The Owl Killers

by Karen Maitland

England, 1321. Deep in the heart of countryside lies an isolated village governed by a sinister regime of Owl Masters - theirs is a pagan world of terror and blackmail, where neighbour denounces neighbour and sin is punishable by murder.

This dark status quo is disturbed by the arrival of a house of religious women, who establish a community outside the village. Why do their crops succeed when village crops fail; their cattle survive despite the plague? But petty jealousy turns deadly when the women give refuge to a young martyr. For she dies a gruesome death after spitting the sacramental host into flames that can't burn it - what magic is this? Or is the martyr now a saint and the host a holy relic?

Accusations of witchcraft and heresy run rife while the Owl Masters rain down hellfire and torment on the women, who must look to their faith to save them from the lengthening shadow of Evil ... a shadow with predatory, terrifying talons.

• ISBN10: 0141047739
• ISBN13: 9780141047737
• Publish Date: 1 April 2010 (first published 1 January 2009)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 19 September 2011
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 576
• Language: English

Reviews

[celinenyx]

I don't often read historical fiction, but when I do, I read novels like The Owl Killers - books backed up with solid research, featuring issues that are just as relevant today as they were in times past.

A group of beguines, women who dedicate their lives to charity and religion without making lasting vows, settles in a small village in England called Ulewick. There they are not welcomed by the villagers, who still cling to the their old heathen ways, terrorized by the anonymous Owl Masters.

The Owl Killers is set in the fourteenth century, which is not a very popular choice for historical fiction. Maitland seems to feel really passionate about the middle ages, and it makes my aspiring-historian heart happy to see how she truly captures the day to day life for villagers in the fourteenth century. The way they interact with each other, how they work, the clash of religion and tradition - it all fits. She weaves themes of feminism, abuse, self-determinism and freedom into this setting in a way that feels natural for the time. Instead of enforcing twenty-first century ideals on the setting, she uses the questions that rises from the material itself.

The book is narrated by five characters, and one of the main themes is that of misunderstanding. Maitland uses the multiple points of view to enlighten the character dynamics from different sides, showing how disagreements and emotions are fuelled by ignorance. I really enjoyed this technique. On the other hand, the biggest weakness of the book lies in the characterization. While the characters do all have their own wishes and dreams and fears, somehow they never truly come to life. Maybe the chapters are too short for this, or maybe the technical skill to write life-like characters is absent, but none of them quite jumped off the page.

In a way The Owl Killers asks the reader to fill in the blanks. Not every event is shown from every perspective, and often the point of view that is not shown is a key one. Because of this, this novel is one which gained a life of its own within my subconscious, and I found myself thinking of the book throughout the days I spent reading it, and even some days after.