Holy Fools

The year is 1610; Henri IV has just been murdered. In a convent on the coast of Brittany, the abbess has just died, and Soeur Auguste and her sister nuns await the arrival of her successor. Mère Isabelle is 12 years old, and accompanying her is Père Colombin, her confessor. But Colombin is really Guy LaMerle, whom Auguste has known in her life before the convent, the life in which she was Juliette, known as l'Ailée, "The Winged One", and they traveled together in an acting troupe. LaMerle had betrayed Juliette and the others to save his own skin, and she thought never to see him again. But now the convent in which she had sought refuge with her daughter will be the stage upon which LaMerle will seek to perform the last act of his show more plan of vengeance on the Bishop of Évreux, who had damaged and betrayed him years before.

Using the fear of possession and witchcraft, Colombin/LaMerle quickly turns the abbey into a place filled with suspicion, rumor and hysteria. To save herself and her daughter, Juliette must go along with his schemes. And she is driven in part by old feelings of love for him that she must conquer.

Harris writes compellingly of a time that is strange to contemporary minds, with an understanding and sympathy for these women who, for a variety of family and societal reasons, have found their life among other women in the service of God, and who are betrayed, and led to betray each other, by ignorance and religious superstition. show less

Juliette has lived in a convent on a tidal island for five years with her daughter and other nuns. She seems to have a relaxed and idyllic life, until one day everything is thrown up in the air. This novel is full of religious zealots, magic and charade. Moving forward day by day, the characters look back to the past, as well as live in the present and so the reader hears the backstory that preceded the action of the summer of 1610. There is plenty of drama in this novel as things come to a head in LeMerle's plot. I atmosphere of the novel is mysterious and this gives it a page turning element but occasionally the action moved slowly. The main characters, Juliette and LeMerle were well drawn but others were shadowy. It took me to France show more and that was very pleasant. show less

I loved the movie “Chocolat,” based on a book by Joanne Harris. So when I found a deal on “Holy Fools” I jumped at the chance to get to know her work. I’d have to say, this book was an excellent place for me to start. After all, it is set in a convent, and I did grow up Catholic.

Of course, this is no modern convent with girls’ high school attached, but rather a beautifully isolated place in seventeenth century France. The fact that I’ve taken vacations in the area only added to the attraction, and Harris’s descriptions, combined with the old forms of names of towns, brought to life many memories and dreams.

The characters here are no modern nuns either, but a delightful community of misfits seeking solace in a simple life show more set apart from the world. But their ordered existence is threatened by a figure from Juliette’s past, and Juliette herself cannot expose the deceit without risking losing all she loves.

The weather, the sea, statues and beliefs, rules and cruelties all combine to make this a fascinating tale. The worlds of Juliette’s past and present, of court and coast, complexity and simplicity, even of faith and science, all come to glorious life. Loyalties are tested and stretched to the limit. Forgiveness and fondness fight for dominance. And the dangers faced by an all too human angel have the heart pounding as you read.

I enjoyed the way the author lets us into her characters’ heads, using first-person viewpoints of two very different protagonists, without confusion and without any lessening of the tension created by their secrets. A truly masterful tale; I really loved it. show less

I kept putting off reading this book because it didn't fit into the right spot: I wanted it to be a fairly light and untaxing read but the 17th century setting loomed in my mind as something heavy and oppressive. Lots of fun once I got going with it though, it's nicely weighted - neither very light or very heavy, gives you plenty to think about without forcing you to think about it. Despite being set in 1610 it's got quite a bit in common with Joanne Harris's earlier books, the central character reminded me of the central character in Chocolat whose name escapes me now, they have the same kind of shadowy past though we find out more about Juliette in this book. The setting is very close to the setting of Coastliners in everything but time.

Soeur Auguste, once known for her stage name of "l'Ailée" (The Winged One) has found sanctuary at the Abbey of Sainte Marie-de-la-mer since 1605 when she arrived there pregnant and made a home for herself and daughter. The Reverend Mother was a kind and lax woman, and many of the sisters were not of a religious disposition, much like Soeur Auguste herself, which allowed her a comfortable position there, tending the herb garden and making healing potions for the sisters which she has learned how to make since her gipsy childhood and from her friendship with an old Jewish sage and alchemist.

But now it is five years later, and in 1610 many changes are about, and Soeur Auguste keeps a journal of the daily changes going on at the Abbey. show more The Reverend Mother at the age of 73—a very elderly woman in the 17th century—has suddenly perished, and soon arrives a twelve-year-old child, the niece to a powerful Bishop, to replace her. At first none of the sisters are willing to believe this child will be their leader, but she quickly makes her position clear: she is intent on bringing many reforms and bringing order and strict religion back to the Abbey. This child, the Abbess Isabelle, is not alone either, accompanying her is her personal confessor and spiritual guide, one ostensibly called Père Colombin. But Soeur Auguste, once called Juliette, knows him by quite another name. She knows him as Guy LeMerle, for he was once her lover, ten years her senior and the leader of a troupe of actors and performers, who abandoned her and the whole troupe in a town in the midst of a great commotion when they were accused of brining the plague to save his own skin. That was the last time she had seen him. Now he is at the Abbey for what can only be a dangerous scheme that only Soeur Auguste can uncover to save herself and her daughter... and the sisters.

As I am a fan of Joanne Harris and have previously enjoyed historical fiction set in the middle ages and in convents and abbeys, too, I was pretty much grabbed by this story from the first. There was enough scandal and drama throughout to keep things going at a good clip, but I must say I was disappointed by the ending, which came down to a choice Juliette had to make and which I cannot reveal for obvious reasons. I'm not sure why Harris made that choice as a writer. Possible spoiler: Perhaps to give her Juliette a depth of character that transcends mere logic and feminist agendas. That's enough for me to make my peace with it. show less

A tale for those who understand the desperation of being drawn to someone you hate. A tale of youth and fiery passions, fierce loyalties and betrayal, self-deception and hatred, Holy Fools resonates with me. I understand, I sympahtize even as I mourn Juliette's terrible attraction to the man whom she knows will betray her yet again.

The uncertainty of how the story will go on is heightened by the switching first-person narratives that give hints of motivations, but never knowledge of just how much Juliette believes LeMerle.

Juliette is a high wire dancer in Guy LeMerle's traveling show. When they travel to Epinal, France for a religious festival, LeMerle is accused of witchcraft and causing an outbreak of the plague. He escapes, but one of the shows performers is murdered and the rest of the group is left to fend for themselves. Juliette starts a new life in the abbey of Sainte Marie-de-la-mer as Soeur Auguste with her daughter Fleur. When the mother superior dies LeMerle appears at the abbey as Pere Colombine, a father confessor, along with Mere Isabelle, the new twelve year old mother superior. They claim they are there to make reforms. This is a recipe for disaster. Is the abbey infested with demons or is LeMerle manipulating the situation as a cruel show more act of revenge?

This tale reminds me of a true story of a priest named Urbain Grandier who was burned at the stake at Loudun, France in 1634. Aldous Huxley wrote a non-fiction book about this supposed demonic possession of an Ursuline convent called “The Devils of Loudun.”
This novel covers some of the same themes as Loudun; superstition, seduction and religious fanaticism. The nuns are all easily susceptible to LeMerle’s charms. They vie for his attention and would do anything for him including murder. He has the power to whip them into a religious frenzy.

I enjoyed this novel all the way until the end. I don’t want to spoil it so let’s just say that the main characters are not changed by there experiences. show less