Dark and Deepest Red
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Description
Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves.
Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there’s more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.
Book Information
Posts
I loved the idea of this book, combining a tale by Hans Christian Andersen with the real life events of the dancing plague of Strasbourg in 1518, plus adding diversity through Romani and queer (trans) characters. I don't know a lot about Romani culture, so I really appreciate this representation here that made me interested in researching more about Romani history etc. And it's absolutely correct that POCs and LGBTQ+ people existed in medieval Europe, which seems to be often forgotten in literature. So I wanted to love this book really badly, but the execution of the plot didn't do it for me, I didn't enjoy how the three perspective's were intertwined and the writing style didn't have anything special about it sticking out to me. Overall, it was a mediocre and okay read.
Description
Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves.
Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there’s more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.
Book Information
Posts
I loved the idea of this book, combining a tale by Hans Christian Andersen with the real life events of the dancing plague of Strasbourg in 1518, plus adding diversity through Romani and queer (trans) characters. I don't know a lot about Romani culture, so I really appreciate this representation here that made me interested in researching more about Romani history etc. And it's absolutely correct that POCs and LGBTQ+ people existed in medieval Europe, which seems to be often forgotten in literature. So I wanted to love this book really badly, but the execution of the plot didn't do it for me, I didn't enjoy how the three perspective's were intertwined and the writing style didn't have anything special about it sticking out to me. Overall, it was a mediocre and okay read.