Impossible Saints (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780156006590)

What does it take for a woman to be judged saintly? In this wily, wonderfully original novel, Michle Roberts tells the story of the fictional Saint Josephine: her life and death, her childhood and evolution from woman to nun to abbess, her unlikely canonization. The more we discover, the more incredible her sainthood seems. Who was Saint Josephine? Craven nun or fearless miracle worker? Pious role model or seductress? Illuminating Saint Josephine's story are the equally fantastical stories of eleven actual female saints: mad one-armed girls, beauties locked in towers, mothers who encourage their daughters' fatal anorexia, ingenues who seduce and dismember their fathers. Together the stories expose the historical conflict between female sexuality and religion, the roots of female roles in the church, and the troubled love between fathers and daughters. In original exploration of love, faith, and desire, Impossible Saints is a funny, disturbing, and utterly compelling novel about modern women who came before their time.


Author: Mich駘e Roberts
ISBN-10: 0156006596
ISBN-13: 9780156006590
Publisher: Mariner Books
Language: English
Published: 07/08/1999
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 8.46h x 5.56w x 0.78d

Review Citation(s):
New York Times 10/10/1999 pg. 36