The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne
Product details
Web ID: 14717365Fairytale turned historical fiction.
The Book of Gothel is an adult historical fiction retelling of the story of Mother Gothel (Rapunzel). This retelling of the Rapunzel / Mother Gothel fairytale is much more historical fiction than fantasy but still has whimsical, witchy, and/or somewhat supernatural elements that made it much more interesting. This reads like most witchy vs puritanical historical fiction novels I've read (includes midwifery, herbology, et cetera) with the MC or other women in the story that find themselves 'on the outs' with the locals but this story has the benefit of a well-known fairytale at its core. I'd recommend this to cottage-core fans and lovers of retellings!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A page turner
Such a beautifully written story, captivating and enthralling that transports you into the Germany of the Middle Ages and tells a touching tale of becoming. I could not put this book down.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Everything I wanted
This book was everything that I wanted in a retelling from mother Gothel's perspective. It contained old school magic, accurate dark ages folklore, historically accurate re-tellings of fairytales we all know and love, and the ending was both satisfying and heartbreaking. This has become one of my favorite books and I cannot recommend it more.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Slow-Burn Historical Fantasy
What if the fairy tale got it wrong? The Book of Gothel presents the story of Rapunzel, taking us back long before her birth, to the “witch” in the tower, and how it all came to be. We’re transported to 12th century Germany, with all the trappings of Medieval life. I loved the way setting and atmosphere came alive. Religion and heritage collide, as the old ways of paganism are challenged and persecuted by the newer, stricter Christianity. The magical element is a small but important aspect, perfectly woven into the fabric of the story. This is a slow-burn historical fantasy with striking realism and thought-provoking content. Not a book to rush through, but one meant to be savored.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Book of Gothel
Book of Gothel is the backstory of the main antagonist from the story of Rapunzel. However, it reads more like a medieval fantasy than a fairy tale like its source material. The author makes it a point to make this story feel somewhat based in reality as it is technically supposed to be a book-within-a-book that a modern day professor character is reading (and we, the audience, are reading along). Personally, this novel wasn’t my cup of tea. I appreciated how well written it was and how in-depth the character study was. However, I prefer more plot driven narratives. Book of Gothel was definitely a more character driven story (and a good one at that). It just isn’t the kind of book I personally like reading. The character study of Haelewise was intriguing. The author goes in depth about how a 12th century German girl (who is a bit different and scapegoated for it) may have been affected by misogyny and traditions of the time. The novel also has excellent commentary on religion and the difference between the “old ways” and the “new ways” (religion vs magic). Despite this, I felt like the plot moved too slowly and I was finding it hard to stay interested. The main character made decisions that were hard for me to believe a person would make. I feel like the book failed to make me care about any other character besides Haelewise. A lot of things that happened in the beginning felt irrelevant to the plot that didn’t really pick up until the very end. I suppose that’s what makes it a character study, but again it’s just not my cup of tea. I enjoyed the romance aspect of the book. It was a huge part of the story that was keeping me emotionally invested. I wish there were more traditional fantasy elements in the story. For the most part I felt like I was reading a historical fiction novel or a historical biography rather than a fantasy novel. I think if you like slow burns, you’ll enjoy this book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Vivid Storytelling Reminiscent of Fairy Tales
How would your perspective of religious beliefs change after reading a medieval codex illustrated with images reminiscent of fairy tales? The historical fantasy, "The Book of Gothel," by Mary McMyne strives to answer the question. The story is told from the viewpoint of Haelewise, a young woman living in a Christian world during the Middle Ages in Germany. Her father and villagers believe a demon possesses and curses her with fainting spells. Her mother, a midwife and healer, tries to protect her from the scourge of the church, but she dies when Haelewise is an adolescent. Fearing persecution, Haelewise escapes on a quest to uncover her past at the Tower of Gothel, where her grandmother resides. There she begins a journey to discover her life’s role based on the spiritual healing of the ancestral Mother Goddess. McMyne masterfully weaves fantastical elements into the historical backdrop of medieval Germany. A page-turner, the tale reminds me of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, but from a woman’s perspective. The storytelling gripped me from the beginning and continued holding my interest to the memorable ending. Haelewise is an engaging heroine who rises from self-doubt as a child into a formidable woman, discovering her strength from the Mother Goddess. This evocative story is rich in sensory descriptions, and the suspense heightens to a heart-throbbing climax. It is a multi-layered story with themes of unconditional love, redemption, and coming of age. "The Book of Gothel" will appeal to both fantasy and historical readers who enjoy vivid storytelling, bringing to mind favorite fairy tales that might be based on past real-life experiences. Highly recommended. I voluntarily reviewed this book for the Historical Novel Society, and the review is also posted in the Historical Newsletter HNR Issue Issue 101 (August 2022).
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A story to stab you right through the heart
A story that stabbed me straight through the heart. Rapunzel is one of those stories which is so much much deeper than it seems at first glance. It has some very real truths to speak about women, girls and the relationships between mothers and daughters. I remember when I went to see Tangled with my then 2 year old daughter. She loved it, I loved it. It touched me … especially the scenes between tiny Rapunzel and Mother Gothel. However, the relationship that Gothel has with Rapunzel is a little simplistic in the cartoon. I get it, this is a Disney villain, she needs to be all bad and that is really reflected in the way the character is written. I didn’t pick up on any real love for the little girl, only selfishness and a desire to use the child’s powers. The relationship between Rapunzel and the Witch/Gothel is much more fleshed out in the stage production of Into The Woods. Which focuses on how the witch wants so desperately to shield and protect her child that she imprisons and hurts the young woman. Do yourself a favor and listen to the song “Stay With Me”. It will rip your heart out. The pleading of a mother who is doing the wrong thing every day but tries to convince herself she is doing it for all the right reasons. Don’t you know what’s out there in the world? Someone has to shield you from the world Stay with me Princes wait there in the world, it’s true Princes, yes, but wolves and humans, too Stay at home I am home Who out there could love you more than I? What out there that I cannot supply? Stay with me Stay with me The world is dark and wild Stay a child while you can be a child With me So now that I’ve taken you down my personal Rapunzel rabbit hole I can explain how this book fits into the picture. Haelwise has and loses a mother who loves her unconditionally, which wounds her deeply. Throughout the story she then meets and parts with other women who come to stand in as mothers (and sometimes sisters). Each providing their own measure of guidance and help, some for good and others for ill. Some harm her because even when we try our absolutely hardest to mother our daughters we can mess things up with the best of intentions. As women I feel like this story resonates because it is true for each and every one of us. As a mom of a young teen, I’ve lived my own Rapunzel/Gothel story since we went to see Rapunzel all those years ago. I am happy when I know that I’ve done my best to be supportive and kind. I am stricken when I realize the ways I’ve let her down. I am horrified when I contemplate how I was forced to “rapunzel” my own daughter during the pandemic. We took our girls and tucked them away in our homes trying to shield them from a dangerous world. We had to wrap them up, mask them, isolate them from their friends and frightened the living daylights out of children who shouldn’t have to deal with death and illness to this extent during their younger years. Things have calmed down a bit but we still have to protect them from an ongoing pandemic to some extent. I know from talking to educators in my area that so many children are suffering anxiety/depression as a result of all of this. It isn’t my fault as a mom, I didn’t create this pandemic. But all the same, how do we ever make up for that? Can we help them manage their stress adequately? Do we hope that someday when they are women they can look back on their childhoods and see how we tried our best to mother them through this crisis? I certainly hope so. It keeps me up at night. Truly. Anyway, back to the book. Besides the mother/daughter relationship it also has a lot to say about how women’s stories are told and have been told through the ages. In other words, hardly at all. I’m glad that books like this are now taking the old stories (told and interpreted by men) and looking at them through a female viewpoint. I actually read this book twice since I got the ARC. I feel like it’s something I will revisit again in the future. I hope you will read it, don’t miss this one. It’s fascinating, heartbreaking but also hopeful. I loved it. Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An amazing retelling
This is a whole new version of someone we thought we knew, and I absolutely loved it! I love the way this story was told, we begin with a professor in the present day who gets an email about an ancient manuscript that someone wants her to translate. As she opens the book and begins to read and translate the story begins to unfold before us. This is the story of Haelwise and how she began her life as a young girl loved and a bit smothered by her mother, and how she grows up to become Mother Gothel the woman in the original tale who kidnapped Rapunzel and kept her hidden in her tower. This tale is both similar and different in the best ways. Haelwise grows up in a village that thinks she is different, they don't want anything to do with her, then something happens and she has to flee the village and that's the real beginning of the story. She finds a tower and a woman within that teaches her about the old ways, she learns about herself and her family and what she will do for what she believes is right. This is a slower-paced book, as we are following Haelwise from childhood to old age, but I flew through it and it completely sucked me in. I loved it from beginning to end, and can't wait to see what else Mary McMyne will come out with next!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com