The Passion of Dolssa

This is a meticulously written book about simple people in a town in 13th century Provensa a region that later became Langudoc and then part of Southern France.There is a young girl who is very religious and talks to people about her love for Jesus and his love for her. People sees her as holy and this threatens the Priests who accuse her of heresy. She runs away and is found dying by a young woman who takes her home where she lives with her 2 sisters and drunken father.The book describes their simple lives until the young girl they saved shows herself to be touched by God. She heals people. The Priests who have been pursuing her, find her in the town and demonstrate the horrific cruelty they bestow on the girl and anyone who harbored her and even the innocent people who did not know her.The characters are wonderful and clearly drawn. The story shows the wonder of Faith and how its opposite can have deadly consequences. I laughed and cried.I highly recommend it.

I tend to avoid religion-based novels because authors often subtlety (or not so subtlety) attempt to sway the reader into believing in God. Berry, however, does a great job establishing the historical backdrop of the story and conveying the importance of religion in that historical context without impressing her own beliefs. Indeed, the crux of the story is the bond of sisterhood between Dolssa and Botille, which I found to be heartrending and tragic. The novel does not provide a happy ending and for that, I found the story to be more realistic.

The idea of religious inquisition is probably pretty foreign to most of us. The idea that people would give over their neighbors and friends to avoid persecution comes to life in this novel, based on real stories. It is a timely idea and well executed here. Pre-marital sex and prostitution are mentioned but without graphic portrayal. They are described as a realistic, historical fact. More fictional is the mystic powers of the women, presented as the testimony of various interviewees. I read and listened to this book and the audio version is also quite lovely. The reader's voice is pleasant and it is useful to hear some of the non-English words pronounced..

Found it slow and strange. Not much story line.

This was a very thought provoking read. I'm well past the age of the target YA audience (let's be honest...by decades). However, the book was at times challenging and held my attention. My son had written a research paper in high school about this time period and it served as a good reference point for me because Dolssa was set during the Inquisition. I plan to go back and re-read sections as it was a time I'm not overly familiar with. Berry clearly did significant background research.The variety of Berry's works continues to surprise me. She exhibits depth, humor, and a quirkiness that is always entertaining.

My daughter loved this book! It was full of detail and action, but also emotion, it would have been five out of five but she’s a hard one to impress.

I hesitate to say I enjoyed reading about a young, 13th-century female mystic hounded by the Inquisition, but I did. Julie Berry's story, crafted around a number of historical figures and composites of others, is a well researched and well written page-turner. She skillfully portrays the hopes, fears, and struggles of people trying to survive, and even find a little happiness in, this horrible period in the history of Christianity. I was particularly impressed by her ability to do this without leaving the reader in despair at every turn. The Passion of Dolssa was a great read.

Once I began, I could not put this book down. The writing is beautiful, the characters fully alive, and I read in increasing anxiety about the fate of the main characters. I was so upset by the ending, total bummer. Yes, the crusades and inquisitions were awful, terrible, horrible, etc., etc. nonetheless I wanted a happy ending.

The book itself is supposed to be amazing! I have loved this author since I read 'Lovely War'.The pages are in great condition but I'm very disappointed by the damage outside.