Historical Fictionistas discussion

This is our group discussion for our December read Weyward by Emilia Hart.

The following members voted to read Weyward: JA, Elizabeth, Melissa, KLB, AJM, Medecki, Tiffany, Erica, Jade, Hails & #x1f9e1, Chaitra, Barbara, Lydia, Ghadir, Jenn, Megan, Joe, Lindsey, Mandy, Julie, Brooke, Shanna, Amanda, Lior, Sharon, Holly, Vivian, Lucie, Maureen, Jasmine, Linda, Stormie~Book Dragon~, Karen, Rossella, Khristine, MangoLoverReads, Deanna, Liz, Sara, Susan, Camille, Angie, Jane, Chris, Diane, DML, Jodi, Nicola, Nanette, D., Rusty, M, Sherry, Sara, Melissa Wiebe, Debie, Tina.

Please mark any spoilers in your discussion.

So far, I’m finding this an engaging read. There are three storylines but each one is very distinct.

I read this last year, and I didn't love it. For me, I could appreciate what it was trying to say, but I don't think it said it very well. I'll leave it at that for now.

But what I really wanted to say is that there are quite a lot of dark themes in this book. Some content warnings sensitive readers should be aware of:
(view spoiler)[ multiple instances of rape, including of a minor, incest, domestic physical and emotional abuse including marital rape, stalking, child abuse, child loss/death, unwanted pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, self-harm, misogyny. (hide spoiler)]

Those are the ones that I can remember off the top of my head, but I don't usually look for them in books, so please review content warnings if you're unsure.

I liked this one, but it has been a while since I read it. I do agree that there are lots of trigger warnings. I enjoyed the way the three storylines came together in the end.

I read it a while ago as well and I agree that trigger warnings are appropriate. I thought the story was suspenseful and I enjoyed the resiliency of the main characters.

The author can certainly spin a yarn! Some of the research is pretty thin and the storylines a bit pat in places, but I was definitely caught up in it while reading. I wonder why there wasn’t more of an attempt to make the seventeenth-century sound a little more archaic; the modern voice of the first-person narrator jarred on me a bit.

I had other options for Dec, so will get to this after my assignment for a pair of other Fictionistas reads. in the meantime, since this follows the standard novel format, it is worthwhile to restate:
in the regular format for novels in the West, each has a beginning, a middle, and and end. The beginning sets the scene and begins introducing characters. It comprises the first 20 percent +/- 5 percent, so from 15-25 of the novel.
The middle may be understttood as comprising three segments:
First. Establishing the narrative, ranging from 20 to the 50 percent marks. Additional significant and secondary characters may be introduced and the situation beginssssss to eeemerge into narrative.
Second. Then, from 50-70 percent, Developing the narrative. Frequently, a book does not reveal itself until passing the first half of a novel. So, while we all enjoy a narrative that builds steadily from beginning to end, there are many many examples of highly rated novels that drag through the first half, focusing on developing setting and characters.
Third. Moving towards the climax, builds and raises tension and apprehension. This begins at about the 70-percent marks and goes to about the 90-percent mark, but as with alll these allow for a range of plus or minus of five percent of the whole, so as early as 85 or as late as 95 percent. The longer a novel and depending on what follows,watch for delayed or quickened Climax.
End may either wrap up the story or include an anti-climax or, particularly for a series, provide other transitional developments.

I hope this helps. I will be back after I get through the 25 hours of my assignment, then the 10 hours or so of this month’s selection. Good reading, and kindly describe your perceptions of the novel’s strengths and weaknesses, disappointments and satisfying aspects.

I just finished this book. I really enjoyed it. I thought the writing was beautiful. I loved how the stories were woven together.

I don’t read many multi-timeline novels, and at first I found it challenging to recall the details of each storyline when the narrative changed, but the novel is cleverly written, using a different perspective for each character, and the weaving of significances between the three was spellbinding.
I particularly loved the development of Kate’s character; her slow, fearful settling into her heritage is beautifully and subtly accomplished. Blending nicely into the earthy themes of the book, the process of her transformation is effectively a decomposition of the spiky and neurotic woman that she has become as a result of a coercive, controlling marriage. There is an uplifting and empowering passage where she (view spoiler)[hacks off her bleached hair and changes from her husband-prescribed clothes into garments inherited from her aunt Violet. (hide spoiler)]
In all three storylines, the oppressive weight of powerful and domineering men is chilling, particularly in Kate’s story, where her insidious isolation and manipulation by her husband is documented in nerve-wracking flashbacks. In Violet’s story, the theme of a woman’s subjugation to men takes the form of familial control and societal norms. The prominence of these tyrannies in the novel began to worry me, though. As a firm advocate for safeguarding and nurturing the strength and security of all women, I nevertheless believe that fostering in women a fear of – and a blanket hostility towards – men risks promoting an expectation of abuse and a culture of polarization which threatens positive and healthy relationships between men and women. With this in mind, I welcomed the appearance, in Altha’s story, of the character of Bainbridge (coincidentally the name of a wise and supportive male character in my own novel!). The actions of Bainbridge, and those of Violet’s brother and Kate’s father – while marginal in the plot – support the cause of good men in the lives of women, and this rescues Weyward from being a narrow polemic about the abuse of women at the hands of predatory men.
Gently but insitently underpinning the three stories is the eternal ebb and flow of nature – animals, insects and vegetation – which predates, survives, and interconnects with human lives. Weyward is a captivating tale of this interconnection.

I enjoyed this story. I think that both the storyline and the characterization was very strong. I liked how the characters history and family was interwoven. As others have mentioned, the threads about the natural world and our inner connection to it was lovely. I have read a great many contemporary British novels lately, and that attention to nature, the natural world, landscape, and animals that is more pronounced in British literature over American literature is something that I have enjoyed a great deal. (right now, I am reading Raising Hare, and it is, Ssooooooo lovely.) Honestly, for me, the thread about witchcraft and what it means to be a witch was probably the weakest or what I enjoyed the least.. That likely is more a reflection of my preferences as a reader rather than any shortcoming per se of the book. Altogether, I enjoyed it.

I've been on the fence about Raising Hare. Glad to hear it is enjoyable.

I read this previously and quite enjoyed it. I normally don’t read dual timelines so much, but I thought this one was well done. Fun and witchy and strong female characters that I really got behind.