A Recent Martyr

by Valerie Martin

Emma Miller describes her relationships with Pascal Toussaint, her lover, and Claire D'Anjou, a friend who was ordered to leave her convent and experience the real world

Genres: Fiction

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Valerie Martin is the author of nine novels, including Trespass, Mary Reilly, Italian Fever, and Property, three collections of short fiction, and a biography of St. Francis of Assisi, titled Salvation. She has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as the Kafka Prize (for Mary Reilly) and Britain’s Orange Prize (for Property). Martin’s last novel, The Confessions of Edward Day was a New York Times notable book for 2009.
A new novel The Ghost of the Mary Celeste is due from Nan Talese/Random House in January 2014, and a middle-grade book Anton and Cecil, Cats at Sea, co-written with Valerie’s niece Lisa Martin, will be out from Algonquin in October of 2013.
Valerie Martin has taught in writing programs at Mt. Holyoke College, Univ. of Massachusetts, and Sarah Lawrence College, among others. She resides in Dutchess County, New York and is currently Professor of English at Mt. Holyoke College.

Reviews

[Fabian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erotic and religious, this is literature for adults to contemplate. Set against the backdrop of NOLA-- it was recommended to me by a bookshop owner and it did not disappoint. The plague is another timeless--now irrefutably contemporary--motif. The ending is heartbreaking but also a very natural way to end this type of novel....

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished my reread last night. Emotional, disturbing, cathartic - I'm still in a fog from its clutches.

One of those rare novels that makes me not want to read another novel right away, because I'm still living in this one.

I first read this book shortly after it came out ('87), and I like it even more this time. I certainly appreciate it more - I am 20 years older, after all!

The story of the city seems even more relevant now (post-Katrina) than it did before. The last page is perfect.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this from my favorite bookshop in the quarter, because it’s set in and around the quarter. It was well written and I liked it fine. I’ll read just about anything set in New Orleans and the descriptions of the city were the parts I liked best.

[Bryan R · Rating 4 out of 5]

As every other reviewer has probably pointed out, the story is told from the point of view of a married woman as she recounts a dangerous affair with a misogynistic man named Pascal, and her friendship with an aspiring religious fanatic named Claire. The story is set in New Orleans during a modern day outbreak of bubonic plague. Martin impressively leverages this “triangle” so that we get glimpses of each character’s shifting desires and motives in relation to each other. Reminiscent of the early novels of Margaret Atwood and the stories of Mary Gaitskill, Martin also has a gift for rich description: the natural world, the politics of a fictional plague, sex, self-flagellation, etc. A strange book, to be sure, but rewarding to the reader who appreciates a slow, psychological narrative.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing story of the friendship between Claire, Pascal and Emma. I wouldn't really say it was a "love-triangle" and it was more based on obsession and destructive urges, and the mystery of who would ultimately be destroyed, becoming the martyr of the title. The description of the plague taking over New Orleans was realistic and believable.
A tribute to the author is that although it was written over 20 years ago, it also seems current and relevent.

[SmarterLilac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It features a dangerous affair, a mysterious religious girl and a meaningful look at the perils of obsessive love.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was incredibly tedious reading! I found most of it to be like I was reading someone's diary, and a lot of it was arrogant and self-serving psycho babble, but in some ways was insightful. I suppose my thought of this kind of analysis is "you have too much time on your hands".

[☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very cathartic but not erotic enough

[Julia Wilczak · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Chris Bentley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted a New Orleans specific book and boy howdy did I get it. The last page with the description of New Orleans is worth the full read.

[Rosalind Minett]

Because I'd lighted upon a book of her short stories, I had to get one of her novels. In a sense I didn't like this because of my irritation with the self-flagellation involved in religious ecstasy. The pure and innocent against the straightforward but increasingly depraved adulteress makes for a powerful good/evil theme, with, not surprisingly, a bit of a devil manipulating both, or trying to. It's a funny thing, to be totally impressed by something you're reading and not actually to enjoy it. I'd still highly recommend it.

[Ros Healy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up on holiday but probably not the sort of thing I would usually read. Set in New Orleans and focussing on the affairs of an adulterous wife and a strangely spiritual young woman she meets via her lover, I didn't really enjoy this but ploughed on with it as its well written and I wanted it to go somewhere. The dramatic end was completely unrealistic and silly but it had to have some sort of reconciliation. Sex scenes which were violent and unpleasant. Not to share with your mum. I did like the portrayal of the little girl, Chris.

[Js100 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A steamy novel in a steamy location. New Orleans sets the tone for this tale of intense sexual obsession frankly told, intertwined with intense religious feeling. Pascal the lover whose eye wanders to the nun whose unattainability and cool rejection inflames him further. The tale is told somewhat indirectly, but it works, and feels right. The shadow of death hangs over the second half, but things dont work out quite as we expect.
Sex, faith , death, the great themes brought together in a short very readable novel

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a read, but very confusing in terms of what timeframe it is set in. The setting seemed to be a blend of the old and futuristic. Oddly haunting considering the date it was written and the recent tragedy of New Orleans. Prepare yourself for a deep dark read.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really feel this one. The story was told in such a detached way...I'm not really sure what point the author was trying to get across, but honestly, I'm not interested in spending the time to think about it...