Reviews for Passionate Troubadour: A Medieval Novel about Francis of Assisi

The average rating for Passionate Troubadour: A Medieval Novel about Francis of Assisi based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-09-08 00:00:00 Lynda Johnson My sister was captivated by this book and read me a passage from the beginning that caught my attention. Hays's style is detailed, emotional, sometimes poetic. He makes history come alive with his descriptions of specific places and people. (Hays seems very knowledgeable about the culture of the twelfth century, as well as the intricasies of interpersonal relationships, politics, and the Church.) At first I loved the story of "Francesco's" disillusionment with the Church's decadence, intrigue, and hypocrisy, and I was inspired by the devotion of Francesco and his band of followers - abandoning everything in order to devote their lives to loving the Lord passionately, helping the poor, and living lives of "joyful poverty." I loved the way they lived out the true Spirit of Christ in spite of all the worldly nonsense around them, but gradually as the story went on the truth of the gospel began to be watered down with the notion that good people are going to be OK, with or without the Gospel. Francesco meets and befriends non-believersin his travels, and shows them the love of Christ in a way that is admirable, but the idea that everyone was on their own journey to God began to permeate the story. I'm sure a lot of modern-minded readers found this delightful, but based on my understanding of Scripture, I will have to agree to disagree. Nevertheless, The Passionate Troubadour is a captivating and thought-provoking story of a historical period I had not known much about, and for that I am glad I read it.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-03-11 00:00:00 Thomas Eriksen Didn't even make it past chapter two. Don't read this book, it's boring and nasty.