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bickie's review against another edition
2.0
This "biographical meditation" provides some interesting takes and contextual information regarding various aspects of Joan of Arc's life and subsequent canonization. I think it would be best read as a follow-up to a basic biography of Joan. I had only a vague idea of Joan as a middle-ages warrior in armor who "saved France" but did not really know much else, and I found it very difficult to piece it all together in my mind. There is a chronology, but it is such a detailed list of where Joan was on what date, that I did not find it particularly useful. More useful would have been a cast of major characters and their alliances. Some people, like de la Trémoille, were a little confusing to me - pro-Charles but anti-Joan. All in all, interesting, but not a first-read with regard to learning about Joan of Arc.
joyfultunes's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
The book was very informative about Joan and also had very interesting discussions about different points of her story.
margjar's review against another edition
2.0
I joined learning about Joan of Arc but found the last chapter harder to read. The true history was very interesting.
disappearer's review against another edition
3.0
Juana de Arco es una de mis personajes históricos favoritas. O sea, no hay nada más bacán que una niña campesina de 17 años que recibe profecías divinas que la llevan a coronar al rey de Francia y a comandar al ejército francés contra los ingleses.
La biografía/ensayo de Mary Gordon es bastante completa y le hace justicia a la historia de Juana. Muchas veces me sorprendí de lo fundamentado y bien investigado de algunos detalles, lo que no sólo daba una imagen clara de cómo fue Juana, sino que también ayuda a entender cómo era la Francia sumida en la Guerra de los Cien Años.
En general es un libro que pasa fácil y rápidamente, es entretenido. Pero lo único que no me gustó es que a veces se tornaba un poco redundante en algunas de las tesis de la autora sobre la vida de Juana. En ocasiones se desviaba para criticar a intelectuales, historiadores o escritores relacionados con esta figura histórica, haciendo que el relato se rompa y pierda el sentido.
Es un muy buen libro para los que les gusta este personaje y también para los que quieren saber un poco más de cómo era la sociedad de finales de la Edad Media.
La biografía/ensayo de Mary Gordon es bastante completa y le hace justicia a la historia de Juana. Muchas veces me sorprendí de lo fundamentado y bien investigado de algunos detalles, lo que no sólo daba una imagen clara de cómo fue Juana, sino que también ayuda a entender cómo era la Francia sumida en la Guerra de los Cien Años.
En general es un libro que pasa fácil y rápidamente, es entretenido. Pero lo único que no me gustó es que a veces se tornaba un poco redundante en algunas de las tesis de la autora sobre la vida de Juana. En ocasiones se desviaba para criticar a intelectuales, historiadores o escritores relacionados con esta figura histórica, haciendo que el relato se rompa y pierda el sentido.
Es un muy buen libro para los que les gusta este personaje y también para los que quieren saber un poco más de cómo era la sociedad de finales de la Edad Media.
elkreil's review against another edition
4.0
Joan of Arc
This was a quick, easy read. I found the text to be easily accessible to those not familiar with Joan, however, it is a very broad overview. It's a good starting text with some interesting analysis for those who don't want to jump into a heavier text. There were some points where I found myself disagreeing with the author, however, specifically:
"In our age, when the consequences of loss of virginity are slight ..."
This is simply not true. People with vaginas are still being ostracized and stoned to death for not being virgins. Despite this blatant lie, I did find the author brought up some interesting points:
"Charles and Joan illustrate a phenomenon that occurs when young women want to move from the realm of the symbolic, where male imagination has placed them, to the realm of the actual, where they want to be. A girl can be an ornament, but if she wants to act rather than be looked at, if she wants scope and autonomy rather than the static fate of the regarded, even the well-regarded, object, she becomes dangerous."
It's amazing how the author could recognize the latter, but fail to connect that thinking to views on virginity. I gave this book four stars.
This was a quick, easy read. I found the text to be easily accessible to those not familiar with Joan, however, it is a very broad overview. It's a good starting text with some interesting analysis for those who don't want to jump into a heavier text. There were some points where I found myself disagreeing with the author, however, specifically:
"In our age, when the consequences of loss of virginity are slight ..."
This is simply not true. People with vaginas are still being ostracized and stoned to death for not being virgins. Despite this blatant lie, I did find the author brought up some interesting points:
"Charles and Joan illustrate a phenomenon that occurs when young women want to move from the realm of the symbolic, where male imagination has placed them, to the realm of the actual, where they want to be. A girl can be an ornament, but if she wants to act rather than be looked at, if she wants scope and autonomy rather than the static fate of the regarded, even the well-regarded, object, she becomes dangerous."
It's amazing how the author could recognize the latter, but fail to connect that thinking to views on virginity. I gave this book four stars.
mljohnson2698's review against another edition
4.0
It was pretty nice and short, to the point. I liked that. There wasn't too much fluff. It was purely just the story of Joan of Arc. Who's like my hero, so that's cool
toscanana's review against another edition
Since this is a biography, I'm not sure whether I'm in the position to rate this. I guess I am, but I feel too unexperienced to give a fair rating (and honestly, I have no clue how I feel about this. Even if I had to give a rating, I probably wouldn't be able to give one).
Anyway, you could see the author did her research well. The story was quite complicated, but hey, isn't history in itself complicated? It was refreshing to see everything I learned last year being put together. I guess I knew it was all connected but didn't feel the connection until I read this.
Chapter 7 was a chapter I didn't really care for. Twenty pages about works based on Jeanne d'Arc was way too much, if you ask me. I'd rather just have a simple overview of everything, so I skipped most of this part. Apart from that chapter, everything was quite interesting.
Definitely recommend reading this if you're interested in Jeanne d'Arc!
Anyway, you could see the author did her research well. The story was quite complicated, but hey, isn't history in itself complicated? It was refreshing to see everything I learned last year being put together. I guess I knew it was all connected but didn't feel the connection until I read this.
Chapter 7 was a chapter I didn't really care for. Twenty pages about works based on Jeanne d'Arc was way too much, if you ask me. I'd rather just have a simple overview of everything, so I skipped most of this part. Apart from that chapter, everything was quite interesting.
Definitely recommend reading this if you're interested in Jeanne d'Arc!
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