Kate: Maggie has a different understanding of all the events that have happened since that night in Hydesville long ago. To her the spirits were always a game. For my sister Leah they were a means to an end. For my mother, a miracle. And for me they were my life's calling. I have no regrets.
So begins Dianne K. Salerni's fictionalized account of the Fox sisters and the Spiritualist movement they spawned with their spirit rappings and messages from the dead. It was in a small house in Hydesville, New York, where these first ghostly encounters happened, but Maggie's and Kate's notoriety quickly spread. Their older sister Leah soon had them performing to much wider audiences, traveling from New York to Philadelphia and back. It seemed nearly everyone at that time was interested in the afterlife and in communicating with the dead. So much so some were even willing to pay for the privilege.
This is such an interesting time period in American history and Salerni does a good job of portraying the Fox sisters and relating the facts of their stories. But I have to say, this one was a bit of a slog for me. Maggie is the main narrator, but it's like she's relating things that happened to her in the past. And maybe that's why this novel lost some of its immediacy. I actually preferred Kate's chapters, but they were few and far between. It's not a bad read. And I did learn a lot about the Fox sisters and their lives that I didn't know before. Another bonus? This is one of the books that I chose to read for Lark's 2017 Backlist Reader Challenge because it's been on my TBR list for years. So, despite it being a a slow read, I managed to finish it! I just wish it had been a little more compelling...or 100 pages shorter.
Happy Reading!
P.S. I did really enjoy Salerni's other novel, The Caged Graves, which is more of a gothic mystery and would be a perfect October read.
I've read and reviewed two nonfiction books about the Fox sisters: Exploring Other Worlds and Talking to the Dead. Fascinating looks at the spiritualist movement in America. I will keep this fictional account in mind. Weird to think about the way so many people were so easily gulled. Or maybe not so weird... :O
ReplyDelete:D We're all fooled by something, aren't we? Thanks for the non-fiction titles...I think I'd like to read one or both!
DeleteThe subject sounds so interesting but I have a hard time with alternating points of view such as these, especially when one is almost all back-story.
ReplyDeleteIn this book, funnily enough, the POV didn't alternate enough! I would much rather have read more from Kate's perspective. But sadly it's 90% Maggie.
DeleteThis sounds like an interesting read, with the time period and communicating with the dead aspect. If only it's a little fast-pace! Nevertheless, I'll keep this book in mind should the mood calls for it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's not a bad read. It just read slow for me.
DeleteThis one sounds like it would be interesting but I don't know that I'd ever read it if it's that slow.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was just me, but for some reason I found it to be a really slow read. Maybe because the author tried to cover their entire lives.
DeleteYeah, you get to cross it off your list! I think the subject matter is super interesting. I love mystery novels that use spiritualism as part of the plot (although usually
ReplyDeletebut not always it is debunked).
Have you ever read Affinity by Sarah Waters? Seances, faked or not-faked have a lot to do with the plot...I loved that book.
I've read Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, but not Affinity. Sounds like I need to check it out. :)
DeleteThis one gets long-winded, but I actually really liked it. I found it fascinating. I'd like to read a non-fiction book about the real sisters this novel was based on.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to read a non-fiction book about them now, too.
DeleteI have hear of the Fox sisters but know so little about them. I wonder if I would like this one. It certainly sounds like my kind of book! I'm hesitant though because you weren't completely taken with it. Maybe I should give a nonfiction book about them a try...
ReplyDeleteI'd go with the non-fiction book; Jenclair recommended two that sound good and that I'd kind of like to read, too.
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