Lent

Jo Walton

Completed 8/24/2021, Reviewed 8/24/2021

4 stars

This book is a tough one to review.  The first half of the book is an interesting but dry account of a strange Dominican priest in the late 1400s.  Then the second half plays on the trope of “Groundhog Day”.  But to say much more gives away the genius that is Jo Walton.  I didn’t think I’d rate this book this high as I was reading on it, but reflecting on it, I have to say this book is smart, well thought-out, and well-executed.  It’s just getting through the first half that’s difficult.  This book was nominated for a 2020 Mythopoeic Award (the winner has not yet been announced as of this writing).

Girolamo lives in a monastery in Florence.  He sees and casts out demons.  He sees the future.  His sermons are powerful, drawing the multitudes to his Masses.  He has sway over kings, and gets in trouble with Popes.  He’s almost too good to be true.   But Girolamo is not who he thinks he is.  And once he discovers this, he tries to reconcile the fact over and over through the replays of his life.

The character of Girolamo is based on an actual person from the 1400s.  He supposedly did all the things Walton writes about; it is documented in histories and art.  And that’s what the first half of this book is, the recounting of the last six years of his life.  There isn’t much fantasy in it, except for ability to see demons. It just reads like a historical novel.  I have to admit, it was a bit of a slog, not knowing where the book was going, not getting much of the fantastical, and feeling like I was getting a history lesson.  Then you get to the end of his life, you turn the page, and the whole story turns upside down. 

 

The writing of this book really good.  Despite my disparaging comments about the first half, I will say that the character development is excellent.  I just didn’t find anyone that interesting.  There are some Medicis and Borgias and a plethora of other historical figures, none of whom I felt any connection to.  Then during the second half, it all comes together and I found myself empathizing with Girolamo, Pico, Isabella, and several others.

Last night, I actually emailed a friend that the book was not one of Walton’s best.  But here, I’m retracting that.  It really is quite astonishing how she put the alternative into alternative history.  You just have to get through the first half of the book for it to pick up, and when it does, it’s amazing.  I give this book four stars out of five.  I’d say the first half of the book is three stars and the second half is five stars, so four stars is the average.  Walton continues to be one of my favorite authors.  I’ve probably awarded her more five-star ratings than any other author I’ve read, including Among Others, Farthing, and Tooth and Claw.  I still have another book of hers on my immediate TBR list and will hopefully get through her complete works in the next few years.