Blue Hope: A Novella

by Robert G. Waldron

"Death will come like a thief in the night. That's how my depressions arrive; they descend without warning and usually in the middle of the nipht when I’m lying alone in bed. The first sign is a rapid heartbeat...then the sweats, so profuse I must wear a towel draped around my neck. I go through several towels nightly." So John Highet describes his latest bout with a crippling, lifelong depression. Even the verse of Ethan Seegard, his favorite poet, now fails to Qffer its usual solace. In a desperate attempt to lift his spirits, Highet’s friend Paula Young encourages him to write the definitive biography of Seegord, now a redusive monk at New Rievoulx Abbey. Reluctantly intrigued, Highet books a retreat at the abbey — emborking on a lourney that will not only challenge his well-trained intellect, but open his eyes to the world of the spirit. A haunting and soul-lifting novella, Blue Hope reawakens us to the transforming power of the written word and the restorative grace of beauty, silence, and, ultimately, love.

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Robert Waldron holds a B.A. in English, an M.Ed., and an M.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts. He has taught English Literature and Language at Boston Latin School—Boston’s first public school, for 33 years.

Waldron is the recipient of four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities; in 1997 he also received first prize from the Catholic Press Association for the best article on spirituality written for a periodical. In addition to scholarly articles, he has written several books including: Poetry as Prayer: the Hound of Heaven, The Lost Diary of Francis Thompson Poetry as Prayer: Thomas Merton, and A Man of a Certain Tread.

Waldron is intrigued by the life inside abbeys, seminaries, and convents, places where people have given up a worldly life to pursue something greater. His novel, Blue Hope takes place in a Cistercian abbey; in this remote New England setting, John Highet comes face to face with the great poet Ethan Seegard, now a reclusive monk at the abbey.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as good as Red Hope, but ... readable.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-intentioned, competent, and hopeful, but not likely to leave a great mark. An academic dealing with a disabling depression attends a monastic retreat to seek out the famous poet he idolizes, who a decade ago left the outside world to become a monk. An agnostic, he nevertheless feels the pull of the spiritual while on the peaceful and holy grounds, and starts to open up to the possibilities of connection with something greater.

The book deserves credit for a mostly believable evolution of the main character's attitudes; he doesn't go from agnostic to believer in 120 pages after one week of attending a monastic retreat under false pretenses. Rather, he has taken a step.

The writing is not without displays of talent, however characters repeatedly have sudden and wild mood swings throughout the story, which is distracting. And some parts of the story don't quite seem believable (the main character has written the definitive analysis of the popular poet's work, but completely missed the religious aspects of said poetry and had never heard that suggested until a fellow retreat attendee clues him in?)