"Anna Ember" by J.M. Hushour is somewhat of a historical romance. But don't expect a sappy costume drama for the ladies. The action takes place in 16th-century Germany, but this too is deceptive, for the narrative is as timeless as the Iliad or King Lear.
___Now that I've dissuaded the feint of heart, let me describe what this grand story is all about. It takes place in a woebegone German village whose customs and lifeways haven't changed in 900 years. The villagers know nothing about religious wars, voyages of discovery or vaulted cathedrals. They've gone without a spiritual shepherd for more than a year.
___The last parish priest had preached hell & damnation and exacted evermore tributes while he tried to bugger altar boys and deflower virgins. Until Anna Jobston, the village milk maid, expelled him from the village.
___Anna is beloved by the villagers. She takes care of their free-ranging cows, collects milk, churns some of it to cheese and gathers firewood. She's young, blameless, hard-working. She embodies the village's pagan customs and social beliefs. Worse for Anna, she has crossed swords with Mother Church.
___The bad-news priest limped off the village hillside with his tail between his legs. He vowed to get even with the insolent brat. He went straight to the archbishop and told him about an evil witch who flew on a broom and turned God's children into devil worshippers. It so happened the archbishop had the right man for the job. He'd adopted an orphan whose troubled mother had bitten off his finger. The archbishop had taken the young man under his wing and schooled him in the inquisitor's craft to become his roving demonologist.
___So the archbishop points his demonologist at the village and tells him to burn the witch and return the villagers to Mother Church's fold. For the demonologist, this assignment has become routine. He has burned several witches, mostly elderly women with no men to their name. But unlike some inquisitors, the demonologist carries out his investigations with integrity. He has never burned a guiltless witch.
___A long tiresome climb gets the demonologist to the village. There he discovers his quarry is a young woman midway in her teens. And now I've set the stage. I won't say more to spoil your anticipation of the plot. But some words need be said to explain why this story is both superior and timeless.
___Although the circumstances may appear extreme, the author invites readers to examine the battle of the genders. The demonologist is educated and assured of his esteemed role in the social hierarchy. Anna can neither read nor write, yet she has learned from the book of Nature. The author shows many instances where the humble book of Nature runs circles around man's vaunted theologies.
___Let's face it. Everyone about to read this story is a product of 5,000 years of male-dominated cultures. For most of human history, women had no rights whatsoever. They were entirely dependent on male lawgivers, male protectors and male providers. Women had no choice but to accept their lot. Even today in these so-called enlightened times, men still want to force their edicts and laws upon the female domain.
___That's what this narrative is all about. The demonologist and the milkmaid struggle to find a stark-new balance for their genders. A balance that abides by the underlying laws of our instinctive roots. Highly recommended. 5.0 stars.
___Now that I've dissuaded the feint of heart, let me describe what this grand story is all about. It takes place in a woebegone German village whose customs and lifeways haven't changed in 900 years. The villagers know nothing about religious wars, voyages of discovery or vaulted cathedrals. They've gone without a spiritual shepherd for more than a year.
___The last parish priest had preached hell & damnation and exacted evermore tributes while he tried to bugger altar boys and deflower virgins. Until Anna Jobston, the village milk maid, expelled him from the village.
___Anna is beloved by the villagers. She takes care of their free-ranging cows, collects milk, churns some of it to cheese and gathers firewood. She's young, blameless, hard-working. She embodies the village's pagan customs and social beliefs. Worse for Anna, she has crossed swords with Mother Church.
___The bad-news priest limped off the village hillside with his tail between his legs. He vowed to get even with the insolent brat. He went straight to the archbishop and told him about an evil witch who flew on a broom and turned God's children into devil worshippers. It so happened the archbishop had the right man for the job. He'd adopted an orphan whose troubled mother had bitten off his finger. The archbishop had taken the young man under his wing and schooled him in the inquisitor's craft to become his roving demonologist.
___So the archbishop points his demonologist at the village and tells him to burn the witch and return the villagers to Mother Church's fold. For the demonologist, this assignment has become routine. He has burned several witches, mostly elderly women with no men to their name. But unlike some inquisitors, the demonologist carries out his investigations with integrity. He has never burned a guiltless witch.
___A long tiresome climb gets the demonologist to the village. There he discovers his quarry is a young woman midway in her teens. And now I've set the stage. I won't say more to spoil your anticipation of the plot. But some words need be said to explain why this story is both superior and timeless.
___Although the circumstances may appear extreme, the author invites readers to examine the battle of the genders. The demonologist is educated and assured of his esteemed role in the social hierarchy. Anna can neither read nor write, yet she has learned from the book of Nature. The author shows many instances where the humble book of Nature runs circles around man's vaunted theologies.
___Let's face it. Everyone about to read this story is a product of 5,000 years of male-dominated cultures. For most of human history, women had no rights whatsoever. They were entirely dependent on male lawgivers, male protectors and male providers. Women had no choice but to accept their lot. Even today in these so-called enlightened times, men still want to force their edicts and laws upon the female domain.
___That's what this narrative is all about. The demonologist and the milkmaid struggle to find a stark-new balance for their genders. A balance that abides by the underlying laws of our instinctive roots. Highly recommended. 5.0 stars.
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