Pre-Book Club Thought Sorting

I have book club tonight.

I would normally be super super excited about that. For real. But I am incredibly hesitant about tonight. I have some very negative feelings towards the book, and I'd like to say it's because the writing isn't good. That is true, but the fact of the matter is that tonight, assuming people have actually read the book (debatable, really.) is going to turn into a discussion about religion. I am not one to shy away from religious discussion. Nor do I have fears in doing so. But it's going to be intense.

The book we read was Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross.

Do you know about Pope Joan? The supposed female Pope The Church has been hiding since the Dark Ages? Woolfolk Cross states in the historical research bit at the end that she isn't Catholic and how great it is that she is not because she wouldn't have a bias. Never mind she thinks there is a massive cover up by The Church to hide Joan from us. I don't know whether that's true. I don't know that anyone could prove that one way or another. But I also know how to cherry pick my sources to get the research to say what I want it to say and I am quite certain that is what she did here. Thank goodness the book is labeled fiction. 

For the author to say she doesn't have a bias is of course only one part of the story. In this case I think the proof is in the pudding. Which is to say that in this thoroughly researched book we meet not one truly faithful individual. In a time where money spoke even more than words and education was based on whether it could be afforded, it isn't hard to imagine that some men of the cloth wouldn't necessarily want to be religious. Were there and are there corrupt religious authorities? Yep. Wouldn't you encounter someone who wasn't? Well, I didn't live in the Dark Ages but my gut instinct is to say yes. 

The most insulting part of the book is not that a female pretended to be a male and became Pope. That's almost besides the point even as that is supposed to be scandalous. Because we would be ignorant as to say that no female, seeking to educate herself, didn't pass herself off as a man. Woolfolk Cross is correct to say that the hygiene of the time would in fact permit that situation to occur.  

What is truly scandalous within this book is that she wrote a Pope who values science over faith, idolize Norse gods and attempted an abortion. Whether a Pope is male or female is meaningless here when these come to light as she wrote the POPE as someone who rarely celebrated Mass or prayed at all. I think we can all agree that even in a time of corruption like the Dark Ages the Pope would still pray and not worship other Gods. Just thinking out loud. Joan is a secular feminist in the most modern version of the word. In her reign as Pope she instituted modern court room procedures (witnesses and defense) as well inventing intinction to help not spread germs during communion. 

Just no. 

No. 

I can get past the whole female Pope thing. I can. It's historical fiction and certainly worse things have been written about The Church. But the characterization of this secularist feminist who argues for women's rights at the age of 4, that's where I tuned out. The character of Joan values logic above all else and has very little faith at all. She is educated oh yes but she uses her knowledge, like Woolfolk Cross to cherry pick lines of scripture to prove her radical ideas. 

Let's not even get me started on the cheap romance novel part of the book, where our leading lady falls for a man old enough to be her father, lusts after him for the greater part of the book even though time separates them for many many years. Gerold has the depth of a Ken doll which makes this whole aspect book read a bit like a free Kindle book. They discover each other, they can't be together even though they want to and there is one brief moment of passion. Time passes. They accidentally bump into each other and all their love burns brighter than ever but now they really cannot be together for Joan is John. They finally get together and they die before their secret is exposed. 

Those are my problems with the book. And if our discussion tonight could stick to that, I would be very content. But in a group of women, who are all active in their churches but not a lot of Catholics I fear we are going to delve more into the cover up historical discussion. I am especially burdened because the other Catholic is the one who picked the book. One woman teaches history at the local community college and she is very nice but a little intense. She of course actually believes wholeheartedly that Pope Joan is a historical figure the world has forgotten about. 

Wish me luck. 

Have you read Pope Joan? I probably didn't convince you to but if you have or you do I would LOVE to talk to you about it!