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Sammy's Reviews > Pope Joan
Pope Joan
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Before I started reading this book I gave a brief summary to some of my friends who saw that I had just bought it and were wondering about it. That got us into a heated discussion about how completely outrageous it is for a woman to dress up as a man. How it's pretty much impossible to get away with it seeing as you'll always end up in some sort of situation where you have to reveal yourself for what you really are.
That discussion ended up shading me slightly when I began to read, thinking, "Really? How is she going to be able to pull it off?" speaking of both the author and Joan herself. But both were able to pull it off quite well and realistically.
Not to be sexist, I don't know how much a guy would really enjoy this book, but I hope he would. I would hope that he would actually pick up and read this book, because if you look past all the religious controversy of a woman being Pope, there is an underlying story of the beginning of feminism and a woman standing up for herself and pursuing her own dreams and desires despite everything that goes against her. I would hope that a man would read this and realize that every woman has this potential and we are truly equal to men.
Pope Joan, or at least the character of her in this book, is truly an inspiration to women everywhere. She defied the odds and did everything she could to get what she wanted. And apparently, if you want to bring in a religious aspect to this as well, God wanted this all for her too, or else things would not have worked out the way they did with narrow escapes and fortunate meetings.
I honestly don't have much to criticize with this book. I enjoyed it a lot and reading the author's notes at the end piqued my interest about this supposedly "fictional" character. There is something in this book that will grab you, I guarentee it. Be it the historical facts and events that were traced, be it the slight tale of romance hiding inside the bigger story, maybe it's Joan herself and her pursuit of knowledge, maybe it's the outrageous way women were treated. There will be something in this book for you, I'm sure. Overall, I highly reccommend this book.
That discussion ended up shading me slightly when I began to read, thinking, "Really? How is she going to be able to pull it off?" speaking of both the author and Joan herself. But both were able to pull it off quite well and realistically.
Not to be sexist, I don't know how much a guy would really enjoy this book, but I hope he would. I would hope that he would actually pick up and read this book, because if you look past all the religious controversy of a woman being Pope, there is an underlying story of the beginning of feminism and a woman standing up for herself and pursuing her own dreams and desires despite everything that goes against her. I would hope that a man would read this and realize that every woman has this potential and we are truly equal to men.
Pope Joan, or at least the character of her in this book, is truly an inspiration to women everywhere. She defied the odds and did everything she could to get what she wanted. And apparently, if you want to bring in a religious aspect to this as well, God wanted this all for her too, or else things would not have worked out the way they did with narrow escapes and fortunate meetings.
I honestly don't have much to criticize with this book. I enjoyed it a lot and reading the author's notes at the end piqued my interest about this supposedly "fictional" character. There is something in this book that will grab you, I guarentee it. Be it the historical facts and events that were traced, be it the slight tale of romance hiding inside the bigger story, maybe it's Joan herself and her pursuit of knowledge, maybe it's the outrageous way women were treated. There will be something in this book for you, I'm sure. Overall, I highly reccommend this book.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
November 1, 2006
–
Finished Reading
May 29, 2007
– Shelved
June 12, 2007
– Shelved as:
a-the-best
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Daniel
(last edited Aug 25, 2016 12:01PM)
(new)
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rated it 3 stars
Aug 16, 2007 01:01PM
There was a pope Joan who dressed as a man and took a man's name BUT...
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Actually, women have been pulling off male disguise with enormous success throughout history. Over 400 women are known to have fought disguised as men in our own civil war (both sides, North and South)--and that's a much tougher disguise than Joan undertook, for clothes in the ninth century were very body-disguising (unlike uniforms), no one bathed, and the body was considered to be a "sinful vessel", so it was rarely, if ever, exposed. Check out the book "Clothes Make the Man" for a LONG list of successful female cross-dressers; also the book "Self-Made Man", published a few years ago, that details a modern woman's attempt of this disguise, during which time she lived in a monastery for several months--and no one suspected that she was female.
I'm the author of Pope Joan, so I can tell you that the interesting part of her story isn't "How did she do it?" (for the hundreds of woman who have prove that it's very do-able) but "Why did she do it?" THAT's an interesting question--and the one I addressed in my novel. For more info, go to . And thanks for posting!
There were many women who impersonate males in the Civil War. My favorite historical writers wrote a book called Thin Moon and Cold Mist about just this. I think you'd enjoy it...maybe just don't start discussing it until you begin reading it. These author only write after great historical or archaeological research. The author is Kathleen ONeal Gear.
I don't think the Church has changed really that much in all the centuries in regards to women being in a place of power. They never will give up the good ole boy in control network. And they will continue to deny her existence as a priest and or Pope! Women in the church are still in subservient roles. Don't see it changing even tho they are running out of priests.
