Lent

Hardcover, 382 pages

English language

Published by Tor.

ISBN:
978-0-7653-7906-1
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5 stars (6 reviews)

From Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning Jo Walton comes Lent, a magical re-imagining of the man who remade fifteenth-century Florence—in all its astonishing strangeness

Young Girolamo’s life is a series of miracles.

It’s a miracle that he can see demons, plain as day, and that he can cast them out with the force of his will. It’s a miracle that he’s friends with Pico della Mirandola, the Count of Concordia. It’s a miracle that when Girolamo visits the deathbed of Lorenzo “the Magnificent,” the dying Medici is wreathed in celestial light, a surprise to everyone, Lorenzo included. It’s a miracle that when Charles VIII of France invades northern Italy, Girolamo meets him in the field, and convinces him to not only spare Florence but also protect it. It’s a miracle than whenever Girolamo preaches, crowds swoon. It’s a miracle that, despite the Pope’s determination to bring young Girolamo to …

1 edition

Review of 'Lent' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Having read some amazing essay collaborations between Jo Walton and Ada Pamler, including the stupendously important "The Protagonist Problem", when I saw that Jo Walton had written a novel of Medici Florence, I began reading it straightway, only barely registering the title and not even glancing at the blurb—as a lover of the art of Italian Renaissance, especially Florentine art and architecture, I know I couldn't go wrong.

What a story. What verve! I have read a couple of novels steeped in the Catholic mythology (Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow) and gladly add this to that esteemed company—and am especially grateful to avoid even the slightest of spoilers.

I love the color Jo Walton gives us: scraping muck off one's shoes before entering a house, dipping bread in soup. I also find myself very thoughtfully reflecting on how the entire …

Review of 'Lent' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I really dug this. The first half or so is enjoyable, but not amazing, historical fiction, then there's a wtf moment and it turns into something else entirely. The whole thing is steeped in humanism and decency and I just realized it's basically The Good Place as a historical novel set in Renaissance Italy. Holy motherforking shirtballs.

Review of 'Lent' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Walton writes very different books, you never know what you're in for, but it's always a treat. So in this book, which for the first half seems like a retelling of historical events, then takes a sharp turn and becomes a fantastic groundhog day story. Also really makes me want to see Florence, as if My Real Children hadn't done that already.

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