Salvation: Scenes from the Life of St. Francis

by Valerie Martin

Book Overview

From the award-winning author of Property and bestselling author of Mary Reilly--"a bold retelling of a familiar, beloved story" (Los Angeles Times), inspired by the fresco cycles that depict the life... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375409831
• ISBN13: 9780375409837
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Salvation, by Valerie Martin.

Salvation is a very articulate and documented story of the life of St. Francis of Assisi. The book was ordered, along with several others, for a Secular Franciscan group for their continuing formation in the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Several members felt the author's overall description of St. Francis of Assisi gave them the humanness that was missing from the spirit that they knew of him. Her documentation using Franciscan resources gave further credence to the events of this saint's life. However, because it is a novel, the scenes are subject to the author's imagination. On the other hand, because of this imagination and the short segmented chapters, the book was an enjoyable read with the introduction being prophetically provocative.

A portrait gallery

I was prepared to dislike this book, although for the life of me I can't quite remember why. Perhaps it's because I distrust fictional accounts of Christian saints, particularly when they're written by nonbelievers. But I was quite mistaken in this case. Martin's "biography" of St. Francis is a wonderfully beautiful series of sketches. She takes scenes from his life--those related by the two earliest biographies by Thomas of Celano, but also later accounts such as Bonaventure's--and imaginatively weaves them into a cinematic-like skein that offers glimpses of the man Francis. So the reviewer who carps about her chronological lapses really misses the point. Martin doesn't intend to offer a straightforward account of the saint's life so much as a string of meditations that take their starting point from specific events in his life. Along the way she offers prose that is breathtaking in its beauty. Here's an example, taken from Martin's description of Francis early encounter with a leper--the episode that he himself, in his Testament, describes as his "conversion." Francis has just kissed the leper's hand: "His ears are filled with the sound of wind, and he can feel the wind chilling his face, a cold, harsh wind blowing toward him from the future, blowing away everything that has come before this moment, which he has longed for and dreaded, as if he thought he might not live through it. He reaches up, clinging to the leper's tunic, for the wind is so strong, so cold, he fears he cannot stand against it. . . . The two men clutch each other, their faces pressed close together, their arms entwined. The sun beats down, the air is hot and still, yet they appear to be caught in a whirlwind. Their clothes whip about; their hair stands on end; they hold on to each other for dear life."

A portrait gallery

I was prepared to dislike this book, because I tend to distrust imaginative "biographies" of Christian saints. Too often, they tend to be sweetly sentimental. But my concerns were pointless in this case. Martin's "biography" of St. Francis is a wonderfully beautiful and reflective series of sketches. She takes scenes from his life--those related by the two earliest biographies by Thomas of Celano, but also later accounts such as Bonaventure's--and imaginatively weaves them into a cinematic-like procession that offers glimpses of the man Francis that shed light on our own spiritual journeys. The reviewer who carps about Martin's chronological lapses really misses the point of what she's trying to do. She doesn't intend to offer a straightforward account of the saint's life so much as a string of meditations that take their starting point from specific events in his life. And along the way she offers prose that is breathtaking in its beauty. Here's an example, taken from Martin's description of Francis early encounter with a leper--the episode that he himself, in his Testament, describes as his "conversion." Francis has just kissed the leper's hand (p. 241): "His ears are filled with the sound of wind, and he can feel the wind chilling his face, a cold, harsh wind blowing toward him from the future, blowing away everything that has come before this moment, which he has longed for and dreaded, as if he thought he might not live through it. He reaches up, clinging to the leper's tunic, for the wind is so strong, so cold, he fears he cannot stand against it. . . . The two men clutch each other, their faces pressed close together, their arms entwined. The sun beats down, the air is hot and still, yet they appear to be caught in a whirlwind. Their clothes whip about; their hair stands on end; they hold on to each other for dear life." Wow! With writing like that, how could one not love this book?

Holy or Insane?

I just finished Salvation: Scenes from the Life of St. Francis and found it to be a provacative read. Martin is a captivating writer, who handles a potentially biased topic with journalistic objectivity. But still, she manages to relay the deep emotion that surrounded and continues to surround St. Francis and his life. What I appreciated most about Martin's writing was that it gave small pictures of St. Francis, some which showed clearly his holiness and devotion to Christ, others that made you wonder if he was a complete lunatic.For those of us who have studied the life of Christ, we find an interesting parallel. CS Lewis once said that Christ was either the Savior of the world or a raging lunatic. Too often, people shy away from the uncomfortable when they approach such topics. Because of that, people miss out on the complexity of the people. Too many people think Christ floated 3 inches off the ground and acted like he was stoned most of the time. They don't talk about anger, despair, humor and the like. They often make the same mistakes regarding saints.Martin shows here that St. Francis was a man who took a radical stand in his faith. Who knows...maybe he was holy AND insane!

Poverty vs. Materialism

Martin describes the life of St. Francis of Assisi with short, vivid scenes rather than traditional narration. Martin, who is not Catholic, not particularly religious, and not a believer in miracles, gives us a story with real ramifications for Christianity - just as did the life of St. Francis himself.Why is this book interesting, especially for nonbelievers and skeptics? In the first place, the vividness of the descriptions provides an engaging and fascinating look at medieval existence. In the second place, the stories in the book keep returning to an important but ignored concept: the power, spirituality and value of poverty. This is not something which most Christians in contemporary America seem to really believe in any more - even though it was a standard belief for Christians in the middle ages.