Seriously booking through it

What’s the most serious book you’ve read recently?

I find that most of what I read are fairly serious books. Checking through my July reads, I find that I read three very serious books out of the seven I read.

Taking one by one:

Title: Year of Wonders
Author: Geraldine Brooks

Year of Wonders is about plague that took place in 1666, in an isolated Mountain village. The plague might have come there with an bolt of cloth from London. Anna Frith, the narrator, is a housemaid. In the midst of all this madness, she emerges as a strong heroine, who tries her best to heal. The plague destroys almost all of the village and also reason. Poeple go frenzy with madness and resort to witch hunting. Anna comes out stronger out of all this with faith, and love for people.

Title: The Jewel Trader of Pegu
Author: Jeffrey Hantover

This novel is set in 1598 in Burma. A period and place, most of us know nothing about. Abraham is a 28 years old Jewish Gem merchant, who leaves Venice to seek his fortunes in Pegu, a Burmese kingdom. He is able to fit in the culture, yet follow his own faith. However, he is asked to do a task, that is to serve young brides so that they bring good luck into the families they are married, in exchange of his pursuits. This task is only performed by foreigners. He is revolted by it yet can't avoid it. He performs it without attachment and making is easy for the brides. Thus, he meets Mya, who is barely more than a girl. Next morning tragedy befalls on her and she ends up living under Abraham's protection. Eventually, both fall in love. All this time, there is social and political changes taking place, which affects them. And their future seems a distant dream.

Title: The Lost Book of Salem
Author: Katherine Howe
This novel is based in Salem, where witch trials took place and Deliverance Dane, was one of the accused. Even though she is a healer, she is taken to be a witch and hanged. Where myths, illiteracy, mis-information persists, such happenings are no surprise. The book moves back and forth from 1691 and 1991 effortlessly. We can see history happening and how to come in terms with it in the present.