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The Enduring Melody
A moving and tender meditation on loving, living and dying by one of the greatest Anglican spiritual writers.
‘An heroic book. Begun in health as a meditation on a lifetime’s faith and experience, it ends in mortal sickness with Michael Mayne facing death. But his courage, his humour and his tone of voice do not desert him; humbling and inspiring, it is a validation both of his faith and his humanity.’ — Alan Bennett
‘A testimony to the power of faith and hope not to banish but to grow alongside pain and loss as a realisable potential of consciousness. It is a brave and moving account of one man’s effort to celebrate life at its most testing and inexplicable.’ — Salley Vickers , The Times
‘Michael Mayne uses the knowledge of his approaching end to look back over his life and trace the ‘enduring melody’ which has sung through him, all his life. The melody is not arrogant or without uncertainty, but it knows that it is responding to the original music of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is the music of one individual and unrepeatable life lived in relation to God, and it will inspire its readers and hearers to listen for the enduring melody in their own lives, and begin to try to harmonise.’ — Jane and Rowan Williams
‘An autobiography of dying. It was brave to write it and it needs courage to read it, but the benefits are enormous. Michael Mayne belongs to the great priest-writers. He takes on the issues of mortality, both in religion and literature, and makes us all discover what pain has taught him. It is a wonderful achievement.’ — Ronald Blythe
‘An heroic book. Begun in health as a meditation on a lifetime’s faith and experience, it ends in mortal sickness with Michael Mayne facing death. But his courage, his humour and his tone of voice do not desert him; humbling and inspiring, it is a validation both of his faith and his humanity.’ — Alan Bennett
‘A testimony to the power of faith and hope not to banish but to grow alongside pain and loss as a realisable potential of consciousness. It is a brave and moving account of one man’s effort to celebrate life at its most testing and inexplicable.’ — Salley Vickers , The Times
‘Michael Mayne uses the knowledge of his approaching end to look back over his life and trace the ‘enduring melody’ which has sung through him, all his life. The melody is not arrogant or without uncertainty, but it knows that it is responding to the original music of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is the music of one individual and unrepeatable life lived in relation to God, and it will inspire its readers and hearers to listen for the enduring melody in their own lives, and begin to try to harmonise.’ — Jane and Rowan Williams
‘An autobiography of dying. It was brave to write it and it needs courage to read it, but the benefits are enormous. Michael Mayne belongs to the great priest-writers. He takes on the issues of mortality, both in religion and literature, and makes us all discover what pain has taught him. It is a wonderful achievement.’ — Ronald Blythe
257 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 1, 2013
A Christian humanist perspective on lovingkindness and the value of believing in God from a well-known (in the UK) Anglican priest who was open-minded and widely experienced; this would be an excellent read for a Christian going into health care as a profession, especially someone dealing with cancer care or elder care.
Mayne writes of his faith but not in a thou-shalt way. Very touching and honest, including the usefulness of doubts and the inevitability of fear as one faces death.
Christian readers will probably like this book better than non-religious or non-Christian people, and Mayne is unlikely to persuade anyone to become a Christian--but that is not his purpose here at all. He explores, most of all, the importance of love, agape, compassion among human beings. One need not be a believer of any kind to appreciate that aspect of his writing.
For people who have no patience with religious thinking, this book may prove irritating in places--because Mayne is truly a believer in his Christ and his all-embracing God. Despite making all kinds of connections between diverse ways of valuing human beings, he does tend to lean on his personal beliefs. Which is fine, really, since during the last half of the book he is being treated for, and dying from, jaw cancer, and the personal part of his narrative must embrace his personal beliefs.
More "fundamental" types of Christians may find Mayne too "liberal." But his thinking, his approach to Christianity and fellowship, reminds me very much of the kind of Christian thinking I was raised with (my father is not an Anglican priest but he is an ordained minister and, like Mayne, was extremely well educated by good universities in the early 1950s).
So while I liked the book very much in some ways I am not sure I'd recommend it to everyone.
Mayne writes of his faith but not in a thou-shalt way. Very touching and honest, including the usefulness of doubts and the inevitability of fear as one faces death.
Christian readers will probably like this book better than non-religious or non-Christian people, and Mayne is unlikely to persuade anyone to become a Christian--but that is not his purpose here at all. He explores, most of all, the importance of love, agape, compassion among human beings. One need not be a believer of any kind to appreciate that aspect of his writing.
For people who have no patience with religious thinking, this book may prove irritating in places--because Mayne is truly a believer in his Christ and his all-embracing God. Despite making all kinds of connections between diverse ways of valuing human beings, he does tend to lean on his personal beliefs. Which is fine, really, since during the last half of the book he is being treated for, and dying from, jaw cancer, and the personal part of his narrative must embrace his personal beliefs.
More "fundamental" types of Christians may find Mayne too "liberal." But his thinking, his approach to Christianity and fellowship, reminds me very much of the kind of Christian thinking I was raised with (my father is not an Anglican priest but he is an ordained minister and, like Mayne, was extremely well educated by good universities in the early 1950s).
So while I liked the book very much in some ways I am not sure I'd recommend it to everyone.
March 20, 2015
What started as a reflection on life as a Christian turned into a diary of dealing with cancer, from a physical, emotional and spiritual point of view. A brilliant book but not an easy read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews