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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780802143792
ISBN number: 0802143792
Label: Grove Press
Manufacturer: Grove Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: July 08, 2008
Publishing house: Grove Press
Sale Popularity Level: 627762
Studio: Grove Press
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Product Description:
A riveting mystery that recalls the work of Umberto Eco and Barry Unsworth, A Stolen Tongue is the captivating debut novel that launched critically acclaimed author Sheri Holman’s literary career.
In 1483, Father Felix Fabri sails from Germany to Mount Sinai on a pilgrimage to venerate the relics of Saint Katherine of Alexandria. But at each of the shrines he visits throughout Greece and Palestine, he finds that the remains of Katherine’s body are being stolen piece by piece: her hand, her ear, and then her tongue vanish from their holy resting places. Desperate to discover the thief and save his saint from such appalling desecration, Felix is thrust into a strange mystery that takes him across the desert and plumbs the depths of his soul.
Amazon.com Review:
The narrator of Sheri Holman's debut novel, A Stolen Tongue is Father Felix Fabri, a 15th-century monk on a pilgrimage to Alexandria, Egypt, to visit his 'wife,' Saint Katherine. The fact that Katherine is long dead, her various body parts distributed among reliquaries from Greece to Palestine, does not dilute Felix's passion for his spiritual mate. Indeed, from the day he very first offered himself to her as a boy, it has been his life's ambition to travel to the Sinai, where she was martyred, visiting each relic along the way. But every time Felix arrives at one of these holy places, he finds a piece of Katherine gone. First her hand, then her ear, then her tongue--all stolen.
This historical mystery has many charms, not least among them Father Felix himself. Ms. Holman has done both the actual historic figure and her novel a great service by occasionally allowing this unique individual to speak in his own words (translated from the Latin by the late Aubrey Stewart) on such subjects as 'Why the Eucharist May Not Be Celebrated on Shipboard' or 'The Rules for Pilgrimage.' It is a testament to the author's skill that the seams stitching together the fictional Felix and the historic one are well-nigh invisible.
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Rated by buyers -
I read this book about 4 or 6 yrs ago and I enjoyed it. I have since looked for books by the same author.
Rated by buyers 
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A medieval monk undertakes a pilgrimage to Mt Sinai to visit the major relics of his spiritual "wife", St Katherine of Alexandria. Along the way, he encounters a mysterious woman claiming to be "St Katherine's Tongue", because she hears the voice of the saint giving her messages to disseminate to the present day world. After one day's acquaintance, this mystic inexplicably vanishes. At the same time, the small relics of St K, such as her ear and yes, her tongue, are stolen on the very days that Brother Felix visits them in their holy shrines. Intriguing, no?
Intriguing, no., which is unfortunate because this plot holds such promise. This short (352 pages) novel's downfall is the absence of any real action. Lots of talk, lots of prayer and philosophy, lots of getting on and off the ship, but while Felix attempts to solve the mystery and restore to his "bride" her missing parts, he fails to convey any sense of adventure or excitement. The details of medieval life are there and seem accurate enough, but the life itself is lackluster. The back cover promises humor, but it is as well hidden as the pilfered relics. Perhaps the story would have better been told by a 3rd person, but we'll never know. And who okayed the title?
This is the fourth of Holman's novels that I've read, two of which (Mirabilis and The Dress Lodger) were equally flat. The Mammoth Cheese, set in modern America, is much more enjoyable.
Rated by buyers 
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The very first commandment of historical fiction is: Make it real. Make it seem like the reader is there in that time period, and this Sheri Holman does exceedingly well with her very first novel. In 1483 a friar travels from Germany to the Sinai desert on a pilgrimage. The clothes, the modes of travel, the smells and tastes are drawn well enough to bring the reader into the time period, but here also the author has created the mental landscape, the beliefs, misconceptions, fictions, prayers and foundations of medieval knowledge that seem so wrong and at times humorous to us. Then there is the mystery, who to trust, people getting killed; pursuit abandon despair and heroics all rolled into a well told story.
A must for anyone with an interest in the time period. It works on many levels.
Rated by buyers -
This book does an excellent job of conveying the mindset and worldview of someone who is participating in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the 1400s, as well as all sorts of details about what the pilgrim encountered when there. Having a window into that world was interesting, for a while.
However that is not enough to make a good book. The primary disgusting aspect of this book is the constant theme of reveling in dried up body parts of supposed saints, but there are other disgusting aspects as well.
The book starts out interesting, conveying how very different the bizarre world view of a religious christian at that time was to the world we live in today. And there is a problem introduced that seems like it is going to be a mystery that will drive the plot. But then after the very first say 1/3 of the book, the middle of the book is succession of boring and tedius groveling and praying at various holy sites. (This could be interesting if this is of meaning to you.) Then at the end, aspects of the problem return, and things get really grim and disgusting. There is no mystery and ensuing detective thought and insight, there is just straightforward progress in dealing with the problem. Oh yes, a touch of "magical realism" that jumps in out of the blue at a critical scene at the end.
It is too bad there is so little plot, and what little there is has such a unpleasant taste to its resolution. The author has gone to great effort to provide a well-written and excruciatingly detailed picture into the world of 1400s pilgrimages, which I did find interesting. But it reads more as a boring travelogue framed by a bit of plot distastefulness at the beginning and end.
Also, in an afterward, you read that it was based on the translations of this real guy's journals. So then I wonder how much of it was actually conceived by the author, or just put into good narrative form from what was extant in the journals.
Rated by buyers -
As other reviewers have stated better than I can, this is a wonderful, well written book. What struck me the most is how it brings back all the memories for me of growing up in Catholic school in the 1950's and 60's. The only reading material we had in the early grades were "lives of the saints" - which I read over and over. This novel helped me understand where all the "saint stuff" came from, how it was used, and the purpose of it in the church ruled society. As anyone knows, who grew up during my time, it's all gone now. Indulgences, martyrdom, and St. Agnes eating the putrid bandage as penence - Wow! I found it well worth reading for the insights.
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