The Passions of Saint Francis Charles Gaines

 Young Cecilia, torn between her desire to become a nun and her love for a man, ponders the question while she writes the story of Mother Chiara’s life in her journal. Later, Brother Leo, her friend, provides her with his account of the charismatic Francis, who he helped when Francis had lost his order, and turned to despair. This novel tells Saint Francis’s and Saint Clare’s stories in the form of these diaries in a simply-written, but an intense and profound way.

Saint Francis and Saint Clare are always fascinating, but this was a compelling story. What struck me most about this book was the passion which Francis and Chiara felt for one another, and the spiritual and unearthly love that it became. The author was at his best here. I felt that strangely, however, Charles Gaines probably captured Saint Clare’s personality better than Saint Francis’s, whose imagined fanaticism annoyed me until almost the end of the book when he and Urso, Brother Leo’s brother, began to consider huge religious questions. St Francis’s meeting with the Sultan was especially interesting.

Secular, hedonistic, but deep-thinking Urso, provides an excellent contrast to Francis, Chiara and Brother Leo. I also liked reading about Cecilia’s decision whether to join the Order of the Poor Sisters, and Mother Chiara acting as a mentor towards her. However, I am not sure that St Clare would have advised Cecilia the way that she did in real life. It seemed a modern view to me. Charles Gaines arguably applied some modern attitudes to the thirteenth century in this novel!

Apparently, Ethan Hawke loved this book, so here’s hoping that we’ll see him as Saint Francis! I can see Michelle Pfeiffer as Saint Clare. It’s interesting to note that Dolores Hart was inspired to become a nun after playing Saint Clare in Francis of Assisi (1961).

I received a free ebook from Edelweiss.plus in return for an honest review.