A review by just_one_more_paige
Joan by Katherine J. Chen

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 
Fun fact about me: I was obsessed with the story of Joan of Arc when I was in elementary school. I went to Catholic School through 6th grade and honestly, there were not a lot of actively inspiring women in the religious mythology of Catholicism. Like, men who were saints had stories about fighting dragons and shit, but women who were saints were mostly the victims of terrible societal violence in some way, or otherwise "pure" in an inaccessible way (impossible standards and not really anything one would want to live up to). Anyways, enter Joan of Arc. Definitely a victim of horrific end of life violence, and some weird purity stuff, BUT she also had armour and a sword and fought in wars and generally just seemed really badass. I have very distinct memories of my dad helping me make a spear out of a dowel and some cardstock for a class presentation I was doing about her. Needless to say, this historical fiction of her life was an absolute "must read" for me. 
 
In this retelling of the mythology of Joan of Arc's epic story, Chen breathes life into the women (girl, really), in an incredibly vibrant way. Starting with historical context about the contemporary state of the seemingly endless war between France and England, the reader is dropped right into rural France in the 1400s. Joan's childhood is described with a detailed and realistic touch, from the proxy wars fought between village children to the brutality of her relationship with her father, from her vagabond uncle's influence in her life to the closeness between her and her sister, and finally the tragedy that ensues when English soldiers overrun their village and how that starts Joan down the path of of becoming one of the most famous warriors not only of the Hundred Years War, but also of the entirety of  France's history, at only 17 years old. Facing violence of the physical sort on the battlefield and of the political sort at court, she fights for her country, her sister, and to prove to everyone that women deserve power, glory, and respect.    
 
Well, I admit that I am fully biased, but I absolutely loved this novel. From the beginning, Chen brings it with the sense of time and place. Just a really evocative historical setting, from the physical/location to the social-political to the characterization (in ways both fictional and nonfictional). The opening chapter takes the reader through a gorgeously horrible portrayal of the senselessness of war within the context of a youthful "game." And the violence and terror of that first scene sets up the themes of the rest of the story perfectly. That attention to detail in the experiences of Joan's childhood, so that the reader can reference back to the individual and specific lessons learned, as they are applied throughout her later life, are woven together so smoothly. 
 
War plays a major role in Joan's story, literally and thematically, of course, and Chen explored the violence and upheavals of it, in both peasant and high society lifestyles, in clear and central ways. The visceral portrayal of the effects of war, specific to this historical moment, is incredibly affecting, especially in Joan’s “normal" [female] person perspective. Considering the look at both the short and long term tragedies and sorrows that war brings the toll it takes and what it leaves behind, it really makes you understand and empathize with so many of the choices she makes (in general and in particular at her young age). There’s a few page section where Joan describes to the Dauphin "what she knows of war” and the greed for wealth/power that inspires it, and it is…phew, intense. I felt that it was an unexpected crux of the novel, as it was really just a reflective, if pointed, conversation, and not the action itself. 
 
Another overarching theme, or really more of an exploration, was how Joan's folklore was created. I loved this more secular take, in the retelling, on how a small group took advantage of belief and faith to manipulate the people. This effort was led in no small part, by women, because those tactics and tools were the only ones at hand to use the gifts they had in order to make their cause successful. And Chen did a great job keeping belief deeply intertwined with the story, addressing the faith and religious fervor that made Joan the figurehead she became, as well as a more introspective dive into Joan's own religious questioning and philosophy. I felt like this was such an important consideration, as Joan grapples with how she is "blessed" with such a terrible strength/skill (can being great at killing really be a gift from God?) and how to compromise her own faith with the horrors allowed by that God, the one that is supposedly so involved in so many aspects of war. But seriously, to bring it back around, the way storytelling makes a reputation, a legend, grow (and later how similar tactics were used by political enemies to bring her down again) was enthralling to follow. 
 
A few other things I want to mention. First, the positive or observational. I love (*sarcasm*) that a big strong woman with skill in fighting and weapons can’t be natural... she must be a miracle or gift from god (*eye roll*). The passage where Joan first shoots the bow, the way she sinks into the experience and is carried away by it, by the transcendence of the moment, was written so gorgeously; it was so moving. I don't  know if this was intentional or not, but I was here for the ace coding on Joan's purity/virginity - a fantastic reclaiming of sexuality and reframing of this ridiculous patriarchal religious BS part of her mythos. Next, the less positive. The only real "complaint" I have is that there was some unevenness in the pacing of the story, with the end wrapping up quickly in comparison to the depth of exposition earlier on. However, I partly understand the choice because that is what builds the Joan we then feel we understand, when we get to the later stages of her life. And being left with extensive details of Joan's losses and failures and (horrific) death is perhaps not the legacy that Chen wants the reader to remember most or be left with. I respect that. It just felt a little unevenly handled. Also, and this often frustrates me in fiction about women, there is no mention of menstruation ever... Now, maybe the lack of nutrition or (with all the commentary on her size, etc.) maybe a hormone situation *could* explain her not having one. And yet, I would have liked some recognition/discussion of that part of her female-ness and how it might have been handled within the context of her atypical life. 
 
And now, back to how much I loved this book. I love where it ended. This story of Joan in her own perspective, closing out with her belief in herself and her impact on the future, was just right. We all know the gruesome ending, and it’s insinuated, but it is not the image of her we are left with and that is beautiful to me. The narrative style and tone are just right for this work. Chen takes a figure who has since been…purified…into something that cannot have been the "truth" recreating her humanity to make her something real. Joan was charismatic but flawed, proud and angry but with a focus on making things better for French people and women. She was perhaps blessed, and faith gave her strength, but that would have been nothing without her own courage and leadership and personality to make things happen. Joan just comes alive in Chen’s hands; what an honor, an homage, to the memory of a strong, inspiring, unbelievable woman. 
 
“There are no happy stories, just stories that make you feel grateful you weren't born somewhere else…” 
 
“You must make your own map of the world. Search out your own piece of sky and patch of earth, your own awning to sleep under when it is raining and it feels the sun may never shine again, for there will certainly be such days. No one can walk this path for you. You cannot simply follow in another's footsteps, as though life were a complicated dance, every turn and twist memorized and prepared for ahead of time. There are many things in the world one can inherit: money, land, power, a crown. But an adventure is not one of them; you must make your own journey.” 
 
“How can compassion, temperance, mercy, which are all features of the Virgin, serve you against men such as these? The answer is, they can’t.” 
 
“But I will tell you something I have learned in my forty--eight years. Either a woman must be raised high, higher than the heads of men, or she will be crushed beneath their feet. So, we must raise you high. We must raise you to the height of the heavens themselves. We must dress you in the very mantle of God. Do you understand, Joan?” 
 
“But one must fight for what one loves [...] Or else it will not be heard for others to take it from you.” 
 
“She learns: It's not always armies that win a battle. Sometimes it’s fear.” 
 
“War is like a box. Once you open it, there is no way to close it again, to unsee what you have seen.” 
 
“She can understand how God would inspire poets and artists. She can picture angels breathing sweet music into the ears of the dozing troubadour. But does a talent for slaughter count as a heavenly gift, too?” 
 
“Pain is like this. You endure it, and if you live through it, eventually it becomes something else.” 
 
“Those who do nothing, who stand by and watch as chaos unravels, who feel that as long as they are alive and in good health, it does not matter what else is happening in front of them, why should they be innocent? They are guilty, too.” 
 
“Goodness is just as capable of torment; it thaws the heart and fills up the soul, then leaves in its wake a pit so deep it can never be whole again.” 
 
“I am the greatest warrior alive. [...] I am the performer of miracles. [...] What are you, other than a king?” 
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