Staff Pick
Lidia Yuknavitch's post-apocalyptic retelling of Joan of Arc's story is flat-out brilliant. The earth is decimated and the only possibility of life is on the hovering stations suspended above the barren landscape. The stations are highly patrolled and the inhabitants are continuously watched; is this a life worth living? But, despite its ruin, there are two women left on the earth: Joan and Leone.
Exploring female relationships to each other, to men, and to their own bodies, Yuknavitch's tale is both chilling and comforting. A book about what it means to be human, what it means to be a woman, and how our bodies and souls connect and divide us, Yuknavitch's beautiful feminist story takes us back to a place before body and soul were separated. Stunning. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In the near future, world wars have transformed the earth into a battleground. Fleeing the unending violence and the planet's now-radioactive surface, humans have regrouped to a mysterious platform known as CIEL, hovering over their erstwhile home. The changed world has turned evolution on its head: the surviving humans have become sexless, hairless, pale-white creatures floating in isolation, inscribing stories upon their skin.Out of the ranks of the endless wars rises Jean de Men, a charismatic and bloodthirsty cult leader who turns CIEL into a quasi-corporate police state. A group of rebels unite to dismantle his iron rule--galvanized by the heroic song of Joan, a child-warrior who possesses a mysterious force that lives within her and communes with the earth. When de Men and his armies turn Joan into a martyr, the consequences are astonishing. And no one--not the rebels, Jean de Men, or even Joan herself--can foresee the way her story and unique gift will forge the destiny of an entire world for generations.A riveting tale of destruction and love found in the direst of places--even at the extreme end of posthuman experience--Lidia Yuknavitch's The Book of Joan raises questions about what it means to be human, the fluidity of sex and gender, and the role of art as means for survival.
Synopsis
The bestselling author of The Small Backs of Children offer a vision of our near-extinction and a heroine--a reimagined Joan of Arc--poised to save a world ravaged by war, violence, and greed, and forever change history, in this provocative new novel.
In the near future, world wars have transformed the earth into a battleground. Fleeing the unending violence and the planet's now-radioactive surface, humans have regrouped to a mysterious platform known as CIEL, hovering over their erstwhile home. The changed world has turned evolution on its head: the surviving humans have become sexless, hairless, pale-white creatures floating in isolation, inscribing stories upon their skin.
Out of the ranks of the endless wars rises Jean de Men, a charismatic and bloodthirsty cult leader who turns CIEL into a quasi-corporate police state. A group of rebels unite to dismantle his iron rule--galvanized by the heroic song of Joan, a child-warrior who possesses a mysterious force that lives within her and communes with the earth. When de Men and his armies turn Joan into a martyr, the consequences are astonishing. And no one--not the rebels, Jean de Men, or even Joan herself--can foresee the way her story and unique gift will forge the destiny of an entire world for generations.
A riveting tale of destruction and love found in the direst of places--even at the extreme end of post-human experience--Lidia Yuknavitch's The Book of Joan raises questions about what it means to be human, the fluidity of sex and gender, and the role of art as a means for survival.
Lidia Yuknavitch on PowellsBooks.Blog
Lidia Yuknavitch is an exceptionally talented writer who reveals the most deeply hidden, secret parts within people. Her 2011 memoir,
The Chronology of Water, was met with acclaim, winning several awards and gaining her a loyal fan base with its undeniable bravery and resonant use of language...
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Lidia Yuknavitch on PowellsBooks.Blog
I don’t think I knew I was a writer in that “I am a writer” out loud sense until I was in my mid-20s. Even then I had my doubts. Though stories were pouring out of my fingers and head and heart, what I actually believed is that something might be wrong with me, because I could not stop the stories from coming...
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