This book is, if nothing else, very descriptive. And that is not a good thing in this case. Don’t get me wrong, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane was wonderful, it was amazing, but at points all I could think about was: I don’t want to know every little thing Connie does, or the color of the spider tangled in the dust on the ceiling. Which, they never mention, but as an example I am honestly surprised that wasn’t mentioned, that’s how detailed this book is. Details can be good, but too many can also be bad, because you get lost in them. There were a few times when reading The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane that there were 2-3 pages of Connie detailing something and when I got back to what Connie was actually doing I was completely lost because we had just went through so much detail, I had no idea where we left off and found myself having to retrace back to whatever she was doing before she started describing. The book is roughly 384 pages long, but it seemed like it could have easily been 250-300 without actually losing anything.

Also, it sort of felt like it was a ’smart persons’ book. Which sounds.. insulting in a way, but is the only way that I can find to describe it. There is a lot of talk of school and dissertations, and all that good stuff a college-going student might know and/or care about. However, I am not a college student, I have never been a college student, and quite frankly I couldn’t care less about school, so in that way I wasn’t able to connect with the book. I wasn’t particularly interested in how Connie did with her dissertation, or if she managed to impress her professor. Also, I had to actually stop and look words up because I didn’t know the meaning to them. Some of them, my sister didn’t even know the meaning for, and if you know her, her vocabulary and just general knowledge of words is completely beyond anything I’ve seen in anyone else I’ve EVER known, so her not knowing what something means is extremely rare.

Having said that though, I really did love the story! I loved the plot and the characters, and the revelations that Connie went through to find out what she did about her past and her link to the Witch Trials. I loved hearing about the places that Connie visited in Salem, including the ice cream shop where I so would have not been as patient with the girl as Connie was! When she described the houses or buildings, and surroundings of the town I really got taken in, and it’s now a mission in my life to visit Salem in the next few years! And Sam. Oh, Sam. It’s so nice to -for once in a long time- read a book that isn’t revolving around some type of forbidden love. Or love in general for that matter. But when Sam enters the story, it was always in the back of my mind no matter what Connie was doing: Where is Sam? What’s Sam doing? And Sams parents? I think the fact that they called her helped show what type of guy Sam was as well for obviously having mentioned her to them, and I was so glad that we got that little bitty glimpse into him and what he felt for Connie.

I also love, love, loved the flash backs to the Witch Trial Salem, and seeing the life that Katherine dreamed up for Deliverance! Very few authors can actually make you feel like you’ve been transported back into time, but Katherine does a wonderful job of it! The only thing that I don’t agree with in this aspect of what we see in the past, is what happens to Deliverance, as Katherine herself -with her multitude of knowledge and research- has said, was the exact opposite of what actually happened. I am not a fan of muddling past FACTS to fit your own purpose, fiction or not.

So in general, a little too detailed at times for my liking, and it might benefit you to have a very large vocabulary if you read it, but a VERY good and captivating story full of magic, love and well.. witches. Real or not? Guess you’ll have to read to find out! ( )

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A descendant of two Salem witches in the midst finishing her PhD in American and New England studies writes a meticulously researched novel about a descendant of a Salem witch finishing a PhD in American and New England studies with a twist: the fictional Harvard student discovers evidence that the accusations against her forbearer were, in fact, based in reality.

A more experienced author should have been able to pull this off, but said real-life PhD student had a snowball’s chance in hell of making it work. The whole book feels like an attempt at Barbara Kingsolver prose in a puppet show story with paper cutouts for characters. Action scenes seemed forced, love affairs right out of the can and the “old-fashioned Brahmin” accents just plain corny. (Somehow, all of the “shahs” and “whehfoahs” never quite gave it the ring of authenticity that I’m sure they were supposed to.)

The worst part by far, however, was the tantalizing snatches of excellent metaphors, real suspense and just plain good historical fiction lost in the clichés and flat dialogue. The whole thing is meticulously researched, but unfortunately, historical accuracy is not what makes a story work: memorable characters, a few good pulse-pounding edge-of-your seat moments or a consistent (not necessarily believable) plot, at best a combination of all three, make it work. And sadly, Deliverance Dane lacks all. In their place we find a bizarre (if original) interpretation of magic that might have worked in a more speculative novel but that in such a well historically grounded story feels like a fish out of water. Howe’s attempts to use protagonist Connie’s strange visions as a plot device to let us know what the other characters are doing only makes it feel more hokey.

The blame, however, seems to lie more in Howe’s mentors than at her own feet. The glowing advance praise on the dust jacket that made me dig into this book eagerly in the first place (tossing around such heady descriptors as “spellbinding”, “poetic charm” and “gripping supernatural puzzler”) turns out to have been written solely by Matthew Pearl, author of The Poe Shadow and The Dante Club (neither of which I have read) who also happens to be Howe’s personal cheerleader, thanked profusely in the acknowledgments for all of his good advice. And don’t even get me started on the supposed merits of her editor: this manuscript shouldn’t have squeaked through the publisher’s slush pile without some major revisions as is, much less somehow end up as a published book lying on my desk.

All in all, don’t read this book unless, one, you are a self-flagellant, or two, you have a scholarly interest in the Salem witch trials (as the novel does bandy about some excellent and obscure historical facts in an educational manner) and are willing to take a little torture in the name of research.

The Final Verdict: Tortuously awful as anything but a beach read. ( )

Although a bit predictable, this was a well-written thriller dealing with witches, women's place in society, and the impact of family on self. The main character is very likable. The setting adds to the tone of the novel. ( )

Connie Goodwin's summer project of cleaning out her deceased granna's house, accompanied by her dog Arlo, may actually prove to be a boon to her upcoming dissertation decision. On her first go through, Connie discovers an old Bible with a key hidden inside, in which is hidden a piece of old paper with the name Deliverance Dane. As Connie's research begins, the story navigates between the present day and the days of the Salem witch trials. The characters are well-thought out and jumping between time periods sets well for the story, as Connie's main focus has been the Colonial historical time. ( )

Connie is a Harvard graduate student researching her ancestors, one of whom was an accused witch in Salem. At her mother's request she spends the summer at her grandmother's almost-hidden cottage in Salem, where she discovers a key to a previously unknown family heirloom, ancestor Deliverance's book of herbal remedies (or physick book). Of course, "spooky" things begin to happen!
There was a lot to like about this book, but the setting (1991) seemed slightly awkward, and even the flashbacks to the 1600's were not all that successful. But the story of the young woman exploring her grandmother's old cottage was quite involving. (I want to live in that 300 year old cottage!) Although some mysteries are left unexplained (to good effect) others are obvious from the beginning.
Verdict? A nice gothic with enough plot to keep me reading. Sweet love story as well, with plenty of scary moments!