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Dayspring
Spencer Bain is a modern man of science, a university anthropologist doing fieldwork in a small New Mexican town. Used to long separations from his wife, a UCLA professor equally dedicated to her career, he is mostly untroubled by his infidelities, and hers—that is, until now.
In order to study the religious practices of the Penitentes, a brotherhood of local men who engage in severe, medieval penances, Bain feigns a conversion to Catholicism and participates in their Lenten observances, including their dramatic public procession on Good Friday.
Nothing in Bain’s skeptical academic training has prepared him for the profound remorse that he begins to experience. Though no sentimentalist with respect to the poor and ignorant who surround him, he cannot help but contrast the simple yet solid lives of the men and women he studies with his own fruitless relationships and those of the jaded, over-sexed sophisticates—the self-proclaimed artists and intellectuals—he considers his peers.
Artistically descriptive of the rugged Southwest and the people who dwell there, this brilliant novel also movingly portrays the inner landscape of a man coming to grips with his need for redemption. Author Harry Sylvester masterfully illustrates both the objective reality and the subjective experience of guilt and grace.
In order to study the religious practices of the Penitentes, a brotherhood of local men who engage in severe, medieval penances, Bain feigns a conversion to Catholicism and participates in their Lenten observances, including their dramatic public procession on Good Friday.
Nothing in Bain’s skeptical academic training has prepared him for the profound remorse that he begins to experience. Though no sentimentalist with respect to the poor and ignorant who surround him, he cannot help but contrast the simple yet solid lives of the men and women he studies with his own fruitless relationships and those of the jaded, over-sexed sophisticates—the self-proclaimed artists and intellectuals—he considers his peers.
Artistically descriptive of the rugged Southwest and the people who dwell there, this brilliant novel also movingly portrays the inner landscape of a man coming to grips with his need for redemption. Author Harry Sylvester masterfully illustrates both the objective reality and the subjective experience of guilt and grace.
285 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 28, 2013
Although Harry Sylvester’s Dayspring most reminded me of a Graham Greene type of conversion story, I think it was the time period (vaguely pre- to WWII) and the living-on-edge type of main character which made me think of Greene.
Sylvester’s writing gave me a little more difficulty than his British contemporary although I did become used to his style as I continued to read. Dayspring is purportedly the author’s greatest book, which is one of the reasons why Ignatius Press has re-released it.
What I most appreciated about the book was: the window into history and locale (New Mexico); appreciation for the professional concerns of anthropologists as well the realities of life for the local people; and finally the sensitive descriptions of the religious practices of the The Penitentes, Hermanos or simply Brotherhood. Sylvester seems to attribute his main character’s conversion to this practice of flagellation and suffering.
The novel also contains at least one recognizable historical figure, Mabel Dodge Luhan who goes by Marsha Senton in the story but in every other respect could be her namesake.
Worth reading for cultural, historical and spiritual reasons, even if you (like me) do not agree with all of them.
Sylvester’s writing gave me a little more difficulty than his British contemporary although I did become used to his style as I continued to read. Dayspring is purportedly the author’s greatest book, which is one of the reasons why Ignatius Press has re-released it.
What I most appreciated about the book was: the window into history and locale (New Mexico); appreciation for the professional concerns of anthropologists as well the realities of life for the local people; and finally the sensitive descriptions of the religious practices of the The Penitentes, Hermanos or simply Brotherhood. Sylvester seems to attribute his main character’s conversion to this practice of flagellation and suffering.
The novel also contains at least one recognizable historical figure, Mabel Dodge Luhan who goes by Marsha Senton in the story but in every other respect could be her namesake.
Worth reading for cultural, historical and spiritual reasons, even if you (like me) do not agree with all of them.
August 13, 2012
An excellent and thought-provoking book that deserves a much wider audience. It is as though Graham Greene's plucked up CS Lewis and set him down in New Mexico among a group of primitive, though orthodox Catholics. The book has Greene's earthy honesty about human weakness and flaws even in those striving for spiritual illumination. And the protagonist, Spencer Bain, is like CS Lewis "the most dejected and reluctant convert in Christendom."
Bain is an anthropologist, studying a sect of believers who engage in severe Lenten practices, He pretends to convert to Catholicism in order to learn more about their ancient rites and beliefs. To his surprise, he is captured in the undertow of their faith and depth, and finds the "sophistication" of his fellow academics and artists wanting.
This is not a fairy tale where the natives are "poor but happy" and the wealthy shrill and phony. There are heroes and villains across the spectrum. That adds to Bain's dilemma - he senses the presence of Grace and the power of God but is not sure where to locate its origins.
It is very interior. The inner dialog of Bain is continual and critical and competitive and suspicious, which seems part of the "Peyton Place" or "Mad Men" zeitgeist.The book was written in the late 1940's. And the themes of secular vs Christian are very well understood, which surprised me. I thought that a more modern hostility. His slide into enlightenment is stubborn with great leaps that startle him and me - but in a very plausible way. "The church has always been right about the big questions..." An odd sensation of turning around one day and realizing he was a believer, no Damascus epiphany, except in retrospect.
Murder, adultery, betrayal, and ambition are also woven in, making this a compelling pilgrimage.
By the way, the writing is excellent. Lovely sentences, beautiful descriptions, well crafted characters.
Bain is an anthropologist, studying a sect of believers who engage in severe Lenten practices, He pretends to convert to Catholicism in order to learn more about their ancient rites and beliefs. To his surprise, he is captured in the undertow of their faith and depth, and finds the "sophistication" of his fellow academics and artists wanting.
This is not a fairy tale where the natives are "poor but happy" and the wealthy shrill and phony. There are heroes and villains across the spectrum. That adds to Bain's dilemma - he senses the presence of Grace and the power of God but is not sure where to locate its origins.
It is very interior. The inner dialog of Bain is continual and critical and competitive and suspicious, which seems part of the "Peyton Place" or "Mad Men" zeitgeist.The book was written in the late 1940's. And the themes of secular vs Christian are very well understood, which surprised me. I thought that a more modern hostility. His slide into enlightenment is stubborn with great leaps that startle him and me - but in a very plausible way. "The church has always been right about the big questions..." An odd sensation of turning around one day and realizing he was a believer, no Damascus epiphany, except in retrospect.
Murder, adultery, betrayal, and ambition are also woven in, making this a compelling pilgrimage.
By the way, the writing is excellent. Lovely sentences, beautiful descriptions, well crafted characters.
April 19, 2013
I will think about this book for a long time. I wavered between 4 and 5 stars. I can't decide without thinking about it some more. The main character, Bain, the non-religious intellectual, is someone I will carry with me. A reluctant convert, a convert almost on a whim, or under false pretenses, still influenced by a grace that changes everything.
Oh, my.
Oh, my.
November 7, 2009
An amoral scientist confronting his inner demons. Should he chose the intellectual/elitist/immoral path (read : easy, non-confrontational) or a faith filled life in a secular world (read : ridiculed and derided by the secularists that dominate his profession). Great book, great characters and plot.
December 25, 2009
a fascinating study of an academic, with all the confused morality of an academic,finding himself struck by the simple faith and lives of the Hispanics of New Mexico. I recognize the academician; I recognize the 'superior' ways of thinking, feeling, interpreting experience. Most of all I recognize the emptiness accompanying that mindset.
August 19, 2012
loving it
October 3, 2025
This novel is set in New Mexico and features an anthropologist studying the penitents, a sect of men driven to extreme penances for their sins. Spence can't understand this and labels them fanatics or worse.
During his field work he tries to get closer to them, even perhaps become one of them to get the inside scoop. This dallying with the faith is a dangerous thing for him and leads him down paths he hadn't predicted.
The world of university teaching and publishing has its own set of sins but seems so much more refined than the world of the peasants he is surrounded by. The tension between this world and the world he has chosen to inhabit tears him apart and will change him irrevocably.
I found the story convincing. It was a complicated messy affair with many crooked paths and unexpected turns. The infidelity and gossip were a bit off-putting; it reminded me of a soap opera at times. Some characters were lightly drawn and I wish I knew more of them. This book will haunt me with its pathos and wistfulness.
During his field work he tries to get closer to them, even perhaps become one of them to get the inside scoop. This dallying with the faith is a dangerous thing for him and leads him down paths he hadn't predicted.
The world of university teaching and publishing has its own set of sins but seems so much more refined than the world of the peasants he is surrounded by. The tension between this world and the world he has chosen to inhabit tears him apart and will change him irrevocably.
I found the story convincing. It was a complicated messy affair with many crooked paths and unexpected turns. The infidelity and gossip were a bit off-putting; it reminded me of a soap opera at times. Some characters were lightly drawn and I wish I knew more of them. This book will haunt me with its pathos and wistfulness.
September 9, 2025
Listened to this book, I actually went through it in like 24 hours. Was written in a super interesting way, the thoughts of the main character were quite plain and honest. It was written by a Catholic guy and his portrayal of the human condition/experience was fascinating. Really candid and seamless integration of fallenness and vice, not glorifying it or overly exaggerating it. He let it speak for itself I guess. The story has to do with a Catholic convert who only joined the faith for his research… and yet the mystery of the faith is starting its work in him, faintly it seems. By the end of the book it’s not like he’s this full on Christian by any means, though it’s apparent grace has increased whether he likes it or not. Author was quite nuanced, great work in that regard. I also liked that the story took place many decades ago, kinda refreshing to bow out of the world of technology and current cultural experience, yet not too far removed.
June 18, 2021
It started ok and I made it almost halfway thinking it would take off. It was dry and I couldn’t get into it and ended up abandoning this book.
January 15, 2025
3.5? There were parts that I thought were sublime, parts where Spence is so gross and terrible I hated the whole page, and one scene that felt like a "God's Not Dead" take on Academics Out to Single-handedly Destroy Religion. But, I am an utter sucker for this setting, I loved Sylvester's prose in general (agree with the comparisons to Graham Greene), and I appreciated the introduction in the Ignatius edition.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews