A review by meghan111
The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch

2.0

I didn't like this book, which takes itself very seriously and can't pull it off. This book imagines a post-apocalyptic Earth, now uninhabitable, where a few thousand survivors led by a powerful cult-like leader now orbit the world on a high tech space platform, and everyone is suddenly and completely pale, sexless, and without sweat, body odors, or anything from the natural world. The story reimagines Joan of Arc, and imagines extreme body scarification as the only freedom and self-expression left to feel human, and irritatingly includes both magic and unexplained technology. This just seemed self-important and not really that interesting to me. I liked the beginning, narrated by Christine, a protagonist inscribing the story of Joan on her own skin.