The Orphanmaster, by Jean Zimmerman (plus a giveaway!)
When Janet invited me to be a part of a little blogger book club, I jumped at the chance, of course. I joined forces with Janet, along with Leah and Stephanie, to read and discuss The Orphanmaster, by Jean Zimmerman, which is available today!
Here’s a quick synopsis of the book from the publisher, Penguin:
It’s 1663 in the tiny, hardscrabble Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, now present-day southern Manhattan. Orphan children are going missing, and among those looking into the mysterious state of affairs are a quick-witted twenty-two-year-old trader, Blandine van Couvering, herself an orphan, and a dashing British spy named Edward Drummond.
Suspects abound, including the governor’s wealthy nephew, a green-eyed aristocrat with decadent tastes; an Algonquin trapper who may be possessed by a demon that turns people into cannibals; and the colony’s own corrupt and conflicted orphanmaster. Both the search for the killer and Edward and Blandine’s newfound romance are endangered, however, when Blandine is accused of being a witch and Edward is sentenced to hang for espionage. Meanwhile, war looms as the English king plans to wrest control of the colony.
Intriguing, right? Right.
I read this 432-page book in 10 days, which is not outrageously fast for me, but it’s still a major page-turner. There’s a lot going on: the friction between English and Dutch settlers, the reinstatement of the shaky British monarchy, the tension between the settlers and the Native Americans, the tension between the settlers in the African citizens, and the somewhat cutthroat tone of settlement life. I mean, at the heart of it, you have this fierce female protagonist in the midst of a shady orphan-killing operation in an early American settlement. It’s like, Law and Order: SVU meets The Crucible. All this to say, this book is kind of tense.
I should admit that I had no idea that Manhattan was originally settled by the Dutch. Wait, was it? (Hold, please, while I consult Wikipedia.) Yes, it was! Okay, then. See, when I read historical fiction, I basically accept everything in the book because my grasp of history is, well, fictional. I thought Zimmerman did a great job of setting up the city, explaining how its culture was different from other English settlements (read: way more progressive), and showing how other events around the world affected the far-flung colonies. It struck me that, as a delicate flower, I would not have fared well as a New World settler.
My favorite scenes were the ones when the heroine, Blandine was being all feisty and boundary-breaking. There’s a great sequence when she goes to a different town to do trade, and she ends up besting all of the men. After a series of trading up, not only does she end up with a hefty prize, but she manages to trade for the item she started with. Booyah, Blandine! It was really interesting to consider how fortunate she was to grow into adulthood in such a progressive colony that allowed her to pursue her own living as a trader, even with the expectation that she would marry eventually.
The plot was a bit shaky for me. I never quite understood whether the book was intended to be a mystery or a thriller. Maybe both? The villain seemed pretty obvious, and I am usually as dense as a brick when it comes to mysteries. I almost would have preferred a story just about Blandine and Edward and how they managed in the settlement during a rocky historical period. And then, there’s the whole supernatural murder story. Even though I could follow the plot, I often raised my eyebrow as I read because the “demon that turns people into cannibals” was a step too far for me. Although this book was well written and thoroughly researched, my overwhelming impression was that it was so weird.
Even though I feel kind of lukewarm toward this book, the truth is that I need someone to discuss the ending with me. When I read the last line, I was all, “What?!” And not because I didn’t get it. Oh, it was perfectly clear. I just … yeah. Do me a favor and read this book so that we can exclaim together about it.
Conveniently enough, Penguin is offering a free copy of The Orphanmaster, and my copy is up for grabs, too, so 2 lucky commenters will get their hands on this oh-so-very new release. This giveaway is open to US residents only, and I will need mailing addresses (no PO boxes, please) from both winners. Leave a comment on this post by Tuesday, June 26, and I will choose 2 winners randomly and notify them via e-mail. Good luck!
And be sure to check out the book reviews (and giveaways) from the other Orphanmaster book club members — Janet, Leah, and Stephanie!
Happy reading!
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I received my copy for free from Penguin via Janet. This giveaway is furnished by Penguin.
17 Comments
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This sounds like an excellent read! I’m always looking for something new during the summer months!
Yeah, we traded New Amsterdam for Suriname back in the day. Not the smartest move. To end the history lesson, we had quite a few colonies back in the day (especially for such a small country). Those were our golden years. (Well, except when you think about the slave trade etc.)
I am definitely intrigued! I love books that have historical background/insights.
That sounds like it’s really good. I love books that have a fictional story tied to actual historical events and places. (Like The Paris Wife).
Oh, pick me! I love historical fiction and my reading has been, um, non-existant lately, since I don’t feel like taking four to five kids to the library. So getting this in the mail would make my week!
“the “demon that turns people into cannibals” was a step too far for me”
What I think this book was about is how people use superstition to further their own ends. Drummond even says it: “Superstition can have its uses.” So that demon cannibal business — it wasn’t real. I mean, it’s real in the sense the the Algonquin people believed it (look up “Wendigo” in wiki, wendigo is just another way to spell witika). But the bad guys in the book use the fear of the witika to make people do what they want them to. And “wendigo psychosis” or witika madness is also real, in the sense that people who believe in the witika also believe it can turn them into cannibals. I don’t know if you’ve ever read or watched a version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, the Sherlock Holmes story. That was the same thing — somebody using a superstition (about a demon dog) for their own purposes. Politics, organized religion, a lot of human activity can fall into this category. Play on people’s fears, get them to do what you want.
I’m always up for another book to add to my TBR pile. I love it when you talk about books – it is always helpful for me!
I love the idea of a blogger book club… especially since none of my IRL ones seem to stick for more than a few months! This seems like a pretty interesting read, although I think I’d probably agree with you that the demon-cannibal thing is a bit far out there for my taste (at least in a historical fiction novel).
I just want to know who did it, and the last line!! haha
I am generally fascinated by historical fiction – especially those set in the early days of America. In some ways it was incredibly progressive and liberal-minded and then you have things like witch hunts and superstition that are completely the opposite. Just goes to show that myth-making and superstition (and in my opinion, modern-day religion) is a way to explain things that we cannot fathom or explain. I’d love to read this book – sounds like the perfect thing to fill the gap left in my evenings from no summer tv.
Sounds so good! I’ve needed a good read for the summer! Thanks so much for the giveaway!
The part where Blandine trades up was one of my favorite parts, too!
And COMPLETELY agree about the weirdness. So weird.
Thanks for reading with me!
(If I get randomly selected, pick someone else.)
I was looking for a summer read!
I felt similarly about Tanna French’s “In the Woods.” I really liked the story and the characters, but there were occasionally hints at something supernatural going on and it just didn’t quite fit the rest of the book. The book had potential to be great, but certain things about it really held it back.
Fun fact I learned while proofing a book about the history of NYC: The dutch built a wall along one of the borders of New Amsterdam. Where that wall used to be? We now have Wall Street. Also, a lot of the names of places in that area come from old Native American words. For exsample, Manhattan used to be called Manna-Hata. (It was not an exciting book to proof, btw, but at least I learned some trivia.)
Um, I will take a free book! This sounds interesting. Also, I constantly fact check with Wikipedia whole reading.
And by whole I mean while. I am not talented enough to be commenting using my phone.
This is on my list to track down (though I would LOVE a free copy!) The author is coming to one of my fav area bookstores in August.