Lent

by Jo Walton

Young Girolamo’s life is a series of miracles.

It’s a miracle that he can see demons, plain as day, and that he can cast them out with the force of his will. It’s a miracle that he’s friends with Pico della Mirandola, the Count of Concordia. It’s a miracle that when Girolamo visits the death bed of Lorenzo “the Magnificent,” the dying Medici is wreathed in celestial light, a surprise to everyone, Lorenzo included. It’s a miracle that when Charles VIII of France invades northern Italy, Girolamo meets him in the field, and convinces him to not only spare Florence but also protect it. It’s a miracle than whenever Girolamo preaches, crowds swoon. It’s a miracle that, despite the Pope’s determination to bring young Girolamo to heel, he’s still on the loose…and, now, running Florence in all but name.

That’s only the beginning. Because Girolamo Savanarola is not who - or what - he thinks he is. He will discover the truth about himself at the most startling possible time. And this will be only the beginning of his many lives.

• ISBN10: 0765379066
• ISBN13: 9780765379061
• Publish Date: 1 June 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[jamiereadthis]

It seems like every year there’s a book that I want to beg people to read because I struggle to describe it, and it’s nothing like what they’d expect. This year, it’s this book.

It’s beautiful. It’s delightful and unusual and quietly profound. It’s a master class in plot. Or rather, how to make plot not seem like plot. It’s the progression we get in real life: day to day events that aren’t much in themselves but accrue, layer upon layer, into unforeseen outcomes.

And then, it’s a master class in how to twist that plot every which way, over and over. Brilliant.

Much like God Knows, where that David is now the canonical David for me, this feels like the canonical Savonarola. Mostly because— and this is the irony, given the book— he’s so completely and thoroughly human, more human than our versions of history let him be. Every character in the book springs off the page in bright flesh and blood and I love them for it.

I want to marvel again at how Jo Walton crafts this story, but that would take pages of spoilery details. Just— highly recommended whether this book seems like your thing or not. I struggle to describe it. It’s that great.