Cheap In This House of Brede (Book) (Rumer Godden) Price

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Customer Reviews of In This House of Brede

women reaching for God in community
I have read In This House of Brede at least once a year since the 7th grade, and it nevers fails to move me with both its simplicity and complexity. The women who comprise the Brede community of Benedictine nuns are achingly human--but human with a purpose, striving against nature and their own flaws to become the people God desires them to be. Each time I read the book, something new and different strikes me, adding to the depth of the characters and the world they inhabit. I particularly find the character of Dame Catherine appealing. She is a woman who desires nothing but anonymity but finds responsibility and power thrust upon her, and much reach up to God as well as deeply within herself to find the wisdom and strength to do a job she hates. The cloister is a microcosm of the outside world, full of human passions and frailties, different only in the common and stated desire of the women, as individuals and a community, to reach out to God to help them better themselves. This is far and away my favorite book, the one I most recommend to friends.

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A fascinating and soothing read
I have read this book several times over the years and each time I do, it never fails to bring upon me a sense of peace. This group of women is among the most interesting that I have ever had the pleasure to read about. The fact that they are English cloistered nuns, a group of people so far removed from my everyday realm of reality, is a tribute to the talent of the author. These woman are portrayed with all of their strengths, weaknesses and faults and thus are real people that any reader can relate to. Spirtuality is a thread that runs throughout this novel, and indeed is the basis of this book. These women strive to know, love and serve God through their everyday existence. Earthly concerns and human weaknesses are recognized and addressed as is necessary, but their ultimate reason for being "in this house of Brede" is to strive for holiness and to pray for humankind. Philippa is the conecting charactor -- one of us wordly people with all of the earthly ties who chooses a path to redemption that few of us even know exists much less view as a choice.

It is an interesting and joyous read, and I highly recommend it.

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An addendum to the above
Sorry that I forgot to mention this: I once read a short story by Rumer Godden called "Fireworks for Elspeth." Apparently the story is an early version of "In this House of Brede". The title character of the story became Sister Cecily in the novel. The story is a moving portrait of Elspeth's farewell lunch for friends and family before she leaves to join the abbey, and the mixed emotions and conflicts of the characters are movingly portrayed. Highly recommended for anyone who loves "In this House of Brede" as I do. I discovered the story in a volume called "Great Short Stories of the World" published by the Reader's Digest.