Book Description
This extraordinarily sensitive and insightful portrait of religious life centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful professional woman who leaves her life among the London elite to join a cloistered Benedictine community. In This House of Brede was the basis of a 1975 made-for-television film starring Diana Rigg.
Customer Reviews:
I have read this book over 20 times.......2007-06-08
My first copy of this book was a used paperback that was given to me when I was about 10. I read it and read it until it was falling apart. (I was excited when I found a hardback copy in a used bookstore a few years ago.) To this day, (30 years later) I still love this book. I can pick it up and read it cover to cover, or just open it and read from that chapter. I am not a very spiritual person, but there is just something about it that keeps me reading.
Shining Serenity.......2007-06-07
Even though I am not a Christian, I have loved this book for years. Something about it makes me pick it up every now and again so that I can slip back into the serene and comforting atmosphere of Brede.
Rumer Godden has woven an intricate story about an odd subject - contemplative nuns! - and, instead of following a strict chronological order - follows the development and growth of many of the nuns. Many of the nuns - and even the non-nuns - struggle with their own personal crises and flaws. Dame Philippa learns to be patient and to overcome the tragedy of her past. Abbess Catherine learns to lead, to reach out to people, and to trust in herself and in providence. Sister Cecily accepts her own beauty - both of body and of soul - and takes responsibility for it rather than turning away from people and hurting them. Mrs. Scallon learns to accept her daughter's decision and in some ways even appreciates it. Penny and Donald put their priorities in order and strengthen their marriage. Dame Agnes learns to be less critical and more loving; she acknowledges the worth of others. Dame Veronica confesses what her pride has compelled her to do and finally tells the truth. Dom Gervase recovers his confidence and can go back into the world. Each character is developed with love; each character is different (although a surprising number of them seem to be extremely well read); each character grows. We feel with them through their tears and smiles, sorrows and joys, despairs and yes, even triumphs - although the triumphs may be on a quieter scale than one finds in most other novels.
Yet, despite these personal crises, the book has an overarching serenity, possibly because all the nuns are devoted to the same end - praising their God - they all have vocations. Godden's writing, rich with detail, unstinting in her choice of words, leads us through the days and seasons and years of the contemplative life, so that we, the readers, also experience the garden in the garth, the moor hens in the dingle, the fresh air and the cries of the seagulls from Brede's tower, as well as the liturgical cycle in the church.
At the end of the novel, I, like Philippa Talbot, am likewise sorry that I must leave This House of Brede. I put it back on the shelf - but I know I can pick it up again and re-enter the enclosure doors, and again recover a measure of peace.
A smart novel about choosing the religious life -- without preachiness.......2007-03-10
Nuns. Scary creatures for some of us, conjured out of our dim pasts of grim schooldays, where these black-clad figures were objects of mystery and whispered gossip. Or figures of humor, such as The Penguin in the film The Blues Brothers, wielding a metal yardstick with fearsome accuracy. For those looking for scandal, convents have always been rumored to be hotbeds of lesbian vice, where devotion to god was really devotion to something else. But they still tend to be figures that tend to pass understanding, and usually leave confusion behind.
English author Rumer Godden wrote one of the best books in fiction or nonfiction about a monastery, and the women within, that can be found in literature. After reading
Stephen Murray's review of the
film of the same name, I knew it was time to take down my copy from the shelves and give it a rereading.
Brede Abbey is an abbey of Benedictine nuns, located in a small town in the English countryside. It is here that Philippa Talbot comes to try her vocation as a nun -- and she is anything but the sort of person that one would think to be a nun. For one, she's in her early forties, a widow, and a successful career woman in her own right, with a smart flat in a fashionable part of London, money of her own, and a lifestyle that most would envy. Now she's about to give all of that away -- literally -- and enter a world inhabited by women, dress in clothing that lacks any chic, take on deprivations and forgo luxury and in exchange for what? Philippa's co-workers and friends are shocked, and think that she won't last in this world that seems to be more of the past than the England of the 1950's.
Through Philippa's eyes, we see that the enclosed world of the nun is both familiar and strange. Both large events -- the passing of the aged Abbess and election of a new one, nuns entering and sometimes leaving the abbey -- and little ones -- the change of the seasons, the everyday work and prayer, the humbling of the human spirit for a greater good -- are shown in all of their emotional glory. Other nuns tell their own story, from Sister Julian with her hunger to change the world; Dame Veronica who hides some terrible secrets; Dame Agnes the community's scholar and Dame Veronica's rival; Dame Maura the musician, and young Cicely who comes to Brede as a homecoming. And then there is the outside world that appears -- visitors, family members, letters and five very unusual novices from Japan and the shake-up of Vatican II.
While Godden doesn't always tell the story in chronological order, it is presented to the reader in a logical way. It's more of a string of events and personal observations rather than a straightforward story with plot and climax. Instead, we get to see personal stories and conflicts, the inner world of the various nuns, each one written up with elegant prose, and have all of our misconceptions of the monastic life gently brushed away. For Godden is careful to present her nuns as individuals, with ambitions, pride, joy and the overwhelming need to find solace and a certain peace in the endless devotion to prayer.
Most of all, I found Philippa to be a very human person, full of her own pride, full of dread and still drawn to the religious life, and harboring some pretty shattering knowledge of the past herself. This isn't a story of sudden miracles that have mysticism and a new age feel so common today, but gentle tugs and some surprises as people are refined into more compassionate and loving human beings, able to give without expectation of reward -- one of the hardest tasks for anyone to do.
Over the years I have reread this novel several times, and each time, I get to learn and see something new. It is anything but what is called 'chick-lit' today, and it certainly isn't light reading. Yes, there is humor, but it is more of a joyful sort than anything based in sarcasm. And to balance that, there is some heartbreaking sorrow. Godden is also careful not to be preachy in her work, instead letting the characters speak for themselves and their choices and mistakes.
Loyola Classics has reprinted this novel in a new edition, with some explanatory notes on some of the more obscure words and ideas, a selection of questions for group discussion and a biographical note about the author. An introduction by Phyllis Tickle sets the tone for the novel, and helps to lead the reader into this story. The type is a little large, making this a hefty little paperback and some of the italicized type is goofed up into a san-serif font that is jarring to come across, but it is a nice edition for all that.
In short, this is one of the best books on the inner lives of women, and a great psychological drama that blasts most of the stereotypes about nuns and the work that they do. If you're getting tired of the literature that is being dished up today, try on this classic and be prepared for an insightful study of human nature.
Recommended.
Fantastic........2006-07-30
This is a book I checked out from the library and ended up buying a copy for myself just to OWN it. It's wonderful. It's a very simple book...another reviewer called it a quiet read and it certainly is. But I enjoyed all of it...looked forward to reading it every night and was so sad to finish it. I wanted to know what happened NEXT! I think this book is better than Black Narcissus, also by Godden, although they are both enjoyable. The characters in this novel are wonderfully developed and not to be too "cute" but this book was sort of respite in itself.
Brede.......2006-06-27
In This House of Brede is the story of 96 magnificent women and the 1500 year old culture they swim in and perpetuate. It is, true, about the life of a Benedictine abbey for women and the struggles of several novices and fully professed nuns to fulfill themselves as women and as religious women. It is, however, also about leadership and how it is lived. Abbess Catherine, who has leadership thrust on her, stands up to it and shines. Her growth is beautiful. Philippa Talbot, who was a high powered executive before entering the abbey to escape leadership, has a painful growth toward realizing that she cannot escape it if God wants her to use her gifts. Cecily, a beatiful and gifted musician, has to fight to enter Brede and then to grow out of her misguided experiences as a daughter of a manipulative and bossy mother. She has to discover her own strength and the ways she does it is fascinating.
There are some typographical errors that could have been corrected by decent and loving copy editing but they are annoying rather than catastrophic. I love this book.
Karen
Product Description
This is the story of the life of Philippa Talbot, a successful London career woman who feels the call of the religious life at the age of forty. The novel unfolds as Philippa joins a house of nuns and her personal story is told.
Product Description
This extraordinarily sensitive and insightful portrait of religious life centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful professional woman who leaves her life among the London elite to join a cloistered Benedictine community. In This House of Brede was the basis of a 1975 made-for-television film starring Diana Rigg
Book Description
Peter and Rina are delighted with their newborn baby girl, but the scene at the Los Angeles hospital is a nightmare. Budget cutbacks and staff shortages so compromise security in the nursery that Peter, the ever-anxious cop, worries about his family's safety.
Then a baby is kidnapped and a respected nurse vanishes along with her. Peter, his tough-talking partner Marge, and Peter's eager older daughter Cindy pursue a twisted path of hospital politics, misplaced passions, and tortuous mind games of guilt and redemption that bring them face-to-face with the most grievous sin. . . .
Customer Reviews:
Kellerman is a guilty pleasure.......2006-07-08
Another Rina and Peter Decker mystery, this one investigates a missing baby and a maternity nurse who has disappeared as well. As this happens on the same maternity ward that Rina has given birth to the couple's first baby together, their engagement in the crime becomes deeply personal.
Reading this was a grievous sin.......2005-01-21
This book was a 390 page let down. Kellerman has a way to drag out a plot of nothing. I continued to read this book hoping to find something exciting in it only to get to the end and read a rather "blah" ending. The old mother-daughter, 1/2 sister plot. Listen to the other reviewers and read something with a little more pizazz.
SINS OF THE WRITER.......2003-11-10
Rina and Peter Decker are back and continue to resemble the Lockhorns in the amount of squabbles they have. This time, Rina gives birth to their daughter, but in doing so, complications force a hysterectomy on her. Decker gets involved in the kidnapping of an newborn infant who is sharing the nursery with his new daughter. Cindy Decker is along with them this time, and decides to play detective, against her father's stern and chauvinistic wishes. Marge Dunn continues her slide into more adamant cynicism, and that's just for starters.
While this one is not one of Kellerman's best, it maintains some interest due to the complexity of the mystery and the discovery of key facts. The character of Tandy stretches the imagination a bit, and her fate at the end, along with nurse Marie Bellson is not one of comfort or resolution.
Still, I find myself initrigued with the series and even with their faults, Rina and Pete are a strong couple.
Kellerman is very good at plotting, but..........2003-08-14
the dialogue was very wooden -- almost comic book. The plot involves a newborn who is kidnapped out of the nursery at the same time that a trusted nurse disappears. Is the nurse the kidnapper or a victim of the kidnapper? Detective Decker gets involved because his newborn daughter is in the same nursery, and his teenage daughter has been spending time in the nursery. This is basically a "procedural" showing how Decker and others go about solving the crime/crimes. A lot of colorful characters may be involved, particularly some involved in bodybuilding and the staff at a home for the elderly.
I think the author would do well to learn more about Christianity if she is going to talk about it in her books. I thought her understanding was poor (for example, she talks about the parable of the prodigal son but doesn't seem to understand what the point of this parable was). I also think she doesn't create a credible portrait of Christians. For example, she mentions that Decker's Baptist parents were upset that he had converted to Judaism and abandoned the Savior -- well, that's not the way Baptists talk -- they would probably not refer to Jesus as the Savior, but rather would simply call him "Jesus" or "our Lord." And they would probably use the word "saved" or "salvation" in expressing their concerns, but not the word "savior" -- it just didn't ring true. Kellerman also goes to great lengths to show Judaism in a positive light but makes Christians look like a bunch of half-wits.
Stick to writing mysteries, Ms. Kellerman, and leave Christianity out of your books. I would have liked to learn more about Orthodox Judaism but too little time was spent on this (in my opinion).
Decker pursues kidnapper.......2003-03-26
Peter and Rina Decker are thrilled at the birth of their daughter, despite the fact that Rina suffers complications and goes through a dangerous period after the birth. Their joy turns to concern when a little baby who is born at the same time, disappears from the nursery. Peter takes this case personally because he knows that it could have been his little daughter Hannah who was kidnapped. One of the nurses is a chief suspect and when a dead body is discovered in a burned car, police feel that it might be the nurse. Homey, domestic scenes of the Deckers and their new baby are interspersed with the cold reality of Peter's pursuit of a kidnapper and murderer. He and his partner discover bits of truth along the way, but the final secrets are hidden up to the very end.
Book Description
The birth of their baby girl has filled Rina Lazarus and her husband, LAPD Homicide Detective Peter Decker, with joy mingled with sorrow, since complications have ensured that they can have no more children. But the situation is grim at the hospital, which has been devastated by severe budget cutbacks and staff shortages. And when a respected nurse vanishes along with a newborn from the nursery, Peter and Rina fear for the safety of their own precious child—especially when the missing nurse's car is found at the bottom of a cliff . . . with a corpse inside.
A most grievous sin has been committed. In pursuit of justice, Decker—with the help of his tough-as-nails partner, Marge, and an able assist from his teenage daughter, Cindy—follows a twisted path that winds through a sinister maze of hospital politics, misplaced passions, and torturous mind games that can all too easily lead to murder.
Average customer rating:
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Grievous Sin
Faye Kellerman
Manufacturer: Headline Book Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Kellerman, Faye | ( K ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 074724118X |
Product Description
3 paperbacks
Average customer rating:
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Grievous Sin
Faye Kellerman
Manufacturer: New York: William Morrow & Company, 1993
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O3NHJE |
Average customer rating:
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Grievous Sin
Faye Kellerman
Manufacturer: Fawcett Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RN2DI2 |
Average customer rating:
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Grievous Sin
Faye Kellerman
Manufacturer: Fawcett Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000P60XKG |
Average customer rating:
- Beautiful and Eerie.
- Topical and enjyable
- A new twist to an old theme...
- Better than chocolate!
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Strands of Sunlight
Gael Baudino
Manufacturer: Roc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Baudino, Gael
| ( B )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
| Adventure
| Alternate History
| Anthologies
| General
| Graphic Novels
| High Tech
| History & Criticism
| Series
| Short Stories
| Space Opera
Similar Items:
-
Strands of Starlight
-
Shroud of Shadow
-
O Greenest Branch (Water!)
-
Branch and Crown: Book III of Water!
-
The Dove Looked In (Water!)
ASIN: 0451454081 |
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful and Eerie........2001-04-26
Gael Baudino writes this third book in the Strands series as a conclusion to the story of the death and rebirth of the Elves. The story begins as the last elf, living in contemporary times, realizes that her race of the Elves is being reborn into the humans of the twentieth century. The story follows her in her quest to find and help these Elves discover themselves and their Goddess who guides them.
I came into this book with a certain set of expectations, and I must say that they were only slightly disappointed. After reading the first in the series, Strands of Starlight, I was expected something the same--a romanticized transformation story with gorgeous writing and an overwhelming mysticism. Instead, though beautiful, this book was perhaps a bit too real for what I was expecting. Woven throughout were themes of violence, racism, abuse--all very important in these troubled times, but also not what I was expecting to find. In a way it enhanced the story somewhat: it showed that Gael can deal with these frightening topics with a graceful and real prose that many authors struggle to find. However, in this fantasy lover's mind, these modern problems didn't seem to mesh with my ideas of Elves very well. I was much more comfortable with the idea of Elves living in the forests of long past than I was with them awakening in Yourtown, USA. For some reason it seemed wrong. But don't let that stop you from picking this book up--the premise is certainly unusual and you cannot lose with Gael's beautiful writing. Once again this book fled past--I couldn't put it down, and I'm sure that no matter your reaction to this resurrection of elves, you will love her descriptive powers and gorgeous imagery.
Topical and enjyable.......2000-02-19
Strands of Sunlight has likeable, believable, human characters - #1 in importance in my opinion.It also tackles important subjects such as racism, justice, and child abuse. Most of all, it offers a feeling of hope. Loved this book!
A new twist to an old theme..........1999-11-19
Fantasy has , in many ways become stagnant. Or at least it was becoming so, until this wonderful writer appeared. She has taken old, dried up themes from medievalist D & D genres and brought them into the '90's .. She tackles everything from abusive relationships to racism in this book-- with style and grace. Reading this book truly makes you believe... at least while you're reading the book--that Elven blood runs through your veins, and that it is waking up, and that there IS mystery and magick.
Better than chocolate!.......1998-06-18
Strands of Sunlight is an absolutely wonderful book and definately the best of Gael Baudino's writings that I have read so far. She has a certain sense of reality, of truth in her words that read more like an autobiography than a fantasy novel. Her characters are amazingly well developed, the mood perfect, and the ending is not only suprising but also leaves the reader with a feeling of cleanliness and light (that kind you get after taking a shower and the sun is shining beneath the clouds as you look out the window, a rainbow shimmering like a mirrage but still tangible as you sigh and smile) ^_^;; Well, read it and see! I'm certain you will fall in love not only with her characters but the author herself! =P
Product Description
The complete series.
Average customer rating:
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Strands of Sunlight
Manufacturer: New Amer Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GRM2LW |
Book Description
The most fertile ground for personal growth is often found in the most painful of experiences: betrayal. Financial disappointments, infidelities, failings of the body, such betrayals are at the heart of much mistrust, anger, and fear. Therapist Dr. Beth Hedva builds on cross-cultural rites of initiation to present a unique model of healing, exploring the self-renewing potential of: rejection by a loved one, aging, disease, and illness, substance dependency, job-layoffs and financial loss, natural and man-made disasters, discrimination and prejudice.
Providing exercises to help you on your personal journey, Betrayal, Trust, and Forgiveness will guide you through the pain of betrayal to feel fully alive again. Originally published as the classic Journey from Betrayal to Trust: A Universal Rite of Passage, this revised edition includes new chapters about forgiveness and ending self-betrayal, plus invaluable tips for support-group facilitators.
Customer Reviews:
No help.......2006-01-18
I was so disappointed in this book, which I purchased only after reading positive reviews on Amazon. If you believe that imagining your "wolf mother" and various figures from Greek mythology will help you get over betrayal, then this is your book. This book is full of arcane references, dream sequences, illogical guided imagery and other rot from "the new age" - none of which are concrete enough to help people today.
Couldn't even give it to the Goodwill, as the previous owner had underlined extensively in the first chapter - and then apparently gave up reading the rest.
Be Aware of what you are buying.......2005-01-27
I purchased this book after carefully reviewing all of the customer reviews, however, I was very disappointed. The book focuses on healing via tarot, runes, crystals, I Ching, astrology, numerology, synchronicities, dreams, guided imagery, chanting, prayer,ritual and even channeling. If these are the methods you are interested in, then this is the book for you. If, however, this is not something you believe in or want to dabble in then this book is a waste of time. The author has done intuitive readings for many of the people in the book prior to putting them in her book. It came off as very hokey in my humble opinion...So know what you are getting into when you make this purchase.
This book changed my life........2002-05-27
Thank you Dr. Hedva. Your book changed my life! I had been trying to recover from a betrayal. Not a little betrayal but a life transforming betrayal. The kind of betrayal that you remember the rest of your life, that rocks your world and makes you question everything, most of all yourself. After a year of seeing a therapist and going thru the process of shock, crying, grieving, guilt, anger and depression, I still didn't feel like I was "myself". Then despair started to set in because I became afraid that the heartbreak was too big for me to heal.
One afternoon, while waiting in the dentist's office, I picked up a newspaper with a review of Dr. Hedva's book. The review was positive and the quotes resonated. Later that day I bought the book and couldn't put it down until I finished it. For the first time, I felt that someone really understood my pain. And most important in that moment, it gave me a sense of hope for a full recovery. The book reframed the experience to help me see it as part of my spiritual journey, a valuable lesson to help me become stronger, wiser, and better able to forgive others and myself.
Betrayal, Trust and Forgiveness addresses all types of betrayals (lover, mother, father, body, self and society.) It is not a "help the victim feel good" book. It is reader-friendly, clear, and direct, providing practical tools and exercises to help the reader understand and move forward.
If you have been searching for a way to heal a betrayal, you are not alone. This book is a powerful resource that can help. It was the answer to my prayers.
Radical Therapy.......2002-03-07
Emotional darkness, the nightmare of betrayal... are
these fodder for the psyche? According to Dr. Hedva,
the stage is set for a sacred initiation, moving from
one cycle of personal evolution to the next. A strong,
heart-centered case is made for the radical
transformation that moving through the experience
of betrayal can trigger.
A shocking, yet spiritually empowering argument
is put forward, defining the stages of both pain and
growth that the process of granting forgiveness
engenders.
Many aspects of betrayal are addressed. All the
significant relationship dynamics are explored,
leaving no doubt that the author knows what she's
talking about. Also, the tender area of self-betrayal
is probed, but leaving us feeling that hope and
regeneration are indeed possible.
We are guided through the death of innocence to
the rebirth of vitality and full aliveness. Using the
exercises provided, one may find that a
compassionate spirit has laid a stable path for
us to follow.
In Depth Healing.......2002-01-01
This is an excellent treatise on the spiritual meaning of
betrayal. I was very impressed with the counseling techniques
in this volume and the real understanding of the heart-
breaking experience of being betrayed. Rather than being
another "boo-hoo, I'm such a victim" sympathy book, the
author encourages us to take personal, spiritual
responsibility for our experience. A variety of archetypal
symbols are addressed that give deep insights into a much
fuller meaning of betrayal as initiation. A truly healing
discourse.
Books:
- Irish Mist (A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel)
- Lake Wobegon USA (Lake Wobegon)
- Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes
- Lost Boy Lost Girl: A Novel
- Loving the Highlander (The Highlander)
- Maps for Lost Lovers
- Marjorie Morningstar
- Maxfield Parrish: The Masterworks
- Melancholy Baby
- Menage'A Way
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- History: Fiction or Science
- A Summer of Faulkner: As I Lay Dying/The Sound and the Fury/Light in August
- The Book of Lost Tales, Part One
- The New Complete English Springer Spaniel
- The Rose That Grew From Concrete
- Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism
- Transport Phenomena in Biological Systems
- Wild Soundscapes: Discovering the Voice of the Natural World
- The Dynasty of Chernigov, 1146-1246
- It's your move: Teacher's guide & key
Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy (Loyola Classics Series)
Mr. Blue
Helena (Loyola Classics)
The Edge of Sadness (The Loyola Classics Series)
The Devil's Advocate (Loyola Classics)
