Lent

March 15, 2019
A mystical stone and time travel play roles in the redemption of the Renaissance-era priest and reformer Girolamo Savonarola in this unusual historical fantasy.At the end of the 15th century, Brother Girolamo seeks to keep his adopted city of Florence both physically safe and spiritually pure in the wake of the death of the great politician Lorenzo de'Medici and a looming invasion by both the French and an army of demons that only Brother Girolamo can see. Even armed with his abilities to cast those demons back to hell and to prophesy the future, he cannot keep his enemies from the secular world of politics or rivals in the church from executing him for heresy. But after his death, Girolamo learns that his entire life was a lie: In fact, he is a demon, a Duke of Hell condemned to live the same life over and over in mortal form, unable to receive divine mercy or make a lasting difference. But when he's sent back to Florence the next time, something changes: The touch of a green stone brings back Girolamo's memories of his demonic existence and his repeated lives. With that hideous knowledge, Girolamo wonders if it's possible to change destiny, both for Florence and himself. He begins forging alternate paths in the secular and religious worlds, which eventually intersect with another embodied demon who calls himself Crookback but whom history knows as Richard III of England. Walton masterfully engenders sympathy for the fanatic Savonarola, conveying how devastating it is to remember God's love but be forever cut off from it. This book may also impel her close readers to perform their own feats of intellectual gymnastics. Walton's Thessaly trilogy (Necessity, 2016, etc.) features two of Girolamo's friends, the historical figures Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Marsilio Ficino, who are snatched out of time just before their deaths by the Greek gods to participate in an attempt to build Plato's Republic. This suggests that not only does the Judeo-Christian God coexist with the Greek pantheon, but that both employ time travel to explore philosophical possibilities; that indeed, it is a vital part of the theological toolbox.By itself, a fascinating meditation on the choices which alter lives and the course of history; in the context of Walton's other novels, positively mind-bending.

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Starred review from April 15, 2019
In this powerful, thoughtful historical fantasy, Walton (Starlings) explores the struggle of meaningful redemption. On the eve of Lorenzo de’ Medici’s 1492 death, Dominican ascetic Brother Girolamo Savonarola—prophet and seer of Boschian demons—finds a green stone at a Florence nunnery. Only after building political power, negotiating Florence’s safety from a French army, establishing his utopian city, and undergoing terrible suffering does Girolamo learn he is not who he thought, and he realizes that the stone is his key to finding hope amid shock and loss. Alongside friends Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Marsilio Ficino (familiar from Walton’s Thessaly trilogy), he begins a struggle to harrow Hell, and changes history and himself. Girolamo’s mix of moral rigidity and reflexive kindness makes him a complex yet affecting guide to this intricate set of alternate histories, each rendered gently but with a devastating emotional weight. Fans of Connie Willis and The Good Place will be awed by this nuanced, loving grapple with better selves and better worlds. Agent: Jack Byrne, Sternig & Byrne Literary.

May 1, 2019
Brother Girolamo has the divine gift of prophecy and he can see demons. He wants nothing more than to keep Florence safe and spread the faith, but a convent there is overrun by demons, all of whom are focused on a recently acquired book by Pliny. Girolamo is hindered by politics and by war?Lorenzo de' Medici dies, leaving his son Piero in power; the leadership of the Dominican order objects to Giorlamo's preaching; and there is an impending invasion by the French army. He labors on, believing wholeheartedly in his faith; ultimately, however, he is executed, excommunicated, and discovers the truth. Over the course of lifetimes, he tries every path he can to change the course of history, keeping Florence from damnation and achieving his own salvation. Lent is a dense but rewarding look at the long, long road to redemption. The background characters?including some well-known historical figures?are an interesting and varied bunch, and the trials of Florence are a wonderful backdrop for the story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)