The Mercies

"That’s right. This is the first book on our list based on real events: a 1617 storm in Vardø, Norway, and the witch trials that followed. The storm was pretty vicious, and it came on suddenly, killing all the area’s male population at the time. In the book, we see the surviving women take on the work of their deceased husbands, brothers, and sons, like fishing and building. Our protagonist during this opening section is Maren, and over the course of the novel, we watch her develop a moving relationship with Ursa, the wife of the commissioner who’s sent to Vardo in the wake of the storm to restore Christian order, a mission that inspires him to target the area’s Sami people, including Maren’s sister-in-law, as well as anyone who practices Sami traditions, which the women practice alongside Christian customs. I don’t want to give too much more away. This is a pretty stunning book. The writing is amazing, just beautiful, and the characters and themes are hugely moving. I’ve given this to a few different people in my family, and they’ve all really liked it."