Holy Fools by Joanne Harris (Doubleday)

The Performance of Faith

If you’re tired of historical fiction that reads like a dusty museum tour, Holy Fools is the corrective you need. Joanne Harris ditches the romanticism of 17th-century France and gives us a world of mud, salt, and professional liars. The vibe is claustrophobic and intense; it’s basically a psychological thriller dressed in a habit. We’re trapped on an island with a group of nuns and a man who has mastered the art of the spiritual long con. It’s brilliant, cynical, and far more relevant than it has any right to be.

The story belongs to Juliette, a woman who spent her youth on a tightrope and her adulthood hiding in an abbey. She’s cynical, observant, and fiercely protective of her daughter. When her former lover, the con artist Guy LeMerle, arrives at the convent disguised as a priest, the book becomes a high-stakes chess match. LeMerle doesn't use a sword; he uses rumors. He turns the sisters against each other by manufacturing a "witchcraft" scare that feels uncomfortably similar to a modern social media dogpile.

The writing has a jagged, honest edge to it. Harris isn't trying to make you fall in love with the period; she’s trying to show you how terrifyingly easy it is to break a community from the inside. The pacing is tight for the most part, though it occasionally gets bogged down in the internal politics of the church. However, the character work is stellar. LeMerle is the kind of villain you love to hate because he’s so damn good at his job. He knows exactly which buttons to push to turn a peaceful retreat into a frantic asylum.

"The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast."

My verdict? Read this if you want a story that respects your intelligence. It’s for the people who prefer their history with a side of salt and a healthy dose of skepticism. It’s a sharp look at how we create our own monsters and then act surprised when they start biting. If you like your protagonists complicated and your villains charismatic, this is worth your time.

5/5

If you like this book, you'll like these too:

• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
• Labyrinth by Kate Mosse