Reviewed by elysium on

4 of 5 stars

Share
1377 five boys are locked in a barn, burned to death and their grieving parents accuse Jews of this tragedy. The fathers decide to not bury the dead but to take them for the King to decide.
But the villagers each carry their own secrets and during their journey their secrets unravel and they learn surprising things from each other.

The story is told by Mear, a mute pretending to be a man, who lives with her son Christian on a remote village. Bit by bit we get to know more about this courageous woman, we learn how she became to live as a man on this village and how she met with the father of her son.

It’s a dark world and this is not a romanticized version of the fourteenth century. It wasn’t easy living after the Black Death.

My only complain is that I wish it was told better if were in the present time or in Mear’s past. It didn’t take long to figure where you are but still.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 November, 2014: Finished reading
  • 1 November, 2014: Reviewed