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A Stolen Tongue

A Stolen Tongue

List Price: $13.00
Your Price: $9.75
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This was an interesting book
Review: This book was very interesting. This book is from a monk's point of view in the late 1400's. Sheri Holman does an excellent job of describing about Christianity, mystery, and how Friar Felix has to search the depths of his soul to find the religion in God within him.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Genius mingled with gimmickry
Review: This is the story of Felix Fabri, a Dominican from Ulm in Swabia, daring a 1483 pilgrimage to the obscure tomb of Ste. Katherine of Alexandria somewhere in the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. He imagined himself betrothed to the saint and it is this spiritual marriage that drives him to find her earthly remains. Lugubrious Felix was an actual historical figure (1441-1502) whose compulsive yearning was recorded in Aubrey Stewart's The Wanderings of Felix Fabri (1896; reprinted AMS Press 1971). It would have helped the reader to discover the historical orientation at the very beginning of the book instead of hidden away in the "Author's Note" on p.341. But Holman prefers to startle the reader by beginning in midst of one of the dreadful days of the journey and then feeds bits of information until the reader gets the idea. Alas, this is not a mystery novel where you would expect an unravelling of "who did it?". Instead the story moves exceedingly slowly through a world of superstition and religious mania with few noteworthy events. Felix narrates on several levels: with his fellow pilgrims, with the imaginary presence of Ste. Katherine, but mostly ghostlike with his confratres back in the Ulm monastery. It's likely that most readers will initially experience confusion and wonder who is talking to whom. There is a gimmicky element in Homan's style, as if she intends to vex, even confuse, the reader. Perhaps her acrobatic narrative skill tries to conceal the fact that there isn't really much of a story. And fickle Felix isn't much of a protagonist - there are no conflicts to be solved, no values to be defended. In short, there's no hero with whom the reader can sympathize or identify. Uncanningly clever metaphors and similes try to make up for this lacuna. Unfortunately, the effort stuffs the story so chockful of deliria and hallucinations and obscure metamorphoses that its pace slows to murky meanderings. When Felix finally says, "I can play this game no longer, brethren," many a reader might concur and seek a quick end to the book. Nonetheless, Holman's talents as a writer cannot be dismissed. Language's malleability achieves genius in her narration and her stunning vocabulary. She is an obedient follower of writers' workshops that insist on casting exposition into lively dialogues and even clever word games (the pilgrims associated saints with spices: St. Dominic = hot pepper; St. Anthony of the Desert = oregano). Holman's surrealistic scenes are interesting; for example she juggles metamorphoses of the woman Arsinoe into her own husband, into Ste. Katherine, and into a number of other vague entities. It is apparent that Holman thoroughly researched the physical and cultural conditions of the Middle Ages. (Among tidbits: In 1969 the Catholic Church annulled Friar Felix's spiritual marriage and Ste. Katherine was removed from Catholic canon). This is a difficult book to review as it mingles genius with gimmickry and leaves important dimensions unfulfilled.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: brilliant, exciting, thought provoking
Review: Throughout my educational days, I have never read a book which has brought my intellect to such a high extreme. I am overwhelmed by the amount of research, thought, and imagination brought by this author. For a first book, or even a 10th book, this author deserves all the highest praise available for this book. If you miss this one, you have surely missed a winne

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Challenging, Delightful
Review: What a treat it was to find this richly detailed novel of the personal and spiritual journey of Father Felix Fabri. This very human man of faith pulls us effortlessly into his world and along the uncertain and dangerous road of his pilgrimage. Holman has presented us with a character who serves as confidante and moral center of his traveling party, but without the off-putting piety of some in religious service. As he (and the reader) become embroiled in the mysteries and dangers of the journey, Felix questions his sacred beliefs as many of us have, and emerges with a stronger and more temperate view of all faiths, the secular world and his fellow man. A mature and thoughtful reader will surely count this novel among his or her favorites.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Exceptional Historical Mystery
Review: Wow! Holmen's A Stolen Tongue is wonderfully witty with unforgettable characters. Friar Felix's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is rendered in perfect detail, you can taste and smell the experience. The actual mystery keeps you guessing to the end.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Exceptional Historical Mystery
Review: Wow! Holmen's A Stolen Tongue is wonderfully witty with unforgettable characters. Friar Felix's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is rendered in perfect detail, you can taste and smell the experience. The actual mystery keeps you guessing to the end.


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