Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy of this novel for my review. Unfortunately, this book wasn't what I wanted it to be. I was excited about the subject matter of the book. Having just visited Scotland and learned some about how witches were treated in that country, I was hopeful this Irish variation would be equally interesting. Instead, this story seemed rushed and too fast-paced for me. The writing was acceptable, but not amazing. Alice was not very richly developed as a character, and I found myself quite ambivalent about her.

Bright I Burn is a historical fiction novel set in the late 1200s, early 1300s primarily in Kilkenny, Ireland. It tells the story of Alice Kyteler, a financially independently successful woman and the first person accused of witchcraft in Ireland. This book is a short but brilliant imagining of Alice's life and her multiple husbands, reminiscent of Evelyn Hugo if divorce wasn't an option. I loved this book, devouring it in one day, and I strongly recommend picking it up.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for this delightful ARC!

A wonderful historical fiction based on the story of the real woman, Alice Kyteler, who was the first Irish woman to be accused of witchcraft. The language, story structure, and atmosphere are wonderful. It was easy for me to read this book in small bits and pieces as this week was incredibly busy at my house. And medieval tales are my favorite, so I really loved the comings and goings of the life of non-royalty in the late 1200’s/early 1300’s. During this time, there was still plenty of mysticism and witchcraft around Europe, but the influence of the Christian religion was spreading and the accusation of witchcraft was essentially a death sentence.

It’s especially interesting to me that Alice isn’t a likable woman-please know that going into the story. She can be a bit selfish and she is always scheming to get what she wants. She trusted nearly no one and could not be trusted herself. Even so, her story is compelling as a woman with money and power during the 1300’s. When Alice’s father-a successful innkeeper and money lender-died, he left her his business, but customs indicated that she had to marry to take it over. She only married men who represented financial gain to her. Her continued success and ease attracting powerful men made her a target for hate and jealousy in her community, as did her many marriages. Molly Aitkin includes gossipy whispers from the townspeople in between her regular chapters, and I enjoyed their perspective on Alice so much, even though the speakers were never really characters in the story.

In a way, Alice reminded me of Eleanor from Karen Brooks’ wonderful book, The Wife of Bath, which is one of my favorite medieval stories. Like Eleanor, Alice is predisposed to have a very difficult life simply because of where/when she was born. All women did, especially non-royals. Eleanor was much more likable, though, and had to work much harder than Alice to be successful. But still, both stories are a wonderful depiction of the life of a medieval woman.

Lord forbid a woman have power.

Alice Kyteler had a problem: Her mother died when she was young, and her father raised her at his side as a moneylender. When he passed, his fortune and business passed to the experienced, well-taught, and cunning Alice (along with her new husband). Now Alice had all of the power and prestige of her own house and had joined it to that of her husband’s.

Alice also had another problem: She didn’t trust anyone, she especially didn’t trust men, and she wasn’t too thrilled with the trappings of her gender. Life was hard enough without being a female on top of it. Money became the only armor she could reliably wrap around herself and those few she chose to protect, so extracting herself from relationships in which she had wrought most of the benefits from became her number one priority.

Times change though, and you don’t live that kind of life without making enemies. In Alice’s case, a lot of enemies. Mix the rise of the Catholic Church in Ireland with a lot of people looking for revenge on a female moneylender, and you can see the writing on the wall.

The writing in this book was absolutely lovely, interspersed with ballads, poetry, folk recipes, small stories, and pages of gossip being exchanged back and forth between townspeople that grow more and more vociferous the longer the book goes on. The prose is lyrical, with an elegant flow and evocative imagery. Some passages grow more heated or more violent, but even those are elegant in word choice and structure.

It’s a great autumnal read, but know Alice Kyteler isn’t a good person. There are no heroes or villains in this book: there are just people who are driven in certain directions by circumstance. That’s one of the things I liked the most about this book.

I was provided a copy of this title by the publishers and author via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Historical Fiction/Literary Fiction

2.5⭐️

I was promised a story about an Irish witch in the 13th century, and I only got that at the very end. The entire book is told in a very confusing literary prosaic way that made me feel like I was reading a required read for English class in 11th grade and I had to try to guess what the meaning behind every paragraph was. There were some good moments within the story that I enjoyed, but honestly the majority of it was just her having sex with all of her husbands.

Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, and Molly Aitken for an advanced copy of this book.

There is SO much potential here in developing the characters and the reader's attachment to them. For whatever reason, the timeline for this book is fast-paced, with little time to grow comfortable in a particular period of Alice's life. I was especially disappointed that there wasn't more shown between firstborn Will and Alice, and he goes from a toddler to an adult in a matter of pages.

I am not entirely sure what the author is hoping to accomplish with this depiction. If it's to evoke the reader to do their research on Alice Kyteler and 13th century Ireland then she succeeds as I don't feel that I was provided much of an understanding of the societal norms, community expectations, or town workings to be immersed in the setting and families.

I appreciate the author's diction. It is light on its feet and helps pass through the otherwise lacking story. I do hope this author tries another story in the future, and gives it the time and space to develop versus rushing it along.

This was very different from what I was expecting, having thought it would focus on what we traditionally associate with witchcraft (i.e. spells, mysticism, healing). Instead this gave a succinct look at a little known historical figure that really was ahead of the times when it comes to feminism. She unapologetically broke gender norms by using men for her financial gain and sexual desires which of course ruffled some feathers, leading to accusations of her being a witch. This book was zippy and straight to the point at less than 300 pages. The author did not dabble in fantasy elements which could have built up more intrigue as far as plot, but instead chose to focus on the facts so as not to dilute the significance of Alice's actions. This book is not one that I could see myself recommending to a general audience, but will be a thought provoking and enjoyable read for those who like historical oddities or are tired of the same old historical fiction tropes.

For me, Bright I Burn was a beautifully written story, but not a story that really captured me. Unfortunately the plot didn't have enough going for it.

2.5 stars, rounded up
——————

With lyrical writing, Bright I Burn is an interesting story of witchcraft and terror in Medieval Ireland. Based on a real “witch,” this book gives her a voice in this fictionalize version of her life.

This is a funky little short story about Dame Alice Kyteler. I mostly liked this one, but wish it had stuck closer to her true life vs. fictionalizing it so much. It does utilize her important life moments, but in a very much fictional way. I guess that’s the point of the story, but her life was interesting enough without being so heavily made up. I think her real life and the untimely deaths of four husbands so young is what really made her so interesting to me. To take that out definitely affected how I viewed the story. Too much plot in too little a story. Expanding it would have made it more interesting to me.

The way the book is set up, through gossip and first person, made the book a little more interesting. But it also made it hard to see character growth and plot. Alice is such an influential person in the book, ruling over her own life in a time where women were expected to be ruled over, but the emphasis on this was really lacking to me because of how the story is told.

I wanted/expected to like this a lot more than I did.

Bright I Burn is an overly artistic attempt at a novel in a way that really did not work for me. The story was so fast and abstract that I felt I did not understand who the main character was or what was even happening. Time passed so nonchalantly and it was sometimes hard to tell when things were happening or were dreams. I was halfway through when I realized I literally had no connection to the main character, and I decided to DNF.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Bright I Burn is an engrossing story about one badass woman, Alice Kyteler, who ruled in a man’s world. 1200s Ireland was rife with danger for such a woman, whether in be from disease, marriage, childbirth, or machinations of others. I loved the pacing of this story and interspersed town gossip. It’s dark. It’s feminist. It’s surprisingly funny at times. It’s not as witchy as one might infer, though all badass women are usually accused as witches (or bitches).

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

A fascinating and engrossing story of Alice Kyteler, supposedly the first woman to be condemned as a witch in Ireland. The story is set in Thirteenth century Ireland and reimagines the life of Alice through her childhood, her several marriages and her ultimate tryst with fate. I loved Alice, she was a strong-willed independent minded woman fighting to hold her own in a society dominated by men and biased against women. She probably was born in the wrong place at the wrong time. The book is short and the prose is simple. Overall the atmospheric descriptions reminded me about the writings of Lauren Groff. I loved it and I am definitely looking to read more from the author.

Thank you Netgalley, Knopf Publishing and Molly Aitken for the ARC.

★★★¾ — “inspired by the first recorded person in ireland to have been condemned as a witch, bright i burn gives voice to a woman lost to history, who dared to carve her own space in a man's world”—by sucking the souls of every woman around her. this isn't a feminist story in the modern sense of the word. alice is many things, but a girl's girl she is not. which obviously makes this a more realistic and immersive experience than certain other works of historical fiction because who in the year 1280 was? alice is not necessarily a sympathetic character, but she is raw and angry and real, a woman who claws for every breath she takes, a woman who burns the men in her vicinity before they can cage her first. her character and the plotline were impressively crafted, but i wasn’t the biggest fan of the prose. hence, the lower rating.

also, i opened this expecting absolutely nothing because i forgot to read the blurb. but if you're expecting anything about witch hunts, that's barely the last 15% of the book. this chronicles alice's life from when she was a child to after her fourth husband, and the witchery is a rather small part of it all.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy.

This is an interesting story about the first woman recorded to be condemned as a witch in Ireland. While it is well written, I didn't particularly like Alice, so it was hard to feel sympathetic toward her. The people around her never really became fully fleshed out, so I couldn't drum up much to care about with them either. The book has breaks where the author inserts the whispers and gossip of the people around the community, so you can see how their suspicions grow. While it does help to illustrate the lead-up to the climax, it felt very disjointed and took me out of any momentum in engagement I may have felt. Some of the language and descriptions are beautiful though, so portions of the book were more enjoyable.

A reimagining of the life of Alice Kyteler, the first woman in Ireland to be condemned for witchcraft. Set in Ireland during the 13th century, it’s mainly presented from Alice’s perspective, interspersed by a chorus of townspeople’s voices. Alice lives in the monastic town of Kilkenny where her father’s position as innkeeper and moneylender has set her family apart, both envied and despised. When her father dies, Alice’s forced to marry in order to take over his business. This was a fascinating look at life in Ireland in the 13 century and a fascinating look at how a strong individual like Alice, prospers and thrives. You won't always like Alice, but you will love her story.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for this e-arc.*

"Bright I Burn" by Molly Aitken is a dazzling and immersive tale, rich with vivid imagery and emotional depth. Aitken's lyrical prose and masterful storytelling create a hauntingly beautiful narrative that captivates from the first page.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fascinating tale of a woman who refuses to submit to men’s will & rule, choosing instead to take control of her own life. In the 1300's this was not done and as a result, she is the first recorded women in Ireland’s history to be condemned as a Witch.

I had not heard the name Alice Kyteler before and was excited to learn more about her. I think this is a strong, well-researched, beautifully written introduction to her story. I really did enjoy Alice’s unforgiving, straightforward voice. Highly recommend!

This was such an unusual book. The writing was haunting, sparse and foreboding. I felt it was an excellent reflection of what we have lost to history and the bits and pieces of what we know have been recorded.

In 13th century Ireland, Alice Kyteler is ready to marry and gather what little independence a woman of her time can possess. When her father dies, she sheds no tears and wastes little time in marrying and taking over his inn in Kilkenny.

What draws attention to Alice is her knack for moneymaking and her several marriages. She also has knowledge of herbs and cures that many of the time see as a sign of witchcraft. Alice will go on to become the first woman in Ireland to be condemned for witchcraft.

Alice is not a likable character, but her story illustrates how many of her time were frightened of a powerful woman with her own resources and what struggles women have had to work to overcome.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review and recommend to other readers.

Alice Kyteler is an interesting choice of historical figure to explore — as Aitken marks in her author's note, she's the sort of ordinary, albeit very wealthy, woman we never would have known about were it not for the witch hunt against her. However, that accusation was not levvied against her until late in life, so this very ordinariness makes the story of her life a quick but less captivating read.

I can't believe I'm saying I was bored by a book about a bold, shrewd woman who plowed through four husbands, but here we are.

There is a detachment netted by some consciously pulled punches and a coarsely poetic prose in which time passes as if in a dream.

This book had such promise being about the first woman in Ireland accused of witchcraft. Kilkenny is one of my favorite places with so much history and potential for storytelling. Ultimately, it fell a bit flat. The short vignettes that gave us glimpses into Alice’s life were sometimes years apart and I didn’t feel like I got enough of any moments, except perhaps the very beginning. I liked the chapters starting with whispers and gossip but never got enough in the actual chapters.