Revenge fantasy gets bogged down in a Rabelaisian mire

There’s something disappointing about this “resistance” revenge fantasy, which too often feels like rebellion for rebellion’s sake

FICTION: The Book of Joan , By Lidia Yuknavitch, Canongate, €20.99

The Book of Joan, a new work of speculative fiction by memoirist, critic and teacher Lidia Yuknavitch, positions itself as a futuristic novel for the times. Framed as a retelling of the story of Joan of Arc, it sweeps between the past, detailing the final days of the Earth’s destruction, and the “doomed present tense”, where humanity’s remnants survive on a sky-colony ...