Emily: It's round 4 of lesbian books for lesbians. JK lesbian books are for everyone.

Kelli: It's true. Today we are talking about my pick, The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave!

(Spoilers ahead… or should we say spoilers ahoy?)

Emily: So this is a historical fiction novel, which you said you don't read much of. So why did you pick this one anyway?

Kelli: Well, for one thing, I saw that it had pretty good ratings on Goodreads, which I know means nothing and should not be a deciding factor for me... but here we are. For another, I become a lot more interested in history when witches are involved.

Emily: Same. And I do care about Goodreads ratings, tbh.

Kelli: Yeah, the thing about Goodreads is that literally anyone could be rating this book... and I have no idea if I share taste with any of these people. The best way to figure out if I want to read a book is to get a direct recommendation from someone who knows me and has read it already, but usually that person is you.

Emily: I think if the book has a low average, there's a good chance it's a bad book. If it's 4+ on Goodreads, there's a good chance it's at least worth reading, even if it ends up being not for me.

Kelli: That's true. I mean, a lot of terrible books do very well, but I think a low average could be more indicative of a truly bad book.

ANYWAY. Speaking of Goodreads, the first paragraph of the Goodreads summary for this book actually does a pretty good job of capturing its premise: “After a storm has killed off all the island's men, two women in a 1600s Norwegian coastal village struggle to survive against both natural forces and the men who have been sent to rid the community of alleged witchcraft.” It goes into more detail after that, but this is the basic idea.

Emily: And we should note that this did actually happen.

Kelli: Yes!

Emily: There was this weird storm that just took out a bunch of dudes. And it was random and quick.

Kelli: As natural disasters can be.

Emily: I can definitely see why this would inspire a novel. It's strange as hell.

Kelli: Yeah, and of course when a strange tragedy occurs, religious communities have a tendency to believe that it is a sign from God. So not only did the storm happen—the burnings of these "witches" did as well.

Emily: Right, because as we know, women are evil and prone to witchcraft and tomfoolery with the devil.

Kelli: ESPECIALLY if they're native. Which we should also point out. The Sámi people are the indigenous people who originally inhabited Vardø, the island where these events take place. One of the characters in this story—Maren’s sister-in-law, Diinna—is Sámi, and the suspicion surrounding the women on this island (in this version of the story) specifically targets women who associate with Diinna and her spiritual practices.

Emily: Right. Which is sort of like the Salem Witch Trials in that suspicions surrounded a Black woman and anyone who consorted with her. Basically women are evil, but women of color are especially bad. This is what history teaches us.

Kelli: Yes. And anyone who falls outside of the norms of Christianity is basically bffs with Satan.

Emily: Christianity is so fucking weird. It needs to be said.

Kelli: Yeah, more weird than the religion itself is the obsession with dominance that Christian groups have displayed throughout history. See also: all of history.

Anyway, with that as our backdrop, let's talk some more about this story. In her acknowledgements, the author writes that she wanted to explore these people less as those involved in a historic event and instead focus on their humanity, how they lived and who they were before this happened. “This story is about people, and how they lived; before why and how they died became what defined them.” Do you think she succeeded at making this more personal than the average based-on-the-truth story?

Emily: Well, she does spend a lot of time in character development land here, but I don't think I would say necessarily that your average based-on-truth story is categorically detached from the characters it's writing about. I'm trying to think of one example of a historical fiction story where I felt like the story was more about history than the characters, and I can't think of any. You?

Kelli: Not necessarily! I mean, again, I don't read a lot of historical fiction, lol. I think what I mean is that the two main characters here are not exactly based on real people. They exist in this imagined space of the "average life" of people in this situation.

Emily: Right. But I think about the last historical novel we read together, which was probably The Water Dancer (for the podcast), and I would say I got to know those characters pretty well too? I mean yeah, there was magic in that story, but still lol.

Kelli: Hahaha yeah, that's true. Maybe I just have a false idea of what historical fiction is from all of the boring costume dramas I've watched. I also think that someone else writing this might have chosen to focus the story on Kirstin. We get two people who are bystanders, basically.

Emily: True.

Kelli: How did you feel about their perspectives? Did you prefer one over the other?

Emily: Well, I will say at first I found Maren's story very slow. In the beginning, I was more interested in Ursa. But then when the stories converged, both got more interesting. I think you had the opposite feeling?

Kelli: Yeah! That's so funny. There was something appealing to me reading about the way this town of women was handling their situation. Like, literally all of their men are gone, so they have to start doing the things that they never thought would be their responsibility. They learn to fish, they learn to slaughter.

Emily: Meanwhile I was like blah blah blah fishing. LOL

Kelli: LOL. Yeah, for me with Ursa, I liked reading about her family, but then she got on the boat and I was like... nothing is happening on this boat. She's just, you know, basically being raped on a daily basis and then waiting around for it to happen again. And sometimes she talks to the captain, who is chill. But overall I would agree that the entire story became a lot more interesting once Ursa and Maren meet. And that is... kind of a problem, because they don't meet for what, the first 70 pages? More?

Emily: I'm not sure because I was listening to the book, not reading it, but it felt like a long, long time.

Kelli: Lol yeah, it did. (Editor’s note: according to my eBook, they do not meet until page 124 of 349.)

Emily: I also want to say I hated this audiobook narration. I was like, why is Jessie Buckley trying to sound like Bjork.

Kelli: Yeah, it was a lot. Like, just get a Norwegian person.

Emily: Right, or just read it with an Irish accent. It's fine.

Kelli: Right. The pronunciation of the names and locations reminded me of when Giada De Laurentiis is cooking and suddenly says "MOOZARELL."

Emily: Hahah right. It was a lot. As you said.

Kelli: I switched to eBook. Lol. And we like Jessie Buckley!

Emily: Right, I was like okay this will be good. It was not good.

Kelli: The eBook (and I am assuming, in turn, the physical book) had drawings to establish each separate part which can only be described as deranged. Sorry to this artist.

Emily: Yeah I didn't get all that. Jessie Buckley didn't describe the drawings to me.

Kelli: I will include some samples.

Kelli: Obviously, this is Queer Girl Book Club. We were reading this book for the queerness. So, let's talk about the queerness. How did this love story work for you?

Emily: Okay so the love story really worked for me. I felt their chemistry, and the slow build in this regard felt very effective.

Kelli: Same!

Emily: And you could see why they valued one another as friends and eventually more.

Kelli: And that sex scene... I was so into it. Partly because I had been waiting five million years.

Emily: Yeah, kinda made me wish... this book had been paced better so we could have had more of that.

Kelli: Like, I do think the build-up was part of what made that section hit so hard, but I also think we could have used a bit less buildup and maybe had like... two additional sex scenes.

Emily: More sex scenes and more witch hunting, I say. That's what I came for.

Kelli: Yes. Like, that's the thing—this book became exactly what I wanted it to be but not until around 2/3 of the way through.

Emily: Right. And at that point, it felt so rushed. Not the love story, but the witch hunting.

Kelli: Yeah. Which, I guess maybe that's how it happens? Everything escalates very quickly after a lot of quiet behind-the-scenes planning on Absalom's part.

Emily: I guess, but does that make for an interesting story?

Kelli: Yeah, I don't know. Not here. Which I guess is why we don't focus on Absalom.

I'll say that something I appreciated about this was the way it dealt with that basic premise, of this town of all women. For so long we have women only, and then we have the priest, who they talk shit about because they think he's a wimp, but then Absalom rolls in with his witch hunters and the entire atmosphere of the village changes. Like, there is a part where Maren and Ursa are walking to Ursa's, and Maren can feel the men staring at her, and she's like, I forgot what this felt like.

Emily: Yes.

Kelli: It's so difficult to imagine—but interesting to imagine—a world in which I could walk around and not constantly feel a little twinge of panic whenever I see some dude looking at me from across the street.

Emily: It definitely suggests that life would be less chaotic if we got rid of men. So if you see a freak storm around us sometime soon and it kills all the dudes, don't be surprised.

Kelli: I'm not sure my witchcraft abilities are quite finessed enough for that. Give me some time.

Emily: 2022 people.

Kelli: Also, just to quickly get back to queerness and their love story, the last line of that chapter when they have sex actually made me cry. Because it's this really beautiful moment of discovery for Ursa, who's only experience of sex has been with Absalom, who is raping her regularly. And even in the moments when she was willing with him, she never *likes* it—she always goes somewhere off in her head. So with Maren, she thinks, "I didn't know it could be like this." And that's so sad, because it's not just about whether or not you enjoy sex with men, it's about whether or not you've ever been with someone who cared whether you enjoyed yourself or not. And it's so incredibly heartbreaking to think about all the women who've had that experience throughout history. To not know that it was even possible to enjoy yourself.

The cover for the not-yet-released paperback edition (coming in July!)

Emily: Yeah and the thing about it is, that's something that happens to women even now. Even women who are straight. Because of the way our society views sex and sexuality, especially when it comes to women. We're not taught that sex is something we can enjoy and be open about enjoying. We're definitely not socialized to prioritize our pleasure over our partner's pleasure.

Kelli: Right, or even value it equally.

Emily: So sadly, this hasn't really changed, I don't think. Which might be a big reason why it feels so emotional.

Kelli: Yeah, definitely not. What has changed, I think, is that there has been a shift in the cultural consciousness where women can at least talk about what feels good, and where the "female" orgasm is not literally considered a myth. But still—it took a long time for me to figure out that sex is not just about waiting until the other person comes.

Emily: Right.

Kelli: So, as we said, it took a long time for this story to get where it was going, especially in regards to the witch hunting, but when it got there... it got there, lol. What did you think about the culmination of it all? I especially want to talk about the very end.

Emily: Okay so we are just full out spoiling now right?

Kelli: Yes.

Emily: Okay well. This is not from an analytical standpoint at all, but this is just my initial reaction. And we can talk about why it happened the way it happened and all that. But I just want to start by saying how I as a reader responded. I really wanted Ursa to leave with Maren and I was a little annoyed that she didn't. I understand Ursa was pregnant and everything, but that was frustrating too. I was like, "You're the author. Make her not pregnant." LOL

Kelli: LOL, right. Plus, she's gonna have to leave anyway.

Emily: Also like clearly two women can raise a baby. See: Erik.

Kelli: I guess this way she doesn't have to develop a new identity and she'll still be able to see her family again. Like, I think the problem is not the pregnancy, but the fact that Absalom is murdered and if she peaces out, they're going to go straight to her family to find her. If she reports him missing, and just Maren leaves, people will be like 'oh that crazy bitch Maren did it.'

Emily: Yeah true. And I guess in the end she gets a partial happy ending because she gets to go back to her family. Because it didn't seem like Absalom was going to allow her to have much contact with them, seeing how he was hoarding their letters and responding to them for her.

Kelli: Ugh. Of all the abusive shit he does to her, the part where he throws the letters into the fire was one of the most difficult to read.

Emily: Right after only reading part of one of them to her.

Kelli: Right. But yeah, I do wish they could have had a happy ending together. And I wonder what is going to become of Maren. I really hope she finds Diinna and Erik.

Emily: Right. I agree. It was a really heartbreakingly kind thing for Maren to do for Ursa. And it felt earned.

Kelli: It did. I really loved Maren. I think we got a really good sense of who these characters were even without a change of voice between their perspectives.

Emily: Right, we really didn't talk about that much but their voices were very similar.

But maybe that's because they're SOULMATES. lol jk idk. It didn't bother me.

Kelli: LOL right. I think it helped that it was in third person still, so technically there was a 'narrator.’ It would have bothered me if it was first person and they were still that similar.

I also like that Maren realizes almost immediately that she has feelings for Ursa, and Ursa doesn't realize it until they're basically fucking, lol. Every time they're close Maren is like "what if we kissed rn."

Emily: Right that made sense to me. Ursa's life had been pretty sheltered. Maren had been living with only women for some time.

Kelli: Right, and assuming that there would never be another man in her life.

Okay so, it seems like we're in pretty close step on our feelings about this book. What are you going to rate it?

Emily: I rated it three stars. The last 3rd of the book is probably four stars. But the pacing was all over the place.

Kelli: Yes, absolutely agree. Like if I could give half stars, I'd give it the three and a half for the last section. And for the relationship, which is the main reason I wanted to read this in the first place. Unfortunately, this is our lowest-rated book so far, but I wouldn't NOT recommend it? If you don't mind a very slow burn. Also we just spoiled everything, so.

Emily: I mean... not everything, but most things. We didn't say HOW Absalom died.

Kelli: True. It was a heart attack. Lol jk, READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT.

What's next???

Emily: So next we're reading They Never Learn by Layne Fargo. It's an LGBT mystery/thriller about murdering shitty dudes. So literal wish-fulfillment book for me.

Kelli: ;)

Join us next time!

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