Ok! It took almost two solid months, but I finally finished this doorstop of a book. I didn’t realize I was signing up for a weight training regimen when I started, but lugging this thing around…I dunno, I feel stronger?
All kidding aside—this isn’t a hard read, there’s just a lot of it. I really enjoy historical fiction like this—I was reminded of another book I really enjoyed, Isabella Hammad’s The Parisian.
I definitely enjoyed the early chapters more, when the sweep of religious fervor still holds mystery, possibility, and no small amount of danger. The later chapters are tinged with disillusionment and encroaching modernity, as if “real” history must close the book on this fantastical tale.