Customer Reviews

Life As Carola

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Joan Grant has written a vivid account of her life as Carola, the illegitimate daughter of a Griffin in 16th century Italy. One in a series of her "past life" novels, this account is seen through the child Carola's eyes against the backdrop of pre-Renaissance Italy. As Carola faces major life challenges and matures into a young woman she grows both in strength of character and spirituality. Grant's style, as always, is seemingly effortless (as in Winged Pharaoh and Scarlet Feather) and it is as though she'd experienced this life herself. It's a masterly read which has parallels for today's society as it contrasts the harsh conditions of the very poor with the excessive privileges of the rich. The idea that we cast off our bodies at the end of each life (as an actor does his costume) and return again and again until we learn life's lessons provides an intriguing perspective. An unforgettable book.

While most books expand one's intellectual knowledge, Joan Grant's novels inspire wisdom. Spiritual truths sparkle like precious gems throughout all of them. They are more than stories of forgotten eras, they are timeless manuals for living and dying. Life as Carola takes place in sixteenth-century Italy and characterizes the best and worst qualities of humanity and everything in between with emotional depth and poetic beauty. It is so far my favourite because it evokes how frustrating and lonely it is to retain memories of ancient wisdom and yet have to live in a society that niether understands nor accepts and therefore fears thoes who openly express it. They may not litterally torture and kill such ones anymore but they torture and kill us emotionally by making us feel that there is something wrong with us through words, lables, looks and subtle ignorance. The laws may have changed but the underlying judgemental attitude has changed little. In some ways I think this is even worse. Yet like Carola, I am proud to retain my memories of ancient teachings from other lives and realms beyond the physical whether society approves of it or not for also like Carola, they are my only comfort much of the time. It is important, however, to read Winged Pharaoh first since it is like the pilot light that all Joan's other novels glean their wisdom from. Thank you to Dawn Chorus Press for keeping these less popular of Joan's novels in print.

This was a very mystical read. It talked about things like withcraft, reincarnations, and sometimes Grant's descriptions of things were a little too grueling. However it was a good read and also a historical read that enlightended me about Renaissance Italy. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a good vocabulary and is ready for the breadth of emotions present in the book.

I liked this book I rated it between 4.5 and 4.75 stars. I liked it because it was a historical novel. It was a good well-written story. It is about an illegitamite daughter and her mother where she joins a group of actors, joins a convent, tried for Witchcraft, and has a happy ending. It felt like I was in Renaissance Italy. I love reading about history, and witchcraft.