The five of us enjoyed a good discussion of a book I think we all agreed was worthwhile. It's one of those books that keeps you thinking long after, and wondering "whatever happened to those nuns?"
The first point of discussion was pronunciation. Apparently "Brede" is pronounced the way it looks, "breed," according to an online reference.
We also talked about the strangeness of abbey life to a bunch of Protestants. We're unfamiliar with orders, the hours, the habit, the "grill," the difference between a claustral and a choir nun, and the whole lengthy procedure for becoming one. Much still is mysterious.
But that's due in large part to the book's stream-of-consciousness style. You have to hang on and keep reading in faith that you'll get what's happening -- and to whom -- eventually. And you do.
Rumer Godden just throws you into the middle of the story, in the midst of a crowd of characters, and expects you to swim. Sorry, mixed metaphors. Try "sea of characters." You're given an abbey-full of nuns and you're expected to remember who's who, and figure out what's going on as the story weaves in an out of time periods. (Another metaphor.) But it's okay, you'll get it. It's enjoyable to just relax and let the story take you in.
We tried one or two of the book's discussion questions, but then veered over to Wordsmith's. There were also subjects that each of us wanted to explore, like me. I wanted to talk about art. For all the abbey's seeming asceticism -- which in the Benedictine world is apparently much less than in other orders -- there was a rich artistic culture and the nuns were encouraged to indulge their passions, guided or subsumed by the needs of of the community. It seemed to me that the famous artist who came from the outside to sculpt the altar was the most interesting character in the book, and he had a profound affect on the abbess -- acknowledging her femininity and personhood without demands, with great appreciation. He made her feel beautiful. He "saw" her, despite or maybe because of all the trappings.
Of course, community is a significant topic in the book, and has been in several of our book selections -- Hannah Coulter (Wendell Berry) especially. We discussed the similarities between abbey life and The Membership. And we talked about whether or not abbey life seemed attractive to us.
Well, there was a lot more to the discussion, but I've lost track. I hope others will carry on.
