After the stress of finals, college students may be able to use some rest and relaxation. Luckily, warm summer days are just around the corner, and what better way to relax than to spend them lying in the sun while reading a good book? Without papers to write and exams to cram for, students can finally have a chance to read for funânot for a grade. Fortunately, this summer is looking to be full of exciting new book releases. Here are some of the most highly anticipated new releases for summer 2021.Â
Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian
Release date: May 4, 2021
Darien Library Welcomes Author Chris Bohjalian in Conversation with Cristina Alger on May 20 Written by Amanda Goodman
Darien Library and The Friends of The Ferguson Library present a bewitching evening with bestselling authors Chris Bohjalian and Cristina Alger.
Returning to his deep New England roots, Chris Bohjalian will discuss
Hour of the Witch, his latest release set on the eve of the Salem Witch Trials. This virtual event will take place on Thursday, May 20 at 6 p.m. Register on Darien Library’s website at darienlibrary.org/event/4963.
Hour of the Witch is a timely historical novel about love, fear, feminine power, and the distrust of those in positions of power. In this twisting story, a young Puritan wife, Mary Deerfield, petitions for divorce from her abusive husband – only to end up on trial for witchcraft. As a harsh winter descends and mass hysteria sweeps the New England coastline, Mary must race against the clock to convince a suspicious town ruled
May 04, 2021
Chris Bohjalian’s latest novel is a legal thriller set in an era with seemingly little in common with our own: the perilous world of 17th-century New England. But through a young Puritan woman’s attempts to divorce her abusive husband, Bohjalian explores how the sexism, shame and rampant gossip of the early American colonies are eerily persistent to this day.
What inspired you to write a novel of suspense set in 17th-century New England?
My work at least my best work is powered by dread. My books are slow burns. It’s not “action” in a conventional sense that keeps readers turning the pages, but rather a simmering anxiety.
“It was always possible that the Devil was present.”
So begins Chris Bohjalian’s “Hour of the Witch” an historical novel, set in Boston in 1662, that is part thriller and part courtroom drama, leavened with romantic intrigue.
For Boston Puritans, the threat of witchcraft is part of everyday life. This prospect will directly complicate the attempt of one young woman, Mary Deerfield, to escape her horrifically abusive marriage.
Chris Bohjalian (Courtesy Victoria Blewer)
Now 24 years old, Mary has been married to Thomas Deerfield for five years. Two decades her senior, Thomas owns a successful mill in Boston’s North End. He is also a mean drunk who verbally and physically abuses Mary, but who has enough feral cunning to treat her politely when others are around. Mary has also become adept at living a double life: to friends and family, she explains away bruises she can’t hide with tales of clumsiness.