Holy Fools: Amazon.ca: Joanne Harris: Books

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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2.0 out of 5 stars Holy Fools is a Holy Mess, Oct 9 2009

By	R. A. Kerr (Canmore, AB Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Holy Fools: A Novel (Paperback)

This was chosen by my book club otherwise I never would have finished it. Unsympathetic main characters, annoying plot holes, a shallow 21st century worldview instead of a semi-authentic 17th century worldview, an anti-climatic climax, blah blah blah. My list of grievances goes on. The premise is really intriguing, though, which makes the disappointment all the greater. Save yourself the bother and pick something else. People who like her writing say her books about food are much better.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The moral of the story, Dec 12 2006

By	Intrepid - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holy Fools: A Novel (Paperback)

The elaborate prose,intricate plot and vacillating first person structure keep the reader intrigued and entertained while the author sets up her body blow against organized religion. Plot and character development progress in lockstep and continue to the very end of this suspense ladened tale. In the end only the atheists emerge with any virtue while the 'believers' are exposed as dangerous fools at best and mendacious rogues at worst. Had Harris set this tale in the Islamic world there would surely be a fatwa directed at her by now.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Just okay, Jul 28 2005

By	C. Brown "English teacher" (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Holy Fools: A Novel (Paperback)

I'm not sure what to make of this book. Although it's set in the 1600s, the language is modern (Harris discusses this choice at the end of the book but I'm still not satisfied) and the motivations and actions of the people are also very modern (I hope that makes sense). It wasn't just the 12 year old leader or the weird sexual behaviour of the nuns (which I think is just comic really) that threw me in the reading of this book. I just didn't GET IT really. Were we supposed to sympathize with the main character? She's not very sympathetic. Are we supposed to forgive LeMerle? He's not very forgiveable. Are we to believe that all nuns are sexually and/or emotionally deprived to the point where they make absolute asses of themselves when a man comes on the scene? Apparently so. Was this Harris' opportunity to take shots at Catholicism? Anyway, it wasn't ALL bad. I enjoy Harris' writing style (but this one was harder to follow as characters have multiple names and sometimes I didn't know whose thoughts I was reading) and I found the antics of the nuns quite amusing. Not great - just okay.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars a pageturner set in 1610 France...
Juliette is part of a travelling circus of sorts ~ a group of 'holy fools'. She finds herself involved with the leader, LeMerle. Read more

Published on Jun 7 2004 by mamareadssomuch

5.0 out of 5 stars Love and Hate off the Coast of Historical France -- Spoiler
As the clever and resourceful rope dancer L'Ailee of a traveling troupe of actors, Juliette begins her narrative with her own admission that the birth of her daughter, Fleur, five... Read more

Published on Jun 2 2004 by Diana F. Von Behren

4.0 out of 5 stars "You wanted me dead, so I decided to live."
I have a weakness for quality historical fiction and HOLY FOOLS certainly satisfied my cravings. Set on the remote rocky seashore near Brittany, France in 1605 this novel tells... Read more

Published on April 19 2004 by S. Calhoun

4.0 out of 5 stars Its better to believe in a false god than no god at all"
I'm in two minds about Holy Fools. Harris has written a lively, and provocatively imagined story of life, deception, turmoil, and revenge in the seventeenth century but the... Read more

Published on Mar 21 2004 by M. J Leonard