Get our Best Book Club Books of 2025 eBook!

Reviews by Nancy H. (Englewood, CO)

Order Reviews by:
Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
by Mary Sharratt
Expected More (9/25/2012)
I really wanted to like Illuminations: a Novel of Hildegard Von Bingen by Mary Sharratt. I have been fond of Hildegard for many years, reading much of her writings and songs. A multitalented woman, who had spiritual visions since childhood, who brought much to the spiritual lives of women by embracing not only prayer but beauty and play to her order.
Alas Illuminations was not the treasure I had hoped it would be. An imagined memoir, the author deviates a great deal from recorded history. I enjoy novels of real life people because it helps to bring the person into my concrete world. Good Hard Look: A Novel of Flannery O'Connor by Ann Napoliatano is one such book. Sharratt's imagination is too wild, making Hildegard appear too pious and yet too foolish. She makes Hildegard what she wants her to be, not what she was. She makes the relationship with Volmar a little too dear. I would love to know what went on in Hildegard's mind, but all we find here is what Sharratt hopes she thought.
Signed Mata Hari: A Novel
by Yannick Murphy
Mata Hari (12/3/2007)
This book was a lovely surprise. I knew nothing of Mata Hari and while this is a fictionalized account of the infamous spy, I learned much about the depth of her character. The alternating chapters reveal accounts of her past and her imprisonment in France. She didn't just decide to become a spy. The evolution from Margarethe with a troubled childhood and marriage to the bold Mata Hari evokes the complexities of how individuals become who they are. While I may have thought of Mata Hari with disdain before reading this book, I now see her with great empathy and even feel a connection with her. This is a great read and I think women especially will enjoy it.
  • Page
  • 1

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris
    by Evie Woods
    From the million-copy bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop.
  • Book Jacket
    Real Americans
    by Rachel Khong
    From the author of Goodbye, Vitamin, a novel exploring family, identity, and the shaping of destiny.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Seven O'Clock Club
    by Amelia Ireland

    Four strangers join an experimental treatment to heal broken hearts in Amelia Ireland's heartfelt debut novel.

  • Book Jacket

    The Fairbanks Four
    by Brian Patrick O’Donoghue

    One murder, four guilty convictions, and a community determined to find justice.

  • Book Jacket

    One Death at a Time
    by Abbi Waxman

    A cranky ex-actress and her Gen Z sobriety sponsor team up to solve a murder that could send her back to prison in this dazzling mystery.

  • Book Jacket

    Happy Land
    by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

    From the New York Times bestselling author, a novel about a family's secret ties to a vanished American Kingdom.

Who Said...

Beware the man of one book

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

A C on H S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.