Friday, June 2, 2023

Book Review: JOAN by Katherine Chen

JoanJoan by Katherine J. Chen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"So stand up straight, boy, do not slouch or hang your head, and be glad of what you have, though it may be little. Be glad the earth you till is the same earth turned by the warhorses of the great French knights, for the ground you stand on, the very air you breathe is different because of what came before."

So what kind of book had me staying up late, weeping past midnight on possibly the most stressful week of the school year?

This incredibly life-giving, feminist re-telling of the life of a teenager who did so much in her short time on earth.

This historical fiction book is perhaps the best narrative of Joan of Arc out there, for it focuses on the historical Joan, the female warrior who, at seventeen, led her countrymen accustomed to loss into miraculous wins, to the point that the English were fleeing villages at the mere sight of her in front of her army. Refreshingly, it did not focus on the religious saint.

In fact, in this novel, Joan doesn't receive heavenly visions and visitations.

The irony of it is, this secular approach did not detract from the miraculous nature of her achievements. All the more, Joan stands out as the Incomparable. No one else can stand beside her. Not even other saints.

Author K.Chen herself wrote: "Faith makes us strong, but we cannot ascribe everything to faith, at the expense of human works. We must remember that God shows Himself in the world in many forms, and among these is genius, though the manifestation of genius is always in the concrete: in music, in art, in literature, in the sciences, and, in Joan’s case, in war. This was my interpretation of her life."

This is not to say that there is no mention of faith in the book. What is inside is faith of a different sort: how others place their faith in a heroine, and how that heroine, in turn, has faith in her capabilities, in the God who lent these graces to her.

And her vision? Not heavenly hosts, but a vision of a France that is free of English hands.

"“I believe God crafted the sound of a woman’s scream,” she says, “to pierce the heart and to test our humanity, whether we still have it or whether we have left it behind. “But there are men for whom a woman’s scream is as a fist that bounces off armor. I have thought to myself, What choices does a woman have for vengeance, for justice? For we cannot simply pray. I can’t stomach my mother’s prayers. We cannot afford to wait and be still. I won’t live this way—not anymore. So when I spoke to God that morning, I decided, if I am to scream, let it be in battle. There is no chance for peace except at the point of a sword.”

I suppose what moved me deeply was the description of Joan's journey from peasant seeking vengeance to being raised so high as to become a threat to the actual ruler of France. When she transformed her desire for revenge into a nobler cause. When she found a purpose for which to live and die, when that purpose was revealed to be Nation and Countrymen over King.

"What would I gain by being a man? ... I would not become stronger. I am already strong.”

Despite its very realistic storytelling, the book seemed to me to be very "catholic," in its emphasis on both prayer and human works, its universal truths on the virtues of loving one's nation above one's self.

Joan was a force unto herself, she threatened the social order with her martial grace and femininity. And she paid the ultimate price for it. And yet, though the worst befell her, she was never truly defeated.

This was one of the best books I've ever been blessed to read. Joan will stay with me for a lifetime!




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