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The Angel Makers Jessica Gregson 9781569479797 Books

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The Angel Makers Jessica Gregson 9781569479797 Books

As I was reading this novel, I also started reading reviews and discovered that it is set against the background of a true story of events that occurred in a Hungarian village during and after WWI.
The fictional Sari, assistant to the village midwife, acts to free herself of a fiance' who returns, a man changed into a violently abusive monster by his war experiences and the presence of an Italian prisoner of war camp that has taken over his family estate and has transformed his village and its women.
Sari's desperate act leads to events that spiral out of her control. Marco, the quixotic thoughtful Italian POW whose attempt to save Sari with whom he has fallen in love from Ferenc, the violent fiance, is the only attractive character in the story.
No one in the village seems to have much of a moral compass. Superstition rules. The priest, Father Istvan, tired and discouraged has abandoned the village and is not replaced. The church, too is abandoned.
Sari is a woman who is considered an outsider because of her arcane knowledge of herbs and potions acquired from her father, who was a sort of village shaman, and the crone, Judit, the midwife who shelters and mentors Sari after her father's death, and knows more than just birthing babies. Sari's hunger for a futher education, beyond her father's books sets her apart even more from the women around her, and she keeps her own counsel and quiets her conscience as her knowledge leads her into a morass from which she may not be able to free herself. I kept reading to learn Sari's fate.The ending came in a rush. Her fate, like the character herself remains elusive.


Tags : The Angel Makers [Jessica Gregson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Like Tracy Chevalier in Girl with the Pearl Earring</i>, Gregson excels at developing strong, complex female voices; a swift plot; and a story that will hold readers from beginning to end. — Booklist </i> When the men of a remote Hungarian village go off to war in 1916,Jessica Gregson,The Angel Makers,Soho,1569479798,Self-realization in women;Fiction.,Women;Hungary;Fiction.,World War, 1914-1918;Hungary;Fiction.,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Literary,Hungary,Literary,Popular English Fiction,Self-realization in women,Women,World War, 1914-1918

The Angel Makers Jessica Gregson 9781569479797 Books Reviews

Not the normal book I would read. A bit slow at the beginning but I was drawn into the character. Enjoyed the story development. Was rooting for Sari the whole way through. Would recommend this book.
The Angel Makers was superb! The storytelling in the beginning was beautifully wound with rich, captivating characters and an intense storyline. The second half of the story was a bit more predictable but still an enjoyable read. One character flaw ultimately undid the whole town, and that allows for great discussion points. Fantastic!
Fascinating story, that happens to be based in a true historic incident. History continues to repeat itself. We still seem to be struggling with how to protect women from abusers. Although the women in this story act in ways that are not legal, this story will have you applauding some of the women for their bravery in taking back their lives. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
As has been noted, this novel is based on true events. When the men of a village leave to go to war, the women find that they are able to function better withou them. The culture of the village had evolved along misogynist beliefs in which the men were the dominant force over the lives of the women. Sari, ethnically separate is kept as an outcast. But with the rise of the women, she is accepted as an integral part of the village. The Italian prisoners of war are not only the only men around, they have a culture respecting women more than they had known from men in the past.
When the men return, placing their feet back on the necks of the women, the result is chaos. This is an intriguing " what if" premise, that did in fact happen. We have learned to value the women in the village, and the moral uproar of the second half of this book embroils us, the readers. This book takes us to a world that may liein a headline, but is acted out in the human hearts of the characters.
3.5 stars rounded up
This is a story set in a small isolated town in Hungary and about the impact of WWI on the town's women. This is based on a true story. There is a lot to like about this book. The sense of place is very strong. This village is very isolated and the residents are quite poor. Life is not easy for the villagers, but once the men go off to war, the women find that life is considerably better. It gets better still when one of the farms is taken over and used as a prisoner of war camp. Many of the woman now find that Italian men treat woman much nicer than Hungarian men. Once the war is over and the husbands come back, the women are not satisfied to return to the live prior to the war and take matters into their own hands.

Most of the story is told from the perspective of Sari, whose mother died in childbirth and her father was the village taltos (like a shaman). At the opening of the novel, Sari is an awkward teen who doesn't have any friends and is rumored to be a witch. However, prior to her father's death, he has arranged her engagement to Frenec who is the son of the richest couple in town. After her father's death, Sari lives with the town midwife, Judit and they are the "gotos" for the town's women during the war. Sari makes friends with several women and also makes a special friend with Marco, an italian man who is a professor. At first, Sari is just attracted to Marco's education and wants him to teach her things, but over time it does turn into a physical relationship.

It was interesting how the author is able to create a sympathetic characters who happen to kill their husbands. You are willing to forgive given the motive, but when the other village women begin to do the same thing, without as good of motive, you dislike them. It shows that there is a very fine line when it comes to our moral judgements.

Near the end of the book, the story jumps forward several years in small chapters and in the final section the main voice changes to a detective who is looking into the large number of deaths in the small village. The initial story of the misfit Sari who is thought to be a witch seemed a bit superfluous to the rest of the story. Also, I did not care for the ending. A word of warning the author drops the f-bomb several times which doesn't seem like a word that would be used in a peasant village at the beginning of the century. Also, there are hungarian words thrown in without explanation -- although most of the time, you can tell their meaning from the context.
What a believable story. Uses almost every human emotion and a broad range of characters and situations. Packs all of life into the smallest, most unremarkable village. Leaves several endings dangling in front of you even as you run out of narrative. I know you'll have to read it straight through.
As I was reading this novel, I also started reading reviews and discovered that it is set against the background of a true story of events that occurred in a Hungarian village during and after WWI.
The fictional Sari, assistant to the village midwife, acts to free herself of a fiance' who returns, a man changed into a violently abusive monster by his war experiences and the presence of an Italian prisoner of war camp that has taken over his family estate and has transformed his village and its women.
Sari's desperate act leads to events that spiral out of her control. Marco, the quixotic thoughtful Italian POW whose attempt to save Sari with whom he has fallen in love from Ferenc, the violent fiance, is the only attractive character in the story.
No one in the village seems to have much of a moral compass. Superstition rules. The priest, Father Istvan, tired and discouraged has abandoned the village and is not replaced. The church, too is abandoned.
Sari is a woman who is considered an outsider because of her arcane knowledge of herbs and potions acquired from her father, who was a sort of village shaman, and the crone, Judit, the midwife who shelters and mentors Sari after her father's death, and knows more than just birthing babies. Sari's hunger for a futher education, beyond her father's books sets her apart even more from the women around her, and she keeps her own counsel and quiets her conscience as her knowledge leads her into a morass from which she may not be able to free herself. I kept reading to learn Sari's fate.The ending came in a rush. Her fate, like the character herself remains elusive.