#6 – I, Julian by Claire Gilbert – Best Reads of 2023

I did a full review of Claire Gilbert’s wonderful imagining of the life of the 14th century English mystic, Julian of Norwich, for the Englewood Review of Books. You can read it here. It is a much needed reclamation project, which forces readers to see Julian as much more than a traditionally quirky mystic. The Julian in these pages is really human and really formidable as a theological light.

The writing is simple and elegant. The characters illustrative of the times without being preachy. And the post-pandemic world Gilbert evokes is eerily similar to our own. I, Julian is #6 on our Best Reads list of 2023.

In case you missed the previous entries on this list:

#7 – Holy the Firm by Annie Dillard

#8 – The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer

#9 – Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles

#10 – 24 Hours in Charlottesville by Nora Neus