In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
"The sight of the refectory was inviting: each place was laid with a snow-white napkin, a glass of wine, a bunch of grapes, a small wheaten loaf and a brown earthenware bowl of vegetable soup. Apricot puffs and cheese were laid along the side tables. When the nuns were seated, the Abbess came in, wearing a white apron and white sleeves and with her came the kitchener, Sister Priscilla, bearing a great silver silver salver of fish."
"The Abbess went to every nun, serving her and laying beside her plate a nosegay of small flowers: violets, wood anenomes, grape hyacinths, tiny ferns, pink heaths."
*****
The right book at the right time. Joining this enclosed community of Benedictine nuns and following the peaceful, ordered measure of their days through the seasonal rituals and observances brought a solace that I'd been struggling to find in the books I'd picked up recently. I enjoyed the personal stories of the individual women but it was the beautiful descriptive passages of daily living, the garden through the seasons and the family of cats that I really loved.
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That's a lovely passage! Have you read Rumer Godden's other "convent" book - Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy? *Very* different, no cats :) Not a comfort read - or a comfortable one - for me, but I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I read that one last year - good but not as good as this one for me.
DeleteI read - and loved Black Narcissus - earlier this year and now I definitely want to read this one
ReplyDeleteI will have to find that one too - Rumer Godden seems to like nuns as subject matter.
DeleteThat is beautiful! I'm glad the right book has come to you just when you most need it. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteThanks JoAnn - I have followed it with another lovely story by John MC Gahern, That They May Face the Rising Sun which has no plot but is a beautiful account of daily life. Obviously I need no dramas right now. :-)
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