The Mercies – Kiran Millwood Hargrave

"Here's what I want: rid the world of witches so we can live in God's peace. And if war is how we get there, so be it."

Vardø sits at the extreme north of Norway. 17th century. Life is brutal and simple: men fish and farm, women cook. Norwegians and Sami people live together without much friction, even intermarrying, mixing Christian rites with older pagan traditions.

Then 1617 hits. A freak storm kills forty fishermen in one night—basically every man on the island. Maren loses her father, brother, and fiancé all at once. Most women lose everyone.

After grief comes survival. The women organize. Kirsten, the toughest among them, leads. They manage the reindeer herd, work the fields, even take boats out to fish. They do what they have to do.

The royal authorities don't like this. They send a commissioner to restore God's order and male authority. Enter Absalom Cornet, a witch hunter from the Orkneys with his brand-new teenage wife Ursa. His mission: reassert the power of God, King, and men—in that order.

While Ursa forms a deep friendship with Maren, her fanatic husband starts making lists. Dark lists. He's convinced only demonic forces could have conjured that storm.

Two Women, Two Worlds

The novel alternates between Maren and Ursa's perspectives. I liked the contrast: the island woman used to rough freedom versus the sheltered bourgeois girl who knows nothing about real life. But Ursa finds something on the island she never had in her tightly controlled marriage—actual human connection.

The women of Vardø quickly split into camps. Some are dazzled by Absalom Cornet, accepting submission out of fear, piety, or hope for privileges. Jealousy plays its part. Others refuse, wanting control over their own destinies. They'll pay the full price.

Cornet launches a vicious witch hunt. First he targets the Sami, then turns on the Norwegian women too. Hargrave nails how three systems of oppression intersect around the figure of the witch: religious totalitarianism that refuses anything outside Christian faith, patriarchy that denies women any autonomy, and racism that views the Sami as inferior and dangerous.

My Take

I enjoyed reading this. The period detail feels authentic, and the dramatic tension builds subtly—the increasingly ambiguous relationship between Ursa and Maren, the mounting pressure Cornet applies to the island women. Both threads tighten until something has to snap.

But. I wanted to love this book (it's based on real events), and I couldn't quite get there. It all felt a bit familiar. Especially if you've read the magnificent A Blink of the Screen. That sense of déjà vu kept me at arm's length.

Still, it's a solid novel about an important subject. Just not the revelation I'd hoped for.