The Book of Joan Summary
Lidia Yuknavitch

The Book of Joan Overview

The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel about a young woman who saves Earth as the harbinger of both its destruction and its regeneration. The story alternates between the perspectives of Joan, the young woman, and Christine, a 49-year-old woman living aboard a space station controlled by a malevolent dictator named Jean de Men. Joan and Christine, along with a supporting group of revolutionaries, must topple de Men's regime and harness Joan's powerful connection to the earth to usher in an age of rebirth. The novel's themes involve stories and the authority of the storyteller, human devolution, resistance, and femininity.