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A review by taylorthiel
The Rebel Nun by Marj Charlier
5.0
This one stayed on my TBR shelf for a while. I was hesitant because I don’t normally like historical fiction and I was worried this would be an obnoxious retelling. However I found it to be beautifully nuanced and entertaining the whole way through. Each female character was different and interesting. The authors note at the end detailing what was recorded fact and what was fiction was also helpful and insightful.
What was lacking?: my only complaint is that the main character was kept from much of the harm that befell the other female nuns (up until the end where she had one moment of *potential* harm that happened to her). It felt a little like she was protected by the author while the other nuns were pawns to show the horror of what occurred.
Other than that, a beautiful read. I’m always a succor for great feminist stories and this is definitely that. It was feminist in a way that felt both realistic to the time period, but also distinctly modern. Women were allowed to want to be warriors and to want to be mothers and wives. Very well written.
What was lacking?: my only complaint is that the main character was kept from much of the harm that befell the other female nuns (up until the end where she had one moment of *potential* harm that happened to her). It felt a little like she was protected by the author while the other nuns were pawns to show the horror of what occurred.
Other than that, a beautiful read. I’m always a succor for great feminist stories and this is definitely that. It was feminist in a way that felt both realistic to the time period, but also distinctly modern. Women were allowed to want to be warriors and to want to be mothers and wives. Very well written.