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Elaine's Reviews > Joan
Joan
by
by
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of
Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc.
I should have read the premise more carefully.
Joan of Arc is one of my favorite saints; her faith, courage and strength is the embodiment of a strong, faithful, and powerful woman ahead of her time.
In the afterword, the author explains she wrote a fictionalized portrait of Joan of Arc to fit modern times.
Personally, I think this is difficult to do; writing a novel based on a famous historical character that isn't inspired and based on the person's true life and what he or she has achieved seems to undermine their accomplishments.
Why write a modernized, fictionalized tale of a historical figure when the facts are already there?
It makes reading the book feel like a waste of time.
The author's Joan of Arc is a feisty, temperamental child who grows to be a massive size. I'm not sure if the author does this on purpose so the soldiers she commands will take her more seriously if her stature and skills resemble a man's.
Joan is a survivor, having grown a thick skin after suffering physical abuse at the hands of her father. She seeks solace with her beautiful sister, Catherine, and an uncle she adores.
These people are the ones she thinks and cares about, including a young boy who is killed in a playground battle when Joan is 10.
Joan is not religious or does she have visions. Her family and the locals talk of God like he's a bully. Their God is angry, volatile and enjoys punishing the sinful (and everyone else just for the heck of it).
Joan doesn't pray and when she does pray to God it's only because she wants something; not out of loyalty or faithfulness, but because she wants:
Revenge for the rape of her sister
Revenge for the English soldiers who ransacked her village
Revenge for her family being torn apart after the death of her sister
Joan is a French medieval version of Arya Stark; she's compiled a hit list of men in her head and recites it faithfully to give her strength and endurance as she pursues her goal of avenging her sister.
The novel is slow, especially when the narrative is focused on her childhood years.
Her obsession about the young boy, Guillaume, who died is a repetitive sore point Joan thinks about often. Too often.
Overall, the narrative is slow, as the author shows how Joan learns to fight brushing up on her sword skills, and then she meets the Dauphin.
Knowing how the scenes with the Dauphin are contrived made it difficult to care about the conversation between him and Joan.
I've never liked politics, especially now and the US is a 'democracy.'
It's hard to care about what happened between France and the English 500 years ago.
I understand the author wanted to write a more flawed, relatable character in her Joan, but I didn't like her Joan.
She's indifferent and haughty, like she knows she's better than everyone around her, including the men she commands.
That's a very unlikable character trait, I don't care who you are.
There's no heart and faith in this novel or in Joan.
The writing is good, but wordy, too wordy; too descriptive, too verbose, too too much, like the author is purposely drawing out certain scenes, like when Joan watches a blacksmith work at a local fair and how she's entranced by the helmet he's crafting.
The real Joan of Arc, whether you believe in her visions or not, was a revolutionary young woman, not just because of her devotion to her faith and God.
Her strength and perseverance is a testament that anyone, regardless of gender, can ignore the naysayers and break down barriers wherever you choose to go.
The Joan in this book just wants revenge, and though I've got nothing against vengeance, she is a grown woman who has never escaped the hate of her father so she's never learned to like or love herself.
I should have read the premise more carefully.
Joan of Arc is one of my favorite saints; her faith, courage and strength is the embodiment of a strong, faithful, and powerful woman ahead of her time.
In the afterword, the author explains she wrote a fictionalized portrait of Joan of Arc to fit modern times.
Personally, I think this is difficult to do; writing a novel based on a famous historical character that isn't inspired and based on the person's true life and what he or she has achieved seems to undermine their accomplishments.
Why write a modernized, fictionalized tale of a historical figure when the facts are already there?
It makes reading the book feel like a waste of time.
The author's Joan of Arc is a feisty, temperamental child who grows to be a massive size. I'm not sure if the author does this on purpose so the soldiers she commands will take her more seriously if her stature and skills resemble a man's.
Joan is a survivor, having grown a thick skin after suffering physical abuse at the hands of her father. She seeks solace with her beautiful sister, Catherine, and an uncle she adores.
These people are the ones she thinks and cares about, including a young boy who is killed in a playground battle when Joan is 10.
Joan is not religious or does she have visions. Her family and the locals talk of God like he's a bully. Their God is angry, volatile and enjoys punishing the sinful (and everyone else just for the heck of it).
Joan doesn't pray and when she does pray to God it's only because she wants something; not out of loyalty or faithfulness, but because she wants:
Revenge for the rape of her sister
Revenge for the English soldiers who ransacked her village
Revenge for her family being torn apart after the death of her sister
Joan is a French medieval version of Arya Stark; she's compiled a hit list of men in her head and recites it faithfully to give her strength and endurance as she pursues her goal of avenging her sister.
The novel is slow, especially when the narrative is focused on her childhood years.
Her obsession about the young boy, Guillaume, who died is a repetitive sore point Joan thinks about often. Too often.
Overall, the narrative is slow, as the author shows how Joan learns to fight brushing up on her sword skills, and then she meets the Dauphin.
Knowing how the scenes with the Dauphin are contrived made it difficult to care about the conversation between him and Joan.
I've never liked politics, especially now and the US is a 'democracy.'
It's hard to care about what happened between France and the English 500 years ago.
I understand the author wanted to write a more flawed, relatable character in her Joan, but I didn't like her Joan.
She's indifferent and haughty, like she knows she's better than everyone around her, including the men she commands.
That's a very unlikable character trait, I don't care who you are.
There's no heart and faith in this novel or in Joan.
The writing is good, but wordy, too wordy; too descriptive, too verbose, too too much, like the author is purposely drawing out certain scenes, like when Joan watches a blacksmith work at a local fair and how she's entranced by the helmet he's crafting.
The real Joan of Arc, whether you believe in her visions or not, was a revolutionary young woman, not just because of her devotion to her faith and God.
Her strength and perseverance is a testament that anyone, regardless of gender, can ignore the naysayers and break down barriers wherever you choose to go.
The Joan in this book just wants revenge, and though I've got nothing against vengeance, she is a grown woman who has never escaped the hate of her father so she's never learned to like or love herself.
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