"The Wolves of Andover," by Kathleen Kent is a book that is a literary triumph. It's not for lazy readers or those who expect pablum. That being said, intelligent readers will be absorbed by many points of history, symbolism, love and betrayal, and ancestrial links of this fine book. You may remember Ms Kent as the author of "Heretic's Daughter."
Kathleen Kent is an academic and accomplished woman. She shares her knowledge not just of her link to one of the witches tried in the historical Salem Witch Trials, but of the mind-set and the spiritual terrors of the early colonial days in Massachusetts.
'midst this unsettling atmosphere (which Ms Kent creates so brilliantly that it makes one's heart beat faster), lurk "wolves." Wolves both real and in sheep's clothing, in human form, and in the imagination. This menacing presence tends to over-shadow the novel. I loved it and thought it was genius.
While this is an historical romance novel of sorts, to call it that is to short-change it. It is rather a love story that takes place within the confines of the wilderness of the new settlements of colonial New England, within the dangerous mission of killing a wayward, annointed King of England, and within the hardships of family connections and spiritual uncertainty.
As many of you know, I'm not one to spoil a book by telling you the story, which you can easily find from the book cover. I will say that this is a book that rides the ship of reality. It's a novel holding the truth of the life of Martha Allen Carrier...mother of an accused witch.
Take time to read this brilliant novel.
Deb/TheBookishDame
