false 2135694 0670400238 9780670400232 10 3 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1217463249m/2135694.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2135694.In_This_House_of_Brede 2572 Rumer Godden 2172 318 4 2 false Tue Nov 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 29 08:34:04 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 29 11:02:52 -0800 2008 1 Black Narcissus about a group of Anglican nuns who attempt to establish a convent school in a former harem palace in the foothills of the Himalayas, the result of which is failure, insanity, and death. Thirty years later Godden returned to the subject of nuns with In This House of Brede and explored it without much of the popular-fiction melodrama. The book was a best-seller anyway because it is fascinating, but it's less of a novel and more of a profile of the cloistered life. Godden researched the book by spending three years in an abbey herself.

In This House of Brede is primarily the story of Philippa Talbot, an extremely successful businesswoman and leader, a widow in her 40s who startlingly gives it all up to become a Benedictine nun. The challenges she faces as a postulant detail for the lay reader just how difficult it is to leave the active "outside" world to start a new life in a reflective order. Yet Philippa can never leave the past completely behind. It affects how she fits into the monastic order and the roles she must play, sometimes reluctantly, and she continues to be haunted by the loss of her family in the war. The final revelation of how she lost her young son is astonishing, horrifying, and very moving.

Ultimately, however, In This House of Brede is the story of the entire community of religious women, their interactions and characters. A very satisfying read on that level.]]>