In This House of Brede
Is a novel about a group of nuns in an enclosed monastery in England a bit dated? Well, yes…but I think that’s the point. Or maybe it’s not. I think the point is that Everything Old is New Again ™️. In This House of Brede, Rumer Godden’s 1969 book that was made into a film in 1975, explores life in the Western world around the time of Vatican II.
One postulant comes to Brede in middle-age after a successful corporate career. One comes despite her mother’s overbearing desperation. There are many more…so many that there’s a Shakespearean “cast list” at the front of the book. Godden writes rich characters, all of whom struggle with different aspects of discipline, purpose, and figuring out their gifts and how to use them. It’s a fairly long book that somehow feels short due to all the action: Visitors from Japan! An eccentric sculptor! A very, very dramatic tragedy [no exclamation point here; this was a gut-wrenching section]. In This House of Brede felt partly like escapism, but also very much like something to study and ruminate on; maybe people should hang up the #BossBabe stuff that is so geared toward my demographic and ponder life in a monastery. (Yeah, something tells me that wouldn’t fly…)
{In the spirit of Wheel in the Sky Keeps on Turnin’, check out this copy of the book I got from the library. Due dates from 1971, someone’s penciled-in notes, a hardcover price of $6.95 (also Book of the Month status!). A perfect illustration that we don’t always have to discard everything in place of progress.}
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