Reviews

I hadn't heard of Evelyn Waugh or any of his books until a couple of them were mentioned during a homily. Helena piqued my interest the most given the subject matter and a line that was quoted. I've heard of St. Helena by name but didn't know much about her story.

The author stresses at the beginning of the book that this is very much a fictionalized take on Empress/Saint Helena pointing out that not much is known about her life. Here, we imagine her as a young girl and follow her journey into marriage and royalty, motherhood, and later her conversion to Christianity through the influence of her son Constantine. Much later in her life, she sets out to find the relics of the Holy Cross.

I really love the concept of this book, but the writing falls flat for me. It's both slow and fast-paced. The time often jumps to another mid-chapter with little to no explanation of how someone or something gets from A to Z. Despite being titled for the main character, we don't get to see a lot of internalization or depth to Helena.

While I didn't love this as much as I'd hoped I would, it was still an interesting read. It's left me curious to read a few of Evelyn Waugh's other novels.

Content Warnings

openmypages's review against another edition

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4.0

“Sometimes I feel as though the empire were an unseaworthy boat; she brings leak leak in one place, you caulk it up, bail out and then before you can settle down to navigation, water comes spurting in somewhere else.”

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“Unpleasant associations are the seed of the church.”

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“The Church isn’t a cult for a few heroes. It is the whole of fallen mankind redeemed.”

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This one has been on my TBR since our pastor recommended it a few years ago. It is a beautiful fictionalization of the life of an ancient, towering example of a woman. She was responsible for the spread and acceptance of Christianity across the Mediterranean with her finding and venerating of the cross of Jesus. Her and her son had an unusual view of the world and way of comporting themselves for the time they were born.

I enjoyed the snippets of life we saw along the way for Helena, Constantine and Crispus although I would have loved for this story to be 100s of pages longer and given me more detail about her inner thoughts and how she came to see the world as she did. Her faith once present was unwavering and the idea that she had such power in the time she did was so inspiring.

malvord27's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I enjoyed this book. The writing is solid and there's the right hint of humor along with a good historical imagination. I'll continue making my way through Evelyn Waugh's previous books.

ldawson's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

crashida's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

nighm's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved it! Waugh is pretty clever in how fills in the blanks and makes the whole novel a beautiful reflection on Roman Catholicism, and how it differs from mere mythology or philosophy. A must read for anyone visiting Rome or Jerusalem. Very funny depictions of Constantine and Eusebius too.

booksandbacteria's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

2.75

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