Kay's Bookshelf

I was fascinated by Georgia almost since the very moment I set my eyes on her. She was so incredibly brave I couldn’t help but admire her and root for her. Reading further, I was also impressed by her unshakable faith and the lengths she goes to, never sparing an effort, in order to fulfill the prophecy she believed in. A strong character if there ever was one. Lo, the other central figure of the prophecy, is almost the very opposite of Georgia in this regard: all she wants is to make the most of her life, living it the way she pleases (preferably with a lover with warm hands and brown eyes). Nevertheless she too feels the tug of her faith and she too helps the prophecy the best she can.

A thing I found very interesting was reading the acknowledgments and discovering what the author had wanted to do with this book: while researching something about heroes, she started asking herself questions like: “What is the hero’s story for women? What does it mean for a woman to struggle and to sacrifice and to believe? And how might that manifest in a lifetime?“. The very questions at the core of this book, a book about women who have strong faith and whose lives are fully dedicated to their goal.

Despite its religious setting and religious characters, the book is not overly religious in itself. Faith is the main motivation of the characters, and, being former nuns, they do pray with any chance they get — other than that though there is no mention of religion, of beliefs, of convictions. The author does not try to impose her beliefs on anyone and does not try to prove one religion is better than the other, or any other such point. There is no hidden agenda and I very much appreciated that (plus I was a bit amused by the way reincarnation was present in the book, because as far as I know Christian dogma rejects it).

Another thing I liked about the book was the writing itself. Everything is detailed and has sort of a cinematic quality to it — I could easily “see” all the scenes, like I was there with the characters. So much so that at times I entertained the idea of a movie being made out of this book :)

One of the quotes I liked:

“Of beggars there were two kinds. Some had known joy, so that when the baskets came with charity, it fed them and they were sated. The others were those who starved for more than bread. Those whose hunger crawled under their skin. Years of warm fires and safe beds would see them slink away, unsatisfied. This man was such a one as this. Though he was rich, his cheeks had the hollow of a starveling. His hunger claimed him. It was how he knew who he was.”

What I liked most: The brief episode where Georgia falls in love. It added a new dimension to her character, making her more credible to me (a girl that age was bound to fall in llove) but also making me feel more compassionate towards her (yet another sacrifice she had to make to her quest).

What I liked least: Not something that I had actually disliked but I was sorry that the author hasn’t insisted a bit on the fasting aspect of the “fasting girl”. While her eating habits are mentioned (she eats very little to nothing when she is worried), how did she end up being called so? Did she indeed fast for months? Was is just a myth about her? We are not told and I was a bit curious about that (since she is a title character and all).

Recommend it to? Any historical fiction fans, of course :) Especially as it treats an area perhaps less present in fiction books: women’s life in the Middle Ages (both in a nunnery and outside it). It’s the very reason I decided to read this book and I am glad I did.

See also
The blog of the author
About fasting girls
HistoryFish.net, the other site of the author, all about medieval religious life, monasteries and similar


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