Maryse Condé

Maryse Conde

A fictionalized account of the West Indian slave Tituba, who was accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, and was arrested and jailed for two years

I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem

Maryse Condé

I, Tituba, black witch of Salem

Molly M

stunningly good. i’m surprised i hadn’t heard of it before!!

Paige mandia 

Jane McCullough

Sam Pulliam

“Everyone believes he can fashion a witch to his way of thinking so that she will satisfy his ambitions, dreams, and desires...”

This fast-paced story of the first woman accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, Tituba, really gave me a lot to think about. I don’t really annotate books anymore but I found myself compelled to truly engage with this text. Condé’s portrayal of Puritanical society and the way it oppresses people and sucks every ounce of joy from life juxtaposed with Tituba’s beliefs and ability to help other women and the happiness that brought her before it was vilified, was something I especially kept track of while reading. This story also forced me to think about the way some people use the idea of the devil as a being that punishes the entire community for the sins of an individual and how that leads to marginalized people becoming scapegoats for anything bad that happens. I could talk about this book forever because it really got me thinking about religion and race and why people vilify the things and people they do so if you get the chance to read this book, please do.

Trigger warnings include:
Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Animal death, Rape, Suicide, Antisemitism, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence

I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem

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