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Loading... Lent: A Novel of Many Returns (original 2019; edition 2019)by Jo Walton (Author)
Work InformationLent by Jo Walton (2019)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I'm not sure what to say about this book, except I really liked it, and it kept surprising me. I don't know that much about Savonarola, or 1490s Florence, but this book pulled me deep into Girolamo's world and kept me hooked there, willing him to break free from his demonic cycle. ( ) Started reading this book a few weeks after returning home from a trip to Florence and Rome - and I didn't know what it was about. One of our favourite places in Florence was the Museo di San Marco. Imagine my delight when I realized this book was about the person whose little cell I had just visited, whose hair shirt/belt I had gazed upon only a few weeks earlier. I even bought a bookmark of Fra Angelico's Annunciation from one of the monk's cells. This was my first Jo Walton book. I was quite surprised by the twist, and found it very interesting. Overall the story is compelling and I enjoyed it very much. Some previous knowledge of Savonarola might be helpful for context. And as someone firmly on team "Richard III didn't do it" this book provides a rather striking possible alternative outcome... Walton writes very different books, you never know what you're in for, but it's always a treat. So in this book, which for the first half seems like a retelling of historical events, then takes a sharp turn and becomes a fantastic groundhog day story. Also really makes me want to see Florence, as if My Real Children hadn't done that already. Let us go rambling through Time travel, Demonology, Vasari's Lives of the Artists, and, the political structure of Florence in its high days. You will laugh and be frightened, and get a small glimpse of what it may be like in Hell. There are very few writers willing to spend this much time with Girolamo Savonarola. If you do, you will learn a lot. no reviews | add a review
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Young Girolamo's life is a series of miracles. It's a miracle that he can see demons, plain as day, and that he can cast them out with the force of his will. It's a miracle that he's friends with Pico della Mirandola, the Count of Concordia. It's a miracle that when Girolamo visits the deathbed of Lorenzo "the Magnificent," the dying Medici is wreathed in celestial light, a surprise to everyone, Lorenzo included. It's a miracle that when Charles VIII of France invades northern Italy, Girolamo meets him in the field, and convinces him to not only spare Florence but also protect it. It's a miracle than whenever Girolamo preaches, crowds swoon. It's a miracle that, despite the Pope's determination to bring young Girolamo to heel, he's still on the loose...and, now, running Florence in all but name. That's only the beginning. Because Girolamo Savanarola is not who--or what--he thinks he is. He will discover the truth about himself at the most startling possible time. And this will be only the beginning of his many lives. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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