The pattern at every bookstore visit is this: If a book caught my eye, I'd check it out immediately on Goodreads. The synopsis had me sold instantly:
St. Peter's Square, Rome. White smoke signals that a new Pope has been chosen. Is it possible that the new Pope...is a woman?
The world is watching as historic crowds gather in Rome, waiting for news of a new Pope, one who promises to be unlike any other in the Church's history. Some followers are ecstatic, but the leading candidate has made a legion of powerful enemies.
From a difficult childhood with drug addled parents, to a career as a doctor on the front lines in Sudan, to a series of trials that test her faith at every turn, Brigid Fitzgerald's convictions and callings have made her the target of all those who fear that the Church has lost its way - dangerous adversaries who abhor challenges to tradition. Locked in a deadly, high-stakes battle with forces determined to undermine everything she believes in, Brigid must convert her enemies to her cause before she loses her faith ... and her life.
I didn't even notice the description on the back of the book is different.
So this became one of those books I grabbed on impulse. I mean, how could I NOT be intrigued? I wanna know how modern society looks like if it's run by a woman pope.
No sooner did I realize this was going to be a biographical novel. Well, sort of. I was looking forward to reading the situational outlook of the world, but it's more about the makings of a woman of God.
"Woman of God" tells the neverending trials of Brigid Fitzgerald, starting from her difficult childhood to her medical career to her callings thereafter. Inhuman ordeals seem to nab her at every turn, as she jumps from one tribulation after another with amazing courage and steadfastness. A lot of comparisons have been made between the Job of the Bible and her story, and some reviewers have said she's had it worse. I agree that with what the writers have put her through, anyone sane would've stopped believing in God by the end of the first act - the faith this woman had was unreal.
That said, the book was super fast-paced, way too swift for me as a reader to form a coherent train of thought. Each chapter covers three to five pages max, which is nice when it's supposed to be a thriller. The writing itself wasn't a problem, but I didn't think the staccato chapters serve the overarching transformation of the character. It did help to show how Brigid has to keep moving, lest she's defeated by her circumstances. It's in the nature of a person of faith. If you stop believing in a higher power, that's when you go stationary, deadlocked in life's insurmountable challenges. And so, I was expecting this amazing character-driven plot, but it feels more like a plot written in stone and then they stuffed this unrelatable character between the pages. The authors might have relied heavily on the deliberate progression of traumatic events instead of letting the character proclaim her faith in her own voice.
I understand that the plot was important to show the development of her faith, but some miracles happened so quickly before I could see how Brigid's processing of each, before we realize another tribulation has been lurking around the corner to pounce. I mean, she's caught a deadly viral infection and miraculously came out of it with zero problems, agreed to marrying someone on the spot just after learning he has romantic feelings for her, bought a full-blown house a few chapters after discovering she's an illegitimate daughter, and so on. I cannot fully grasp the depth of her psyche with such big leaps, because the authors didn't express much of Brigid's anguish. Her inner voice was minimally studded in between episodes, as if just there to keep the storyline consistent. It'll be like me telling you, can you believe this and that happened to Brigid? And you'd say yeah, she's so strong, or what a pity, or I can't imagine what it's like. Then move on to the next subject. You only care so much about her. And that's why I did not read the book quickly as it should - I cannot connect with Brigid as much as I wanted to.
The reason I kept turning the pages anyway? Not because I wanted to know how she'll deal with the pain, the grief, the suffering. By the second half of the book I was no longer interested in her. I just wanted to know what happens after the climactic event set twenty years ahead in the prologue. And when I found it out, I was gravely disappointed. I mean, I kind of saw it coming when there's only about a dozen pages left before I finished the book. All the tension built up about a woman pope from the beginning was dismissed just like that. I won't say anymore than that to prevent this from becoming a spoiler.
BUT, in all earnestness, it's precisely because she's seemingly distant and that I could only sympathize with her traumatic experiences, that still makes me think it's worth a read at least once, especially if you're a believer. She's like a saint, a public figure that you can only get inspired by and not so much interact with, and so by reading her life story, albeit fiction, with the things she's been through and her natural response to each of these trials, Brigid Fitzgerald has beautifully defined the paramount characters of humility, selflessness, and godliness. It's the only reason I gave it 3/5 stars still.
So this became one of those books I grabbed on impulse. I mean, how could I NOT be intrigued? I wanna know how modern society looks like if it's run by a woman pope.
No sooner did I realize this was going to be a biographical novel. Well, sort of. I was looking forward to reading the situational outlook of the world, but it's more about the makings of a woman of God.
"Woman of God" tells the neverending trials of Brigid Fitzgerald, starting from her difficult childhood to her medical career to her callings thereafter. Inhuman ordeals seem to nab her at every turn, as she jumps from one tribulation after another with amazing courage and steadfastness. A lot of comparisons have been made between the Job of the Bible and her story, and some reviewers have said she's had it worse. I agree that with what the writers have put her through, anyone sane would've stopped believing in God by the end of the first act - the faith this woman had was unreal.
That said, the book was super fast-paced, way too swift for me as a reader to form a coherent train of thought. Each chapter covers three to five pages max, which is nice when it's supposed to be a thriller. The writing itself wasn't a problem, but I didn't think the staccato chapters serve the overarching transformation of the character. It did help to show how Brigid has to keep moving, lest she's defeated by her circumstances. It's in the nature of a person of faith. If you stop believing in a higher power, that's when you go stationary, deadlocked in life's insurmountable challenges. And so, I was expecting this amazing character-driven plot, but it feels more like a plot written in stone and then they stuffed this unrelatable character between the pages. The authors might have relied heavily on the deliberate progression of traumatic events instead of letting the character proclaim her faith in her own voice.
I understand that the plot was important to show the development of her faith, but some miracles happened so quickly before I could see how Brigid's processing of each, before we realize another tribulation has been lurking around the corner to pounce. I mean, she's caught a deadly viral infection and miraculously came out of it with zero problems, agreed to marrying someone on the spot just after learning he has romantic feelings for her, bought a full-blown house a few chapters after discovering she's an illegitimate daughter, and so on. I cannot fully grasp the depth of her psyche with such big leaps, because the authors didn't express much of Brigid's anguish. Her inner voice was minimally studded in between episodes, as if just there to keep the storyline consistent. It'll be like me telling you, can you believe this and that happened to Brigid? And you'd say yeah, she's so strong, or what a pity, or I can't imagine what it's like. Then move on to the next subject. You only care so much about her. And that's why I did not read the book quickly as it should - I cannot connect with Brigid as much as I wanted to.
The reason I kept turning the pages anyway? Not because I wanted to know how she'll deal with the pain, the grief, the suffering. By the second half of the book I was no longer interested in her. I just wanted to know what happens after the climactic event set twenty years ahead in the prologue. And when I found it out, I was gravely disappointed. I mean, I kind of saw it coming when there's only about a dozen pages left before I finished the book. All the tension built up about a woman pope from the beginning was dismissed just like that. I won't say anymore than that to prevent this from becoming a spoiler.
BUT, in all earnestness, it's precisely because she's seemingly distant and that I could only sympathize with her traumatic experiences, that still makes me think it's worth a read at least once, especially if you're a believer. She's like a saint, a public figure that you can only get inspired by and not so much interact with, and so by reading her life story, albeit fiction, with the things she's been through and her natural response to each of these trials, Brigid Fitzgerald has beautifully defined the paramount characters of humility, selflessness, and godliness. It's the only reason I gave it 3/5 stars still.
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