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Material Type | Library | Call Number | Suggested Age | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Searching... Guyandotte Public Library | QUI | Adult | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A moving, lyrical, melancholy, and spiritual novel by the acclaimed author of The Night Child, in which Sister Angeline, unwillingly sent to a radical convent and confronting her tragic past, asks the deep question, follow your heart or follow the rules?
After surviving a tragedy that killed her entire family, sixteen-year-old Meg joins a cloistered convent, believing it is her life's work to pray full time for the suffering of others. Taking the name Sister Angeline, she spends her days and nights in silence, moving from one prayerful hour to the next. She prays for the hardships of others, the sick and poor, the loved ones she lost, and her own atonement.
When the Archdiocese of Chicago runs out of money to keep the convent open, she is torn from her carefully constructed life and sent to a progressive convent on a rocky island in the Pacific Northwest. There, at the Light of the Sea, five radical feminist nuns have their own vision of faithful service. They do not follow canonical law, they do not live a cloistered life, and they believe in using their voices for change.
As Sister Angeline struggles to adapt to her new home, she must navigate her grief, fears, and confusions, while being drawn into the lives of a child in crisis, an angry teen, an EMT suffering survivor's guilt, and the parish priest who is losing his congregation to the Sisters' all-inclusive Sunday masses. Through all of this, something seems to have awakened in her, a healing power she has not experienced in years that could be her saving grace, or her downfall.
In Angeline, novelist Anna Quinn explores the complexity of our past selves and the discovery of our present truth; the enduring imprints left by our losses, forgiveness and acceptance, and why we believe what we believe. Affecting and beautifully told, Angeline is both poignant and startling and will touch the hearts of anyone who has ever asked themselves: When your foundations crumble and you've lost yourself, how do you find the strength to go on? Do you follow your heart or the rules?
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Quinn follows up The Night Child with a melodramatic account of a miracle-worker nun who must adjust to a new convent. In 2015, after 24-year-old Sister Angeline's cloistered Chicago convent shuts down, she finds a place at the Light of the Sea, on an island off the coast of Washington State. There, the radical sisters run their own services in defiance of the local parish. Angeline, who hopes her monastic life will atone for the guilt she harbors over an accident that killed her parents, younger brother, and unborn child, struggles to fit in with the motley group. Among them are a Muslim woman hiding from death threats by the Iraqi government, a free-spirited artist, and a woman who took a vow of silence after her son was killed. Angeline has a history of having her prayers miraculously answered, but she runs into resistance after she reports suspicions of a neighboring young girl's abuse by her father. She then hears a voice from a statue of St. Francis, encouraging her not to fear her rage as troubling discoveries are made at the convent, such as a dead squirrel left in the mailbox. Though Angeline's interior struggles are nicely portrayed, most of the crises she faces are too quickly resolved and her healing powers remain too mysterious. This one disappoints. Agent: Gordon Wamock, Fuse Literary Agency. (Mar.)
Booklist Review
Teacher and writer Quinn's (The Night Child, 2018) evocative second novel follows fledgling nun Angeline, who hesitantly journeys to the Pacific Northwest when her Chicago convent closes. Accustomed to secluded life in a walled cloister, she struggles to adapt her perceived calling to silent prayer in the progressive Light of the Sea convent on Beckett Island and clings to familiar conventions (wearing a habit, using "Sister"). Despite welcoming overtures from the other nuns, Angeline is tormented by haunting memories of her family and miscarried child, all killed in a car accident. As she grapples with her own losses, she recognizes others in her community who are similarly bereaved and begins to minister to them. Angeline's new sisters encourage and challenge her as she contends with doubt and self-punishment while overcoming the effects of childhood bullying. Together, they face increasingly sinister threats to the convent that could derail their efforts. This immersive tale will resonate with fans of Alice Sebold and readers who appreciate compelling characters and lyrical writing.
