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freemajo's review
4.0
Recommended for fans of Geraldine Brooks and Karen Cushman.
The Rebel Nun is the story of a king’s daughter who finds herself in a monastery after her father’s death, for protection from rivals. After almost two decades cloistered with her sisters, she finds herself at the center of a rebellion against a corrupt system that consistently devalues their experiences and minimizes their religious experiences.
There’s a large cast of characters for such a short narrative, and we only receive the scantiest of characterization for them. The narrative hesitates a few times before rushing forward at a breakneck speed, and I would have appreciated a dedication to setting the scene more. Overall, the story would have benefited from another 50-100 pages of world building and character development. Even so, the story was interesting and unique.
Almost before I started reading The Rebel Nun, I was already anticipating the Author’s Note at the end of the book. I was especially pleased to discover such a robustly researched and carefully crafted explanation of the true story behind Clothild’s rebellion and life. Fact and fiction were meticulously separated, and as always, I found myself marveling at how incredible history is when compared to our fantasies.
Many thanks to Blackstone Publishing for an ARC! I received a free copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.
randyrasa's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fictional account of an incident at a monastery in sixth-century France, in which Clotild, the titular rebel nun, leads an action protesting political machinations within the monastery and the resulting negative living conditions for the sisters. This uprising was doomed from the outset, and this narrative is often quite bleak. There are also, conversely, moments of Sister Act-style levity and absurdity that somehow felt both out of place and perfectly appropriate.
In my mind, The Rebel Nun cannot avoid comparisons with Lauren Groff's [b:Matrix|57185348|Matrix|Lauren Groff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617287438l/57185348._SY75_.jpg|87447766], another recent novel that reimagines the history of women in the Catholic church. And like Matrix, I thought a few minor elements of the story felt a bit off, and the story often dragged and grew a bit tedious with extraneous details. But overall, I enjoyed both books a great deal, and am in awe at the imagination and attention to detail of the authors.
In my mind, The Rebel Nun cannot avoid comparisons with Lauren Groff's [b:Matrix|57185348|Matrix|Lauren Groff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617287438l/57185348._SY75_.jpg|87447766], another recent novel that reimagines the history of women in the Catholic church. And like Matrix, I thought a few minor elements of the story felt a bit off, and the story often dragged and grew a bit tedious with extraneous details. But overall, I enjoyed both books a great deal, and am in awe at the imagination and attention to detail of the authors.
mokey81's review
4.0
This is a quick, easy read. I love getting a fictional odes version of a story none of us have ever heard of. I love that the author wrote about this story she was passionate about. Definitely worth a read.
linwearcamenel's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
loolifrog's review
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The book was obviously well researched but not well researched enough to know that “how many angels can fit on the head of a pin” is attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas by philosophers arguing against medieval scholasticism in the 18th century.
Anyway, I didn’t like that the antagonist abbess was continuously described as fat, as if being fat was a sin, along with all her other faults.
Anyway, I didn’t like that the antagonist abbess was continuously described as fat, as if being fat was a sin, along with all her other faults.
randyrasa's review
4.0
This is a fictional account of an incident at a monastery in sixth-century France, in which Clotild, the titular rebel nun, leads an action protesting political machinations within the monastery and the resulting negative living conditions for the sisters. This uprising was doomed from the outset, and this narrative is often quite bleak. There are also, conversely, moments of Sister Act-style levity and absurdity that somehow felt both out of place and perfectly appropriate.
In my mind, The Rebel Nun cannot avoid comparisons with Lauren Groff's [b:Matrix|57185348|Matrix|Lauren Groff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617287438l/57185348._SY75_.jpg|87447766], another recent novel that reimagines the history of women in the Catholic church. And like Matrix, I thought a few minor elements of the story felt a bit off, and the story often dragged and grew a bit tedious with extraneous details. But overall, I enjoyed both books a great deal, and am in awe at the imagination and attention to detail of the authors.
In my mind, The Rebel Nun cannot avoid comparisons with Lauren Groff's [b:Matrix|57185348|Matrix|Lauren Groff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617287438l/57185348._SY75_.jpg|87447766], another recent novel that reimagines the history of women in the Catholic church. And like Matrix, I thought a few minor elements of the story felt a bit off, and the story often dragged and grew a bit tedious with extraneous details. But overall, I enjoyed both books a great deal, and am in awe at the imagination and attention to detail of the authors.
kalayk's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cmurph93's review
3.0
Although I feel like the book was a little slow, and the antagonist really seemed like one dimensional characters (and a touch of fat-phobia), I appreciate a historical fiction from this era. I feel like we don’t see much from this time period. And the subject matter was was interesting to learn about.
openmypages's review
3.0
{3.5 stars}
"'Perhaps you should think less and pray more.' I shook my head and dropped back down on the bench. Was even this champion of the Holy Cross now adopting the church's new attitude toward women? 'What would you say if I suggested you think less and pray more.' I asked. 'But I'm a m-... poet.' He was about to say 'man' but caught himself just in time."
-------------------------------
"You will find few clergy these days who would support this monastery's continued independence. Especially since the councils have declared your sex and its weaknesses make you incapable of judgment in these matters."
-------------------------------
The Rebel Nun is the story of women in the 6th century. These women may be in a monastery but we learn quite quickly that many of these women did not willingly join the order because they were devoted to the Lord but due to their circumstances. Living as a nun was often a refuge from the life that may have been thrust upon them or that they may have had to result to due to poverty or lack of options. In the case of our main character Clotild, she was the bastard daughter of a king and simply put, a threat to his legitimate children. So she joined an order where her aunt was the abbess, when her aunt dies, she expects to be elected in her place. When she surprisingly is not, she is hurt and jealous. Quickly the order begins to run in a way that focuses on suffering inordinately 'for Jesus' but the truth may be more sinister. As she begins to discover the truth about the abbess and the religious leaders in charge of the order, she realizes that it is simply about power and control. She begins to try to rally her fellow sisters and use her connections to set things to right and the story follows their suffering and their journey to re-set the monastery to its proper place.
The pace of the story is slow but thorough and you really see just how little women's thoughts and opinions were valued. As a Catholic, I struggled with the point of view the church had during this period with a focus on suffering and fasting of those at the bottom while the top revel in riches (not sure that that much has actually changed there... but I digress...). I was also surprised at how many of the women still believed in their pagan gods and just thought of the Christian god "another one." You'd have thought women in a monastery would be there to be so devoted to the Lord but that seemed to be quite the afterthought. I also found it quite frustrating how little the women supported each other and how often they jumped to jealousy and accusation of one another.
This was a well written piece of historical fiction about a time period I wasn't familiar with before.
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this novel. All opinions above are my own.
"'Perhaps you should think less and pray more.' I shook my head and dropped back down on the bench. Was even this champion of the Holy Cross now adopting the church's new attitude toward women? 'What would you say if I suggested you think less and pray more.' I asked. 'But I'm a m-... poet.' He was about to say 'man' but caught himself just in time."
-------------------------------
"You will find few clergy these days who would support this monastery's continued independence. Especially since the councils have declared your sex and its weaknesses make you incapable of judgment in these matters."
-------------------------------
The Rebel Nun is the story of women in the 6th century. These women may be in a monastery but we learn quite quickly that many of these women did not willingly join the order because they were devoted to the Lord but due to their circumstances. Living as a nun was often a refuge from the life that may have been thrust upon them or that they may have had to result to due to poverty or lack of options. In the case of our main character Clotild, she was the bastard daughter of a king and simply put, a threat to his legitimate children. So she joined an order where her aunt was the abbess, when her aunt dies, she expects to be elected in her place. When she surprisingly is not, she is hurt and jealous. Quickly the order begins to run in a way that focuses on suffering inordinately 'for Jesus' but the truth may be more sinister. As she begins to discover the truth about the abbess and the religious leaders in charge of the order, she realizes that it is simply about power and control. She begins to try to rally her fellow sisters and use her connections to set things to right and the story follows their suffering and their journey to re-set the monastery to its proper place.
The pace of the story is slow but thorough and you really see just how little women's thoughts and opinions were valued. As a Catholic, I struggled with the point of view the church had during this period with a focus on suffering and fasting of those at the bottom while the top revel in riches (not sure that that much has actually changed there... but I digress...). I was also surprised at how many of the women still believed in their pagan gods and just thought of the Christian god "another one." You'd have thought women in a monastery would be there to be so devoted to the Lord but that seemed to be quite the afterthought. I also found it quite frustrating how little the women supported each other and how often they jumped to jealousy and accusation of one another.
This was a well written piece of historical fiction about a time period I wasn't familiar with before.
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this novel. All opinions above are my own.
alexacj's review
3.0
Oh, how I wanted to love this book. To be fair, some parts were really good - I was really into it for about the first third, and generally speaking I found the plot interesting and engaging. (It faltered a bit toward the end for me, around the time when it became apparent that these nuns really weren't going to accomplish even the smallest of their goals. That's the fault of history, though, not the author.) The parts that didn't work: occasionally, at the end of a chapter, Clotild would return to the present tense in a way that was largely reminiscent of unexceptional memoirs, and it never failed to pull me out of the story. Also... how did the word "kilometer" make it into this book, when a quick google shows that the word was coined circa 1795? That and a few other anachronistic vocab choices shattered the illusion that this was meant to be narrated from the sixth century, which is a shame because the majority of the book handled that challenge remarkably well. In short: by no means a terrible read, but not exactly great, either.