Holy Fools: a thrilling historical mystery from Joanne Harris, the bestselling author of Chocolat

expected more meatier plot abd and better narrative.

When we are first introduced to Juliette she is living as Soeur Auguste - A nun, a mother, a healer, a fugitive and a keeper of secrets, both her own and those of her fellow nuns. Life at this remote island convent is simple and safe - Until, that is, their elderly and lenient Abbess dies, leaving the Abbey of Saint Marie de la Mer vulnerable to the fervour of religious reform in 1600's France. The Abbess is replaced by the pious and aristocratic Mere Isabelle, only 13 years old and guided by the sinister but enigmatic Pere Colombin. Juliette's past as a glamorous travelling acrobat is about to catch up with her, and strikes at the one thing she left that life to protect - her daughter Fleur.Atmospheric and haunting from the start, this book is a true example of Harris's skill as a writer. Her trademark undercurrents of spirituality and magic are here, though this novel is darker than her other books. Pere Colombin is a more sinister harbinger of change, though, cleverly, it is never completely clear whether he is a flawed, redeemable charmer or a manipulative, evil villain.The nuns give Harris plenty of material for humour, deceit, heartbreak and chilling hysteria, and all the time Abbey life contrasts starkly with the colourful life of Juliette as the travelling circus performer - A life of music and glittering costumes and few moral obligations. The ending is a little untidy and far-fetched in some parts for my tastes but it is a minor observation on a very good book indeed.

Having never read anything by Joanne Harris, I didn't have any particular expectations of this book, and yet still managed to end up feeling disappointed. The entire book feels like a collection of contrived situations solved by convenient coincidences by completely one-dimensional characters.For a start, the main character is beautiful, fit and strong, fluent in Latin, skilled in herbal lore, knowledgeable about everything from astronomy to engineering, and generally the most magnificent woman to walk the Earth. She isn't religious (being, naturally, too intelligent and rational for silly things like religion) but still hides in a convent where everyone likes her and she's even allowed to keep her daughter with her. This is completely unconvincing, and it's also quite irritating. It's not really easy to identify with a character who always knows better, is always right and solves all the problems.The other character, to whose journal entries we are treated later on, is supposed to be a man "she has every reason to fear", according to the back cover. It is not only not clear why she has any particular reason to fear him, it is, in fact, not even expressed in the narrative. Thus, he is a man she is mildly annoyed with while also kind of liking him, but only sometimes. Of course, this character is also the most handsome, intelligent, cunning and otherwise most impressive of men.The story itself develops amid a crowd of nuns who are pretty one-dimensional (the old Abbess is really lovely, the new Abbess is really horrible, etc.) and they all have some sort of particular affliction or unpleasant trait. They are all completely reliant on religion, afraid of the world outside, naive beyond belief, and of course too stupid to figure anything out. Just how the perfect heroine fits into this group is a mystery (this leads to her constantly lecturing the nuns on what the world is really like, only to be rebuked by a chorus of incredulous opposition one would expect of small children). The biggest disappointment is that the entire mystery / secret plot the story is based on isn't actually presented to readers in a way they can solve. Strange twists happen out of the blue, characters suddenly change their behaviour, big revelations are simply announced without having ever been hinted at... overall, the reader is constantly left wondering if s/he is particularly dense or if all those new developments were really never obvious until the moment of their revelation.The ending is the biggest disappointment, what with everything miraculously working in the heroine's favour against all odds, characters behaving completely out of character and a gaggle of lucky coincidences. And just when you thought you know how the story ends, something else happens that makes absolutely no sense based on what you were told previously - and you're left wondering if the book was perhaps written by two people taking turns every couple of pages.This is a good book to read when stranded at an airport for hours on end, since it has quite a good pace (and big letters), which makes it a quick read that is more interesting than the departures board. However, in any other situation, I would advise anyone to look for a book with more depth and sense in it. Practically any book in the world will do.

When saw this book after reading a review of same. It was a perfect present for our friend in Australia, and she has said she thoughrily enjoyed it whilst relaxing in the oppressive heat! As always with Amazon, it arrived on time,well packaged and before the due date.

I am a fan of her books: "it is not what is told but HOW is the stody told" that normally grabs our attention. In this case it is BOTH; this is an excellent book, and although it is supposed to be a historical novel, it has the XXI century perspective that provides insighful thoughts thorughout the chapters with an unexpected and wonderful ending.