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taylorthiel's review against another edition
2.0
Gonna reread this and rereview.
On a reread, I couldn’t even finish it. Graphic. Weird and not in a good way.
On a reread, I couldn’t even finish it. Graphic. Weird and not in a good way.
jjohnsen's review
3.0
This was a tough one to finish, it has a lot of cool ideas and characters, but I just couldn't get into the story
bookherd's review
2.0
I wanted to like this novel--a Joan of Arc story set in the future, in space!--much more than I actually did.
There have been catastrophic wars on Earth, and the surviving elite have "ascended" to some kind of space station called CIEL, where no one is allowed to live past age 50 and people fetishize skin grafting and body art to a bizarre degree. The leader of CIEL, Jean de Men, was one of the chief combatants in the wars, and brought people to CIEL with a vision of a new life enhanced by technology. However, CIEL is draining the ruined planet Earth of the last of its resources, and the people living on CIEL can no longer reproduce, so life there appears to be a dead end.
Christine, a 49 year old woman living on CIEL, and her old friend Trinculo, a gay man whom she has loved since childhood, get in trouble with the authorities by flouting the rules. When Trinculo is sentenced to death, Christine decides to intervene in his execution and try to spirit him back to Earth. Her defiance is bolstered by finding out that her hero, Joan of Dirt, who was supposedly executed by Jean de Men, is still alive.
Meanwhile, back on Earth.... We learn a little bit of Joan's story, how she heard the Earth singing as a young girl, became a warrior during the wars and fought viciously against Jean de Men. We learn that she is living underground with her girlhood companion and fighting a guerilla campaign against CIEL's supply lines from Earth.
There's so much here, with references to medieval art and literature, themes of environmental destruction and human fascination with technology. It's very rich. It's also brutally, grossly violent in both plot settings, Earth and CIEL. Unfortunately, aside from the violence, which is presented without any ambiguity, it can be hard to tell exactly what is happening or why it is happening. In this way it reminded me of the book The Life of Elves, by Muriel Barbery, in which you need a high tolerance for not knowing what's going on. I endured the violence because I was intrigued by the premise of the story and the richness of the content, but I am hazy on what actually happened in this book's plot.
There have been catastrophic wars on Earth, and the surviving elite have "ascended" to some kind of space station called CIEL, where no one is allowed to live past age 50 and people fetishize skin grafting and body art to a bizarre degree. The leader of CIEL, Jean de Men, was one of the chief combatants in the wars, and brought people to CIEL with a vision of a new life enhanced by technology. However, CIEL is draining the ruined planet Earth of the last of its resources, and the people living on CIEL can no longer reproduce, so life there appears to be a dead end.
Christine, a 49 year old woman living on CIEL, and her old friend Trinculo, a gay man whom she has loved since childhood, get in trouble with the authorities by flouting the rules. When Trinculo is sentenced to death, Christine decides to intervene in his execution and try to spirit him back to Earth. Her defiance is bolstered by finding out that her hero, Joan of Dirt, who was supposedly executed by Jean de Men, is still alive.
Meanwhile, back on Earth.... We learn a little bit of Joan's story, how she heard the Earth singing as a young girl, became a warrior during the wars and fought viciously against Jean de Men. We learn that she is living underground with her girlhood companion and fighting a guerilla campaign against CIEL's supply lines from Earth.
There's so much here, with references to medieval art and literature, themes of environmental destruction and human fascination with technology. It's very rich. It's also brutally, grossly violent in both plot settings, Earth and CIEL. Unfortunately, aside from the violence, which is presented without any ambiguity, it can be hard to tell exactly what is happening or why it is happening. In this way it reminded me of the book The Life of Elves, by Muriel Barbery, in which you need a high tolerance for not knowing what's going on. I endured the violence because I was intrigued by the premise of the story and the richness of the content, but I am hazy on what actually happened in this book's plot.
kaylielongley's review
3.0
This is a modern retelling of Joan of Arc, but it is so much more, combining mythological, historical, and science-fiction. Sometime in the future, earth's "sanctuary" has resulted in sentient, sexless beings, resulting in some disturbing (dis)advantages of the female form, including bodily harm and rape. Such reading is meant to disturb. Despite the damages, attraction and love still exist from protag Christine's POV. "Christ" tells the story of Joan via skin-grafting, symbolizing a reclaim to her personal power. Christine and Joan's interlocking energies (and narratives) reveal common truths on humanity: We are stardust, and we (are) matter. Certainly, there are some unnecessary superficial sci-fi elements, like a being who can bend walls. And there are ample allusions to savior complexes, but Christine and Joan's understanding of choosing love over power crept up on me, demanding a future re-read.
pearloz's review
3.0
Hm. I don't know what to think. I feel like I got half or maybe two-thirds of a novel, and someone removed every other chapter or every third chapter? I wasn't as engaged as I usually am and I partially fault the reader who had a slurry, lackadaisical voice that made every character feel lazy and/or smug. Frankly, I could've done with either one or the other story--Joan on Earth was pretty captivating; the weirdly evolving people on CIEL was also interesting. Where the book lost me was at the merging of the two tales.
Also, some of the word choices were allusory but also funny? CIEL is obviously short for Cielo which is Spanish for Heaven; Jean de Men? I mean, c'mon!
I think I coulda done with a longer novel here.
Also, some of the word choices were allusory but also funny? CIEL is obviously short for Cielo which is Spanish for Heaven; Jean de Men? I mean, c'mon!
I think I coulda done with a longer novel here.
fragglerocker's review
3.0
This book is gory and difficult, more difficult than anything I've read recently. I appreciate the story the author was trying to tell, emphasizing the importance of caring for the earth and for each other. I did not care for the lewdness of a big chunk of the book, meant to drive home the point that while every human has lost their reproductive organs they haven't lost their sexual urges.
alxx251's review against another edition
3.0
Anno 2049, la Terra è distrutta e ormai rimasta un'infertile palla di fango disabitata, le cui ultime risorse vengono drenate tramite le Corde Celesti da CIEL, una nuova comunità creata sopra il pianeta terrestre. Le persone che si sono trasferite su CIEL appartengono alla classe agiata, ma hanno perso qualsiasi tipo di caratteristica sessuale, i corpi freddi e grigiastri, senza pelle, peli e sudorazione. L'unica cosa che li caratterizza sono gli innesti, storie che possono essere attaccate al corpo come forme d'arte e anche di potere. A comandare CIEL è infatti Jean de Men, un grande creatore di innesti, che ha quindi preso il potere grazie a una sorta di propaganda maschilista tramite gli innesti.
Maestra di innesti è anche Christine, una delle due protagoniste che animano il libro. Nata sulla Terra, attende la sua morte al 50esimo anno di età su CIEL, dato che la vita è regolata e limitata dalle risorse disponibili, e vorrebbe lasciare un segno della propria esistenza. Mai abituatasi alla vita eterea di CIEL e all'autorità di Jean de Men, vive con il mito di Joan, una donna, forse morta, che ha combattuto contro il despota Jean de Men. La dicotomia tra Joan di Fango e Jean de Men è molteplice. Non solo il sesso li distingue, ma anche l'appellativo del Fango e de Men definiscono il legame tra Joan e la Terra, intesa come la natura, le forze che animano il mondo, e quello di Jean, un puro egocentrismo e innalzamento degli uomini sopra il pianeta abitato. Joan è dipinta dalla propaganda come un'ecoterrorista che ha distrutto la Terra e per questo è stata condannata al rogo.
Ma Joan è in realtà ancora viva e sulla Terra, insieme all'amica Leone cerca di sopravvivere e sabotare CIEL distruggendo le Corde Celesti, ma senza in realtà un vero piano.
Le storie di Joan e di Christine scorrono parallele fino a convergere nel finale un po' confuso, in cui CIEL viene distrutta, grazie però soprattutto all'intervento di personaggi secondari come la ribelle Nyx.
Il romanzo si distingue quindi tra i distopici per il taglio femminista e l'atmosfera visceralmente legata alla terra, il fango, l'anima nascosta del pianeta, che gli conferiscono un taglio ambientalista.
Manca però una spiegazione più chiara di alcune dinamiche: mentre certi aspetti di CIEL sono ben illustrati all'inizio (i corpi, le risorse limitate, le stanze punitive etc.), non sono chiari poi certi concetti cardine della narrazione (generine, kinema, protei etc.).
Nonostante ciò Il libro di Joan lascia certamente il segno, per la sua distopia intrisa di femminismo, di erotismo e di forze viscerali naturali.
Maestra di innesti è anche Christine, una delle due protagoniste che animano il libro. Nata sulla Terra, attende la sua morte al 50esimo anno di età su CIEL, dato che la vita è regolata e limitata dalle risorse disponibili, e vorrebbe lasciare un segno della propria esistenza. Mai abituatasi alla vita eterea di CIEL e all'autorità di Jean de Men, vive con il mito di Joan, una donna, forse morta, che ha combattuto contro il despota Jean de Men. La dicotomia tra Joan di Fango e Jean de Men è molteplice. Non solo il sesso li distingue, ma anche l'appellativo del Fango e de Men definiscono il legame tra Joan e la Terra, intesa come la natura, le forze che animano il mondo, e quello di Jean, un puro egocentrismo e innalzamento degli uomini sopra il pianeta abitato. Joan è dipinta dalla propaganda come un'ecoterrorista che ha distrutto la Terra e per questo è stata condannata al rogo.
Ma Joan è in realtà ancora viva e sulla Terra, insieme all'amica Leone cerca di sopravvivere e sabotare CIEL distruggendo le Corde Celesti, ma senza in realtà un vero piano.
Le storie di Joan e di Christine scorrono parallele fino a convergere nel finale un po' confuso, in cui CIEL viene distrutta, grazie però soprattutto all'intervento di personaggi secondari come la ribelle Nyx.
Il romanzo si distingue quindi tra i distopici per il taglio femminista e l'atmosfera visceralmente legata alla terra, il fango, l'anima nascosta del pianeta, che gli conferiscono un taglio ambientalista.
Manca però una spiegazione più chiara di alcune dinamiche: mentre certi aspetti di CIEL sono ben illustrati all'inizio (i corpi, le risorse limitate, le stanze punitive etc.), non sono chiari poi certi concetti cardine della narrazione (generine, kinema, protei etc.).
Nonostante ciò Il libro di Joan lascia certamente il segno, per la sua distopia intrisa di femminismo, di erotismo e di forze viscerali naturali.
jwolfsthal's review
2.0
I do not see how this was reviewed so highly. There is some lovely poetic writing here, but also a lot of abusing, obnoxiously provocative and meandering fluff. Just not that compelling or innovative or valuable for me.