled to be partially right in my paranoia, for there is much that could be done with this kind of 'Based on a True Story' material, steeped as it is in sordid feminisms, atmospheric landscapes, and culture-choked chronologies. However, much as the publisher of this edition allowed this to be sent with more than one typo and less than advisory levels of punctuation, this, for all its length, did the minimum necessary to convey the thrust of the tale, filling up the rest with base level character differentiation and heavy amounts of wish fulfillment. Disappointing, but life (and its reading) goes on.
Fifty pages in, I was surprisingly rather pleased with this. I suppose that's the double-edged sword of the writer composing what they think their ideal reader will like, rather than what is within their capabilities when it comes to immersive historical fiction that drags a reader down till they can feel the events coursing through their veins like so much enervating venom. It's a matter of balancing suspension of disbelief with suitable amounts of credibility, and while I had been enjoying myself early on, it wasn't long before a mention of hormones in a period contemporaneous with WWI significantly threw me out of my reading mentality (FYI, scientists had indeed been messing around with the discoveries of such at almost the very beginning of the 20th c., even arguably at the midpoint of the 19th c., but this work's strongly emphasized rural/removed/non-British setting didn't make it seem like it and that particular piece of science should go together). From thereon out, the narrative moved with jerks and jolts from a beginning in the sort of lightly sketched historical fiction female bildungsroman that sets out the 'not like other girls' main character and sends her on her way to the escalation into mariticide that fuels the thrust of every blurb and advertisement tied to this work. It's as if the author wanted to put off the commitment to the historical intrigue of interest until the very last second, summarizing the subsequent murders in a series of time skips and generalizing until the final denouement of discovery, detention, and death sentence. Even then, the author couldn't let go of her idealized (so much so that the character's personality shifts to whatever would generate the most narrative impetus) heroine, and what could have been satisfying, if morbid, closure turns into the kind of simplified empowerment narrative that reduced every character, and ultimately the entire story, to a barely differentiable name and place in the plot. Readable, to be sure, but hardly a worthwhile use of otherwise extremely promising historical material.
Well, not the most inspiring work to go out with, but it's certainly fitting for 2020, no? In any case, it's yet another remnant of the interests of a former, and much younger, self of mine that I've finally cleared from my TBR, so the reading was inherently worthwhile. It simply just goes to show why I'm much more interested, and ultimately much more comfortable, with works that have survived the test of time: there's less of a chance of a diabolically interesting subject matter and a pretty enough contemporary cover inadvertently drawing me in. I did have my share of delightful surprises, but at final turn of the clock, I'll be more than happy to draw up my 2021 reading tabulations and set off on more aged, if potentially more rigorous, pursuits. As a final note to this work, though, I really am hoping that someone takes on this subject material in a more historically immersive, or at least in more experimental and/or lushly prosed, manner of writing. There is really so much more that could be done with this kind of 'stranger than fiction' material, especially if one is not concerned with post-event sanitization. For this work delved neither into the infanticide nor the enthusiasm of the main midwife perpetrator that were part and parcel of these events, and let me tell you, you're not doing white women, or the world at large, any favors by making whole swathes of them believe that they are forever beyond reproof.
P.S. While reading through this book's Wiki, imagine my surprise when I read 'While reading an encyclopedia on serial killers, Gregson saw an entry for the story of a group of women in Hungary who turned on their men during World War I.' You can't make this stuff up.
September 30, 2018
Not what I expected at all. This one was a very pleasant surprise.
I really like Judit. She was a very enjoyable character.
I wish Marco and Sari lived happily ever after that’s what I would have liked, but it turned from a love story into a sinister almost horror story, something that would be really good if American Horror Story took on, could make it really evil and twisted. I liked this, read it within 24 hours
I really like Judit. She was a very enjoyable character.
I wish Marco and Sari lived happily ever after that’s what I would have liked, but it turned from a love story into a sinister almost horror story, something that would be really good if American Horror Story took on, could make it really evil and twisted. I liked this, read it within 24 hours
November 8, 2017
Slight spoilers---------------------------------------
The slight spoilers I give do not effect readability, nor do they reveal any plot twists or plot build/ups that cannot be gleaned from the book description.
As I read this novel one minute I loved it and the next I hated it with a visceral disgust. I've decided to give three stars as a good average for what I was feeling. The book is based on a true story and sometimes truth truly is stranger than fiction! I often had to remind myself that these horrible things indeed did happen. The evil actions were at the true core of my dislike of the book therefore I'm not judging the plot harshly. If I didn't know there was a town in Hungary where the woman killed all the men I'd say it was outlandish and unbelievable. I'd give the book two stars for a silly premise and be done. However, I made myself read through the immediate distaste and try to imagine what the situations were like. While I can never be fully immersed in the same details and life experiences that plague the lives of these ladies. I can say I somewhat understand. Please don't think I believe what they did was forgivable though. No matter how bleak a situation there is ALWAYS a choice. These women chose the evil deeds and paid the price.
However, another big issue still was not the subject matter but the language the author chose. The vernacular and dialogue had a decidedly British lilt. People in Hungary do not talk like this, especially in the rural plain in 1918. For instance, the author had an annoying habit of having the characters say things like, "Right, well let's go" when something needed to be done abruptly. As I said, decidedly British. I expected to see a Tally ho old chap somewhere in the dialogue but thankfully it never fell to that level. I realize the author is English and she is going to write to that audience but she at least could have been aware she was using slang. Also the author certainly had a potty mouth (haha). There was talk of sex and things sexual but her female characters sounded like a platoon of drunken Marines. F this and f that, are you going to F him?, we were F'ing like rabbits. I think but I can't be certain that the author chose these words as a tactic to try to show that these were coarse country women. I don't agree with the usage. I'm certainly no prude but I simply didn't think it was necessary had she employed better character building in her descriptions. What I really believe is she underestimated the intelligence of her audience. We certainly could have figured that these were not sophisticated socialites taking tea in a metropolitan city without her stooping to this level.
Still....with all of these issues I'm going to recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, especially with an Eastern European setting. If you do love EE fiction you know the available books can be sometimes hard to find. That is if you are not offended by the language I described as it is pervasive throughout the entire book and cannot be avoided. The most redeeming factor to this book is that the story behind it is fascinating! I do hope those of you who read it will at least do a bit of research into the true story. Better yet pick up a non-fictional account and read it too.
The slight spoilers I give do not effect readability, nor do they reveal any plot twists or plot build/ups that cannot be gleaned from the book description.
As I read this novel one minute I loved it and the next I hated it with a visceral disgust. I've decided to give three stars as a good average for what I was feeling. The book is based on a true story and sometimes truth truly is stranger than fiction! I often had to remind myself that these horrible things indeed did happen. The evil actions were at the true core of my dislike of the book therefore I'm not judging the plot harshly. If I didn't know there was a town in Hungary where the woman killed all the men I'd say it was outlandish and unbelievable. I'd give the book two stars for a silly premise and be done. However, I made myself read through the immediate distaste and try to imagine what the situations were like. While I can never be fully immersed in the same details and life experiences that plague the lives of these ladies. I can say I somewhat understand. Please don't think I believe what they did was forgivable though. No matter how bleak a situation there is ALWAYS a choice. These women chose the evil deeds and paid the price.
However, another big issue still was not the subject matter but the language the author chose. The vernacular and dialogue had a decidedly British lilt. People in Hungary do not talk like this, especially in the rural plain in 1918. For instance, the author had an annoying habit of having the characters say things like, "Right, well let's go" when something needed to be done abruptly. As I said, decidedly British. I expected to see a Tally ho old chap somewhere in the dialogue but thankfully it never fell to that level. I realize the author is English and she is going to write to that audience but she at least could have been aware she was using slang. Also the author certainly had a potty mouth (haha). There was talk of sex and things sexual but her female characters sounded like a platoon of drunken Marines. F this and f that, are you going to F him?, we were F'ing like rabbits. I think but I can't be certain that the author chose these words as a tactic to try to show that these were coarse country women. I don't agree with the usage. I'm certainly no prude but I simply didn't think it was necessary had she employed better character building in her descriptions. What I really believe is she underestimated the intelligence of her audience. We certainly could have figured that these were not sophisticated socialites taking tea in a metropolitan city without her stooping to this level.
Still....with all of these issues I'm going to recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, especially with an Eastern European setting. If you do love EE fiction you know the available books can be sometimes hard to find. That is if you are not offended by the language I described as it is pervasive throughout the entire book and cannot be avoided. The most redeeming factor to this book is that the story behind it is fascinating! I do hope those of you who read it will at least do a bit of research into the true story. Better yet pick up a non-fictional account and read it too.
March 28, 2012
While all the ingredients were there to create a dazzling retelling of a story that is based on actual events, it just fell flat on its delivery. My regrets of requesting this book began within a few chapters. I had an impression that Ms. Gregson didn’t know exactly what to do with her main character, she is described several ways a few chapters and contradicts this all the next. This flip-flopping of personalities and traits gets rather annoying and delayed me really caring what happened to the main character. The other characters were just as maddening, and by the end I wanted it just to be over with.
The lack of history details was puzzling, we are supposed to feel the time period and imagine ourselves in 1914 and several years after but I kept stopping and thinking, this story could be set any time. Not once did I read any event or could pin-point the time period. I’m sorry but that is a big pet peeve of mine, I read historical fiction to learn and experience another period in history and I didn’t learn or experience anything from The Angel Makers.
What I really found the book lacked for me was self-examination of the characters. I wanted to know the ultimate “why?” of the character’s actions. I wanted to come away after reading maybe understanding something of the dark side of the pushed human mind but my hopes were dashed and only were answered with the continued anachronisms, unexpected filthy language and yet another descriptive domestic abuse/rape scene from this book. There seemed to be more interest and fixation on abuse and rape than anything else.
In the end, The Angel Makers started out with such a captivating premise but then loses its way a few chapters in resorting to tawdry gimmicks, lack of consistent characterization and historical details that caused made me roll my eyes and curse myself for being tricked into requesting (*from my local library) and reading yet another mislabeled title disguising itself as Historical Fiction.
The lack of history details was puzzling, we are supposed to feel the time period and imagine ourselves in 1914 and several years after but I kept stopping and thinking, this story could be set any time. Not once did I read any event or could pin-point the time period. I’m sorry but that is a big pet peeve of mine, I read historical fiction to learn and experience another period in history and I didn’t learn or experience anything from The Angel Makers.
What I really found the book lacked for me was self-examination of the characters. I wanted to know the ultimate “why?” of the character’s actions. I wanted to come away after reading maybe understanding something of the dark side of the pushed human mind but my hopes were dashed and only were answered with the continued anachronisms, unexpected filthy language and yet another descriptive domestic abuse/rape scene from this book. There seemed to be more interest and fixation on abuse and rape than anything else.
In the end, The Angel Makers started out with such a captivating premise but then loses its way a few chapters in resorting to tawdry gimmicks, lack of consistent characterization and historical details that caused made me roll my eyes and curse myself for being tricked into requesting (*from my local library) and reading yet another mislabeled title disguising itself as Historical Fiction.
January 2, 2012
Some of my favorite books are novels that are based upon true events or actual people, so I am always drawn to book blurbs that say they are based upon a true story. The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson is a page turning, thoroughly engrossing read that is inspired by actual events. Set in Hungary just before the First World War, The Angel Makers tells the story of Sari, a young orphaned girl that is often ostracized by the other villagers. Unusual to begin with Sari lives with the old crone midwife of the village and is often accused of being a witch. Her salvation comes in the form of her engagement to a boy from one of the wealthiest families of the village. Before the two can marry war breaks out and most of the men of the village are called to fight. Surprisingly, the absence of the men is liberating for the women of the village and Sari even makes friends in the camaraderie that naturally occurs when the town must all pull together to survive. War often brings many unintended consequences, and when a group of Italian prisoners of war are being held near the village many of the women experience their first and only true experiences of love and desire. Thus when the war ends and the men of the village return many of the women of the village are reluctant to revert to their positions of submission. A sinister plan develops and many of the men suddenly fall ill and die. Soon however it is not just the abusive husbands that fall victim to sudden death but also those that are burdensome or meddlesome, men and women alike. The Angel Makers is a riveting read, made all the more powerful due to the fact that it is founded in actual events. In Sari, Gregson has created a strong, independent woman that readers will find complex and very realistic. The Angel Makers is a compelling, unforgettable read.
March 1, 2012
I could not put this one down. The novel centers around a small village in Hungary in pre-World War 1 and the bonds formed by the wives who are left behind when the husbands are called off to War. On the surface it reminded me of how military wives bond and help one another during deployments but it stopped there, lol. However, nothing can compare to the hardships and abuses these women endured during this time period when myths and superstitions were rampant and how women were treated in that time period by men. The main character in the novel a teenager, Sari, is considered an outcast due to the superstitions and gossip of the village until the men are all called off to war. She then forms strong bonds with the other women and gains their respect for her abilities to become a healer with the help of an older lady who is the village mid-wife. All goes well until Sari's fiances' house is turned into a place to house italian prisoners captured in the war. Needless to say the women of the village find that having the prisoners brings them excitement and great pleasures they had never had before as well as work and food and help in making their lives more bearable. The novel does get deliciously naughty in parts, lol. The women take things into their own hands when their husbands and fiances return from war and the abuses are more severe due to the psychological state of the men returning from war. Sari and the midwife set in motion a shocking chain of events in order to cope and survive. I dont want to spoil it any further so i wont say more other than this was a great book! It was based on actual events in a small Hungarian village pre-World War 1 which makes it even more interesting to read.
December 13, 2011
Review originally posted on my blog : http://utahmomslife.blogspot.com/2011...
Sari is a young apprentice to the local midwife in an isolated Hungarian village when the men, including her fiance, are called away to fight in World War I. For most of the women, who have arranged marriages, having their husbands away is a relief. Before long many of the women, including Sari, begin relationships with the Italian prisoners that are kept at a nearby POW camp. But the war ends and the consequences must be faced. The Italian men leave and the village men return. However, the women are not ready to return to the repressed and abused lives they lived before the war.
Desperate to escape her cruel fiance, Sari uses poison to slowly end his life. An abused friend and then another ask Sari for help and soon the village and Sari are engulfed in a macabre conspiracy of murder.
The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson is a novel based on a true story. During the years following World War I as many as 300 people were murdered in the village before investigators from outside finally figured out what was really happening. In her novel, Gregson, elaborating on the known facts, shows a decidedly human view of the story--at once sympathetic and outrageous.
As much an ethical discussion on the value of life and of personal choice, The Angel Makers is a mesmerizing and horrifying novel. Like many who met her, I found myself entranced by the character of Sari and I appreciated the descriptions of the village and the life.
My only complaint with the novel was the excessive use of foul language.
Sari is a young apprentice to the local midwife in an isolated Hungarian village when the men, including her fiance, are called away to fight in World War I. For most of the women, who have arranged marriages, having their husbands away is a relief. Before long many of the women, including Sari, begin relationships with the Italian prisoners that are kept at a nearby POW camp. But the war ends and the consequences must be faced. The Italian men leave and the village men return. However, the women are not ready to return to the repressed and abused lives they lived before the war.
Desperate to escape her cruel fiance, Sari uses poison to slowly end his life. An abused friend and then another ask Sari for help and soon the village and Sari are engulfed in a macabre conspiracy of murder.
The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson is a novel based on a true story. During the years following World War I as many as 300 people were murdered in the village before investigators from outside finally figured out what was really happening. In her novel, Gregson, elaborating on the known facts, shows a decidedly human view of the story--at once sympathetic and outrageous.
As much an ethical discussion on the value of life and of personal choice, The Angel Makers is a mesmerizing and horrifying novel. Like many who met her, I found myself entranced by the character of Sari and I appreciated the descriptions of the village and the life.
My only complaint with the novel was the excessive use of foul language.
October 1, 2015
Life changes dramatically in a small Hungarian village during Word War I, while most of the village men are away fighting. The women are freer, less controlled (and less beaten), and teenaged Sari, always a bit of an outcast, experiences her first real friendships. But when the war ends, and the men start trickling back home, all of that changes. Sari can't bear life with her abusive, shell-shocked fiance and, in desperation, slowly poisons him to death. Other village women start following suit, coming to Sari and Judit, the other village midwife, for help in doing away with their own troublesome men. As the mysterious deaths add up over the years, everyone must keep everyone else's secret, or else it will all fall apart. I enjoyed this feminist story, with its emphasis on the limited choices available to women at the time, and the utter lack of resources available to them. Which bad option would any of us choose in their situation? The book was a fast read all along, and it got especially exciting in the last twenty pages or so.
April 18, 2017
"The Angel Makers" - written by Jessica Gregson and first published in 2007 by Legends Press. Read via Kindle. One might think that Gregson has a vivid imagination, to write a story of a small town in Hungary where the women, after their damaged menfolk return from the wars in the early 1900s, decide to remove said menfolk from their lives permanently. And her imagination works just fine to flesh out the story featuring Sari, who's "clever, and outspoken, and difficult" and who fights to prevent herself from being "crammed inexorably into the prefabricated mould out of which most village women seem to step." She partners with Judit, a crotchety, elderly sort of medicine women who has a reputation as "an angyalcsinalo, an angel maker, an abortionist." But surprisingly, this book is based on a true story which makes what these women did even more shocking. Gregson has done a fine job of portraying the powerful emotions swirling around the tiny village and I recommend the book as a "truth is stranger than fiction" story - you'll gasp as you read how "Sari and Judit were doling out death from that little wooden house."
January 14, 2021
It was just ok, but interesting
January 28, 2012
Both shocking and encouraging of sympathy, The Angel Makers is a haunting novel that will slyly seduce you.
Taking place in an isolated village in Hungary, the story revolves around Sari Arany, first as a young girl, then as a woman, and her place in village life. Her father is the village medicine man and seer; her only friend is the feared village midwife and herbal woman. Before her father dies, he arranges (with her permission) for Sari's engagement to Ferenc, the son of the wealthiest family in the village. It is a surprise to most, for because her mother died soon after her birth, Sari is thought to be unlucky and treated with scorn and suspicion by the villagers. It doesn't help that Sari is peculiar - beautiful, piercing eyes, more learned than most women, and surprisingly forthright with her speech and actions. Despite this, it is seen to be a good match, and when her father dies sooner than expected, Ferenc assumes they will marry immediately instead of waiting for Sari's 18th birthday. Yet Sari stands firm, and instead chooses to live with Judith, the herbal woman, to learn about being a midwife prior to marriage.
But soon the war comes to Hungary, and the men must go off to fight. Suddenly, the women of the village find themselves living in a strange new world where they don't worry about when food is on the table, where they have time to make new friends, where they begin to feel more free in thought and action - no longer worried about a harsh rebuke from a husband or father. When a POW camp sets up nearby, they also feel free enough to get jobs (and lovers) at the camp. Sari slowly becomes more accepted in the village, making a few particular friends, learning more about herbal medicine and midwifery, occasionally receiving letters from Ferenc about his dreams of home.
Then the war ends. The village men begin to return. The POWs leave. And the women are no longer so free as they once were. Sari's friend, Anna, again begins to creep around the village trying to hide the fresh bruises that are a marker of her husband's homecoming. But change did happen in the women. And they are not as willing to lie down and take the men's actions and decisions as they once were. It is at this point that they begin to rely on Sari and Judith's herbal knowledge for getting rid of those pesky problems - the men who maybe should not have returned home from the war.
The best part? This is based on a true story. As the author writes, "The novel details a peculiar kind of madness that gripped the women in a small, isolated village over a period of around ten years, and writing the novel was my attempt to try and understand what circumstances might have brought it about, as well as what may have been going on in the heads of the women in question." This is a fascinating look at how far some women will go to assert their freedom.
Taking place in an isolated village in Hungary, the story revolves around Sari Arany, first as a young girl, then as a woman, and her place in village life. Her father is the village medicine man and seer; her only friend is the feared village midwife and herbal woman. Before her father dies, he arranges (with her permission) for Sari's engagement to Ferenc, the son of the wealthiest family in the village. It is a surprise to most, for because her mother died soon after her birth, Sari is thought to be unlucky and treated with scorn and suspicion by the villagers. It doesn't help that Sari is peculiar - beautiful, piercing eyes, more learned than most women, and surprisingly forthright with her speech and actions. Despite this, it is seen to be a good match, and when her father dies sooner than expected, Ferenc assumes they will marry immediately instead of waiting for Sari's 18th birthday. Yet Sari stands firm, and instead chooses to live with Judith, the herbal woman, to learn about being a midwife prior to marriage.
But soon the war comes to Hungary, and the men must go off to fight. Suddenly, the women of the village find themselves living in a strange new world where they don't worry about when food is on the table, where they have time to make new friends, where they begin to feel more free in thought and action - no longer worried about a harsh rebuke from a husband or father. When a POW camp sets up nearby, they also feel free enough to get jobs (and lovers) at the camp. Sari slowly becomes more accepted in the village, making a few particular friends, learning more about herbal medicine and midwifery, occasionally receiving letters from Ferenc about his dreams of home.
Then the war ends. The village men begin to return. The POWs leave. And the women are no longer so free as they once were. Sari's friend, Anna, again begins to creep around the village trying to hide the fresh bruises that are a marker of her husband's homecoming. But change did happen in the women. And they are not as willing to lie down and take the men's actions and decisions as they once were. It is at this point that they begin to rely on Sari and Judith's herbal knowledge for getting rid of those pesky problems - the men who maybe should not have returned home from the war.
The best part? This is based on a true story. As the author writes, "The novel details a peculiar kind of madness that gripped the women in a small, isolated village over a period of around ten years, and writing the novel was my attempt to try and understand what circumstances might have brought it about, as well as what may have been going on in the heads of the women in question." This is a fascinating look at how far some women will go to assert their freedom.
March 10, 2013
This week I read The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson. The novel is based on a true story, and it is one of the most chilling historical stories I have ever read (not involving an oppressive government). If you are interested, google The Angelmakers of Nagyrev for more information.
The story begins in 1914, shortly before the beginning of World War I, in the tiny, remote Hungarian village of Faluscka. Fourteen year old Sari Arany's father, Jan, is a taltos, or wise man. He is very well-respecteed in their village, but not Sari. Wise women tend to be feared, and since her mother died during Sari's childbirth, rumors have surrounded Sari her whole life. Sari has been promised to Ferenc, the eighteen year old heir from the wealthiest family in the village. That was the custom in Hungary at the time: Girls' parents chose their husbands for them. Before Jan dies suddenly from a heart issue, Sari promises him that she will wait until she is eighteen before marrying Ferenc. World War I intervenes before Ferenc can persuade Sari to break her father's promise, and he goes off to fight. Sari does not live in her father's old house because it would not be proper, so she moves in with Judit, the village's midwife and rumored to be a witch.
About two years into the war, the army commandeered Ferenc's family's estate to use as a prisoner of war camp. The army holds many Italian prisoners there, and the army gives them far more freedom than is seemly. By this time, the women of the village have become accustomed to making their own way and not answering to overbearing, sometimes abusive, husbands. Many of the women have affairs with the prisoners, and many of the women are not happy when the war ends.
Sari has a relationship with an Italian named Marco. He was a history professor before the war, and Sari befriends him initially because she has a true love for learning. As Sari's services as a nurse are needed at the prison, Sari has the opportunity to meet with Marco, and their relationship deepens. At the end of the war, Ferenc comes home, and he is not the same young man he was before the war. He is abusive and cruel to Sari, and he forces her hand. She decides to kill him with arsenic to protect something precious to her, and her actions start a series of events that spiral crazily out of control.
I enjoyed The Angel Makers overall, but I must warn you that Gregson drops tons of f-bombs, and she is overly fond of the word discomfited. When writers overuse words, it is a distraction to me. I also found it difficult to sympathize with Sari in spite of the book's theme of choices and feminine empowerment. Still, Gregson's plot moves steadily along, and I could not put the book down. I read it in two days even with my very busy schedule this week.
The story begins in 1914, shortly before the beginning of World War I, in the tiny, remote Hungarian village of Faluscka. Fourteen year old Sari Arany's father, Jan, is a taltos, or wise man. He is very well-respecteed in their village, but not Sari. Wise women tend to be feared, and since her mother died during Sari's childbirth, rumors have surrounded Sari her whole life. Sari has been promised to Ferenc, the eighteen year old heir from the wealthiest family in the village. That was the custom in Hungary at the time: Girls' parents chose their husbands for them. Before Jan dies suddenly from a heart issue, Sari promises him that she will wait until she is eighteen before marrying Ferenc. World War I intervenes before Ferenc can persuade Sari to break her father's promise, and he goes off to fight. Sari does not live in her father's old house because it would not be proper, so she moves in with Judit, the village's midwife and rumored to be a witch.
About two years into the war, the army commandeered Ferenc's family's estate to use as a prisoner of war camp. The army holds many Italian prisoners there, and the army gives them far more freedom than is seemly. By this time, the women of the village have become accustomed to making their own way and not answering to overbearing, sometimes abusive, husbands. Many of the women have affairs with the prisoners, and many of the women are not happy when the war ends.
Sari has a relationship with an Italian named Marco. He was a history professor before the war, and Sari befriends him initially because she has a true love for learning. As Sari's services as a nurse are needed at the prison, Sari has the opportunity to meet with Marco, and their relationship deepens. At the end of the war, Ferenc comes home, and he is not the same young man he was before the war. He is abusive and cruel to Sari, and he forces her hand. She decides to kill him with arsenic to protect something precious to her, and her actions start a series of events that spiral crazily out of control.
I enjoyed The Angel Makers overall, but I must warn you that Gregson drops tons of f-bombs, and she is overly fond of the word discomfited. When writers overuse words, it is a distraction to me. I also found it difficult to sympathize with Sari in spite of the book's theme of choices and feminine empowerment. Still, Gregson's plot moves steadily along, and I could not put the book down. I read it in two days even with my very busy schedule this week.
March 23, 2013
From thepickygirl.com:
*I received this book from the publisher Soho Press in exchange for an honest review.
When her father dies, Sari Arany stays motionless, “soaking in the impossibility that she could still be living while her father was dead” and stays there until she feels his presence gone. As she says, “It was all right for her to leave him then.” An outcast in her rural Hungarian village, Sari is the daughter of a táltos, a Wise Man, and with her odd personality and direct stare, is feared as a witch.
Before his death, though, Sari’s father extracted a promise from Sari’s cousin Ferenc, that he will marry her when she is of age. Until then, she lives with Judit, the midwife, furthering the village’s suspicions. When World War I breaks out, the men leave, and the women are left to fend for themselves, and life for Suri changes. Though still different, she has friends for the first time when the hardships of war bring the women in the community together. They receive little news from the men, and for some, life is better without their drunken, abusive husbands.
When a prisoner of war camp full of Italian men moves into Ferenc’s family home, the women, excited and nervous, line up for work and to catch a glimpse of men after such a long time without a male presence. As the rules become more lax, the women enjoy the men, many even having affairs and falling in love.
Once the war is over, this idyllic (though hedonistic) scene is shattered. Ferenc returns sullen and abusive, as do many of the war-shocked men. Fearful and angry, Sari plans to take the life of Ferenc, only realizing her mistake when other women line up at the door, begging Sari and Judit to help them with their own husbands.
Based on a true story, The Angel Makers is the almost unbelievable story of the women of Nagyrév, who poisoned over 40 people between 1914 and 1929 (though the rumored number is much higher: 300). Gregson sets the crimes up well, giving the women a taste of freedom and love so irresistible that they cannot return to the ways of life before the war. The abuse is shocking and intense so that the reader completely understands when Sari administers the first dose of poison to Ferenc. However, as woman after woman asks, begs, or bargains for help, the reader questions not only their choices but Sari’s as well.
Though I wished for an end as lyrical as the rest of The Angel Makers and a bit more depth in the female cast of characters, Gregson’s debut novel is an artful, compassionate, and darkly humorous look at the angel makers of Nagyrév.
*I received this book from the publisher Soho Press in exchange for an honest review.
When her father dies, Sari Arany stays motionless, “soaking in the impossibility that she could still be living while her father was dead” and stays there until she feels his presence gone. As she says, “It was all right for her to leave him then.” An outcast in her rural Hungarian village, Sari is the daughter of a táltos, a Wise Man, and with her odd personality and direct stare, is feared as a witch.
Before his death, though, Sari’s father extracted a promise from Sari’s cousin Ferenc, that he will marry her when she is of age. Until then, she lives with Judit, the midwife, furthering the village’s suspicions. When World War I breaks out, the men leave, and the women are left to fend for themselves, and life for Suri changes. Though still different, she has friends for the first time when the hardships of war bring the women in the community together. They receive little news from the men, and for some, life is better without their drunken, abusive husbands.
When a prisoner of war camp full of Italian men moves into Ferenc’s family home, the women, excited and nervous, line up for work and to catch a glimpse of men after such a long time without a male presence. As the rules become more lax, the women enjoy the men, many even having affairs and falling in love.
Once the war is over, this idyllic (though hedonistic) scene is shattered. Ferenc returns sullen and abusive, as do many of the war-shocked men. Fearful and angry, Sari plans to take the life of Ferenc, only realizing her mistake when other women line up at the door, begging Sari and Judit to help them with their own husbands.
Based on a true story, The Angel Makers is the almost unbelievable story of the women of Nagyrév, who poisoned over 40 people between 1914 and 1929 (though the rumored number is much higher: 300). Gregson sets the crimes up well, giving the women a taste of freedom and love so irresistible that they cannot return to the ways of life before the war. The abuse is shocking and intense so that the reader completely understands when Sari administers the first dose of poison to Ferenc. However, as woman after woman asks, begs, or bargains for help, the reader questions not only their choices but Sari’s as well.
Though I wished for an end as lyrical as the rest of The Angel Makers and a bit more depth in the female cast of characters, Gregson’s debut novel is an artful, compassionate, and darkly humorous look at the angel makers of Nagyrév.
March 19, 2012
Set in a small Hungarian village around World War I, this "can't put it down" adult historical fiction novel centers around a teenaged girl, Sari, who's orphaned and left in the care of the elderly village midwife and herbalist. Sari is "different," and that's enough to make her disliked and feared by almost everyone in the village, except her fiance, Ferenc. But when World War I breaks out and most of the young men in the village leave for the front, Sari becomes closer to the other women in the village, who begin to include her in their gossip and rituals. Most of the women seem content to be temporarily rid of their brutish boyfriends and husbands, and when a prisoner-of-war camp for Italian officers is set up nearby, they are only too happy to find excuses to work at the camp, leading inevitably to flirting and affairs between the local women and the officers, despite the language gap.
Even Sari is not immune to the Italians' charms, and soon is involved in a passionate affair with an Italian professor who stimulates her mind as well as her senses. When the local men begin to return at the end of the war, including Sari's fiance, Ferenc, the Hungarian men's suspicions are aroused, and violence ensues. Sari fears for her life, but ever resourceful, she comes up with a clever and devious plan to get rid of Ferenc. It's not long before other women in the village want her help to rid themselves of their own husbands. Will the village women get away with their sinister plans?
Amazingly, this novel is based on a true story the author discovered in a "true crime" book. I found the story riveting, as did my teenage daughter. I think teenage girls will be drawn to the teenaged protagonist, as well as to the love, passion, and crime central to the story. It's a tale that's hard to forget, somehow mixing elements of fairy tale (the witch-like girl in the small village) and a more contemporary-feeling revenge story in a satisfying blend that will keep you up at night thinking about it. I'm wondering if it's been optioned for the movies--I could definitely see it as a great thriller!
Even Sari is not immune to the Italians' charms, and soon is involved in a passionate affair with an Italian professor who stimulates her mind as well as her senses. When the local men begin to return at the end of the war, including Sari's fiance, Ferenc, the Hungarian men's suspicions are aroused, and violence ensues. Sari fears for her life, but ever resourceful, she comes up with a clever and devious plan to get rid of Ferenc. It's not long before other women in the village want her help to rid themselves of their own husbands. Will the village women get away with their sinister plans?
Amazingly, this novel is based on a true story the author discovered in a "true crime" book. I found the story riveting, as did my teenage daughter. I think teenage girls will be drawn to the teenaged protagonist, as well as to the love, passion, and crime central to the story. It's a tale that's hard to forget, somehow mixing elements of fairy tale (the witch-like girl in the small village) and a more contemporary-feeling revenge story in a satisfying blend that will keep you up at night thinking about it. I'm wondering if it's been optioned for the movies--I could definitely see it as a great thriller!
June 7, 2016
Quando a WWI explodiu, em 1914, o mundo se encontrava em um misto de perplexidade e emoção perante o ativismo feminino: o movimento sufragista ganhava força, muitas mulheres começavam a se posicionar nas lutas de classe e gênero, mas nada disso parecia importar em uma pequena aldeia na Hungria. É assim que somos apresentados a Sari, protagonista da brilhante obra de Jessica Gregson, que vive em uma aldeia húngara com seu pai, um Wise Man que domina a arte das poções herbais. Após seu falecimento, Sari vai morar com a velha curandeiro Judit que a acolhe como se fosse uma amada familiar. Como em outros vilarejos da época, o casamento é organizado por familiares, e Sari se vê em vias de casar com Ferenc, o filho mais jovem de uma das famílias mais abastadas do vilarejo e que aparenta realmente gostar dela, contrariando toda a aldeia que aparenta viver em receio eterno por terem a garota “amaldiçoada” na vizinhança. Com o inicio da guerra, todos os homens do vilarejo são convocados a lutar e as mulheres se vêem em uma situação até então desconhecida: subitamente elas não são mais espancadas pelos maridos, começam a sentir uma estranha sensação de liberdade nunca antes vivida e até mesmo as chamadas párias sociais, como Sari, tornam-se companheiras e confidentes, criando um laço emocional até então inexistente entre elas. A recém descoberta liberdade é aflorada pela chegada de prisioneiros de guerra Italianos que são mantidos em um campo na vila e começam a se relacionar com as mulheres da aldeia. Com a iminência do fim da guerra e o retorno a uma vida pautada em humilhações e agressões, as mulheres começam a pensar em possibilidades para fugir do martírio o qual elas vivem no casamento, decidindo assim se livrar dos maridos, nem que pra isso fosse necessário matá-los, um por um.
‘The Angel Makers’ é baseado na história real do vilarejo de Nagyrév na Hungria, e Jessica Gregson fez um ótimo trabalho em retratar a vida destas mulheres que recorreram a um crime e chocaram toda uma sociedade em sua busca pela liberdade.
‘The Angel Makers’ é baseado na história real do vilarejo de Nagyrév na Hungria, e Jessica Gregson fez um ótimo trabalho em retratar a vida destas mulheres que recorreram a um crime e chocaram toda uma sociedade em sua busca pela liberdade.
March 12, 2012
Sari didn't set out to be a murderer. But it turned out to be the only way. No, not the only way. There is always a choice, she would tell you. She chose to be a murderer. That just wasn't the plan at the beginning.
----------
When the men of a Hungarian village leave to fight in World War I, their wives and girlfriends are left behind to cope with the absence. The days don't seem to be that much different until a group of Italian POWs are housed near the village. Now the women to go the makeshift prison to do washing and cooking, to barter what they can in exchange for a slightly better life. Perhaps it is inevitable that mixing lonely Hungarian women and lonely Italian soldiers leads to a few affairs. But soon it is common knowledge that many of the women are carrying on with the soldiers. Some of the women are happier than they've ever been.
But then the men begin to return, and they can tell that the village isn't the same. When Sari's fiance comes back and discovers what's been going on he makes her life a living hell. She makes a choice, and with the help of her friend Judit she poisons him. She thinks she's gotten away with it, too, but then the first of the village women shows up asking for her help with her own problems. Soon, Sari is providing poison for many women in the village, and husbands and other family members are dropping left and right.
Will the authorities take notice?
How did this happen in a tiny village?
What forces would cause women to kill the men they married?
This isn't a very good review, but I'm tired, so you'll have to deal.
What I will say is that I would have given it more stars if I didn't feel like it was obvious that this was a novice novelist. Her phrases and descriptions are good, but the Point of View is all over the place, which seemed distracting at times.
Still, it was enjoyable and claims to be based on a true story, so...creepy.
----------
When the men of a Hungarian village leave to fight in World War I, their wives and girlfriends are left behind to cope with the absence. The days don't seem to be that much different until a group of Italian POWs are housed near the village. Now the women to go the makeshift prison to do washing and cooking, to barter what they can in exchange for a slightly better life. Perhaps it is inevitable that mixing lonely Hungarian women and lonely Italian soldiers leads to a few affairs. But soon it is common knowledge that many of the women are carrying on with the soldiers. Some of the women are happier than they've ever been.
But then the men begin to return, and they can tell that the village isn't the same. When Sari's fiance comes back and discovers what's been going on he makes her life a living hell. She makes a choice, and with the help of her friend Judit she poisons him. She thinks she's gotten away with it, too, but then the first of the village women shows up asking for her help with her own problems. Soon, Sari is providing poison for many women in the village, and husbands and other family members are dropping left and right.
Will the authorities take notice?
How did this happen in a tiny village?
What forces would cause women to kill the men they married?
This isn't a very good review, but I'm tired, so you'll have to deal.
What I will say is that I would have given it more stars if I didn't feel like it was obvious that this was a novice novelist. Her phrases and descriptions are good, but the Point of View is all over the place, which seemed distracting at times.
Still, it was enjoyable and claims to be based on a true story, so...creepy.
November 5, 2018
A strange and disturbing story
As I was reading this novel, I also started reading reviews and discovered that it is set against the background of a true story of events that occurred in a Hungarian village during WWI.
The fictional Sari, assistant to the village midwife, acts to free herself of a fiance' who returns, a man changed into a violently abusive monster by his war experiences and the presence of an Italian prisoner of war camp that has taken over his family estate and has transformed his village and its women.
Sari's desperate act leads to events that spiral out of her control. Marco, the quixotic thoughtful Italian POW whose attempt to save Sari with whom he has fallen in love from Ferenc, the violent fiance, is the only attractive character in the story.
No one in the village seems to have much of a moral compass. Superstition rules. The priest, Father Istvan, tired and discouraged has abandoned the village and is not replaced. The church, too is abandoned.
Sari is a woman who is considered an outsider because of her arcane knowledge of herbs and potions acquired from her father, who was a sort of village shaman, and the crone, Judit, the midwife who shelters and mentors Sari after her father's death, and knows more than just birthing babies. Sari's hunger for a futher education, beyond her father's books sets her apart even more from the women around her, and she keeps her own counsel and quiets her conscience as her knowledge leads her into a morass from which she may not be able to free herself. I kept reading to learn Sari's fate.The ending came in a rush. Her fate, like the character herself remains elusive.
As I was reading this novel, I also started reading reviews and discovered that it is set against the background of a true story of events that occurred in a Hungarian village during WWI.
The fictional Sari, assistant to the village midwife, acts to free herself of a fiance' who returns, a man changed into a violently abusive monster by his war experiences and the presence of an Italian prisoner of war camp that has taken over his family estate and has transformed his village and its women.
Sari's desperate act leads to events that spiral out of her control. Marco, the quixotic thoughtful Italian POW whose attempt to save Sari with whom he has fallen in love from Ferenc, the violent fiance, is the only attractive character in the story.
No one in the village seems to have much of a moral compass. Superstition rules. The priest, Father Istvan, tired and discouraged has abandoned the village and is not replaced. The church, too is abandoned.
Sari is a woman who is considered an outsider because of her arcane knowledge of herbs and potions acquired from her father, who was a sort of village shaman, and the crone, Judit, the midwife who shelters and mentors Sari after her father's death, and knows more than just birthing babies. Sari's hunger for a futher education, beyond her father's books sets her apart even more from the women around her, and she keeps her own counsel and quiets her conscience as her knowledge leads her into a morass from which she may not be able to free herself. I kept reading to learn Sari's fate.The ending came in a rush. Her fate, like the character herself remains elusive.
November 26, 2011
This is a great read. It's an historical account of a small Hungarian village that undergoes some interesting changes over the years. Sari Arany is an interesting and smart young girl in the village who gained experience working with herbs from her father who unfortunately dies when Sari is only 14, leaving her to fend for herself. It's not that difficult for Sari however, because she takes up residence with the crone midwife of the village, Judit. The story changes when the men go off to fight in the war and a POW camp is put in place not far from the village. The women of the village go help at the POW camp and make friends with the prisoners and are not bound to them the same way many of them were bound to their brutish husbands. The fun ends when the war ends and the men of the village begin to return home. Many of them were not that nice before and they come home worse than ever. Sari was bestowed to marry a young soldier who returns home thinking she is his property. Due to many unfortunate circumstances, Sari feels she must take matters into her own hands, and she does. In fact, she helps many women in the village.
This was a great read if you like historical books, fiction or non. This is a fictional account of true happens. Sari however is a great character and I know it's not likely, but more historical fiction regarding her as a character would make a great series. I enjoyed the writing of Jessica Gregson and I think this is a fabulous first novel and hope to see more from her in the future.
This was a great read if you like historical books, fiction or non. This is a fictional account of true happens. Sari however is a great character and I know it's not likely, but more historical fiction regarding her as a character would make a great series. I enjoyed the writing of Jessica Gregson and I think this is a fabulous first novel and hope to see more from her in the future.
June 2, 2016
The story takes place in a remote Hungarian village during World War I. Sari's father, the village doctor, dies and she moves in with the local midwife who is perhaps also a witch. As the men head off to war, the women become used to living a life of more freedom and begin to enjoy it. Sari's friend/fiancé must also leave and at first Sari misses him, but soon his house, the most wealthy of the village, is turned into an internment camp for captured Italian prisoners. The ladies of the village soon find excuses to visit the camp and many find jobs within it. As is inevitable, liaisons between inmates and village women occur making the women realize how much they are enjoying the time away from their husbands and boyfriends. Alas, eventually the men begin to return and their idyllic time comes to an end. Sari has also fallen in love and her fiancé becomes enraged. He not only kills her lover, but also begins to beat her on a regular basis as is also happening to other women in the village. Sari and the midwife concoct a plan in which she slowly poisons her fiancé and eventually other women begin asking for help with their husbands. Sari and her friend become Angel Makers, until authorities become suspicious. The ending is satisfying and speaks to the strong urge for survival that all humans innately possess.
July 17, 2017
Based on a true story, "The Angel Makers" was about more than just making "angels". Sari's mother died in childbirth, not unusual at the time but not good "luck" either; she was raised a bit different than other girls then orphaned at 14. Her father made marriage arrangements for her at age 18 but WWI intervened and life changed for everyone. There were many layers to this story but, at the heart of the story, was the subservient role and sexual/domestic abuse of women. But Sari wasn't having any of it; for her or her unborn child. I wasn't surprised by her decision but by her actions; however, when women have no resources to change their circumstances, they use whatever is available to them. Their "abuse of power" was their eventual downfall. I thought the author did a good job of developing the characters and it was easy to empathize with some of the young women who were victims of abuse. It was also easy to dislike some of the women who decided just to make their lives easier. The story moved at a good pace and the ending was a surprise (at least for me). Happy reading!
May 24, 2024
The Angel Makers is based on an almost unbelievable true story, set in a small Hungarian village during WWI.
After the men leave to fight the women realize many of them are happier without their oppressive husbands. They form bonds with each other and with some Italian prisoners of war. Sari is the strong main character, a mere teenager with a knowledge of herbs and healing that make some suspect her of witchcraft, but the village midwife takes her in. The story tells how Sari first poisons her abusive husband, Ferenc when he returns and then gets trapped into helping other women off theirs. I can’t help but feel sorry for Ferenc who was obviously traumatized by years of trench warfare; although he treats Sari cruelly when he returns.
Back then (and to some extent still now) some women had limiting choices, others in this story merely found their men inconvenient.
An engrossing read
After the men leave to fight the women realize many of them are happier without their oppressive husbands. They form bonds with each other and with some Italian prisoners of war. Sari is the strong main character, a mere teenager with a knowledge of herbs and healing that make some suspect her of witchcraft, but the village midwife takes her in. The story tells how Sari first poisons her abusive husband, Ferenc when he returns and then gets trapped into helping other women off theirs. I can’t help but feel sorry for Ferenc who was obviously traumatized by years of trench warfare; although he treats Sari cruelly when he returns.
Back then (and to some extent still now) some women had limiting choices, others in this story merely found their men inconvenient.
An engrossing read
October 26, 2024
Sari has always been an outsider in her small Hungarian village. Before World War I breaks out, she is the object of superstitious whispers and gossip. By the end of the story, however, she will be a sort of rogue heroine. Jessica Gregson’s The Angel Makers is a twisty tale of murder and mayhem. The end of this book still has me wondering about the ethical rights and wrongs of what happened in that little village...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read
September 19, 2012true story about a woman who teaches women how to poison their awful husbands after war in Romania/Hungary when these horrible abusive men come back. The Italian prisioners who were kept in their area were respectful of them, and they learned to value themselves and did not want to go back to the old way. so they didn't.
May 21, 2016
4.5 stars!
I really liked this book! The characters were very realistic and I enjoyed Gregson's writing a lot. I still find it very interesting what people will do when pushed. I definitely recommend this one!
I really liked this book! The characters were very realistic and I enjoyed Gregson's writing a lot. I still find it very interesting what people will do when pushed. I definitely recommend this one!
November 18, 2016
This was a nice, flowing, engaging read. I don't know much about the European homefront during WWI, so I enjoyed reading about that, but I would have liked even more of it and less of the romance. Since this is loosely based on real events, I really would have liked an author's note at the end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 263 reviews