The Mercies: Cold, Brutal and Unputdownable

*The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave*

The Mercies is one of those books that I read in practically one sitting: think 1600s Scandinavia, political pressure, witch trials, love and sisterhood.

Set on the remote Norwegian island of Vardø, The Mercies is an acute examination of the spread of fear, suspicion and oppression, which often feels just as relevant to modern-day life as to 1600s Norway. In the aftermath of a Christmas Eve storm that kills almost all the men on the island, the women of Vardø must fend for themselves by taking on “men’s work” such as butchering their own reindeer meat and braving the harsh sea to catch fish and survive. However, when a new commissioner with his own ambitions is sent to oversee this strange community of women, a net of fear and suspicion draws ever tighter, as false accusations run rife.

The Mercies is a beautiful novel, uncovering layers of humanity and emotion, as its characters are caught between faith and tradition, expectation and survival. Against the cold, bleak backdrop of the arctic north, the routine of the women’s daily lives helps the reader to fathom the hardship of a life spent in isolation, while the characters’ fraught relationships with one other are testament to how vulnerable life can be, and how your whole existence can depend on the whims of another.

The perfect book to curl up with in front of the fireplace on a cold winter’s day, The Mercies should be added to your list asap.