Customer Reviews

A Book of Silence

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This gem is superbly written with intelligence, sensitivity, and wit. I was captivated, although it did jump off the book shelf into my hands. If you are not already interested in silence it would probably be a strange and difficult read. If silence is already calling you, then it's food for the soul and not to be missed. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time as it has enriched my life and enlarged my thinking. The author's personal story made the book fascinating, from the descriptions of gardening in Northamptonshire, her experimental 40 day retreat on the Isle of Skye, life in the Yorkshire moors, followed by settling in rural Scotland were memories of Britain for me, for which I am deeply grateful. Coupled with that, the author's exploration of silence and faith was deeply profound, especially from such a fascinating woman with such a noisy background. Silence called! Sara Maitland has made me think about silence, not just the practise of it, but the study of it, as she poses the significant question "what is silence?" It is much, much more than the absence of noise. To read this book is to think about noise and to listen to sound, and silence, in a whole new way.

This book was all but overwhelming for me. There were some slow parts (which probably just meant I didn't understand where she was going) but on page after page I had many moments of startling insights. This is a spiritual book. It's about touching and allowing yourself to be touched by God. One of her biggest dilemmas was how to go into her personal silence, meet God, dwell with him to the best of her ability and hear his word. That transcends all experiences of God I would think. She's also practical. She doesn't cut herself off from her loved ones or others she might happen across refusing to speak to them. She even states, I think rightly, that this isn't doable in Western civilization at this point in time. I loved joining her on her journey. The only real disconnect I had was when she, as a writer, felt by emptying herself and allowing more of God in she had little to write about, she'd let too much of herself go. Also, the experiences were ineffable. That hasn't been my spiritual experience. Yes I've felt the ineffable and yes I've felt myself blend more fully with God but, being human and still physical, we still have ego's, no matter how much we'd like to join with our higher power we're still (just?) us. The value for me is by becoming more alive to God and allowing him to be more alive with me, within me; I come back from the ineffable as more of myself, better able to reflect the sacred. And that gives me loads to think and write about, the only caveat being some experiences are so holy that they probably shouldn't be shared with your closest loves ones if with anyone. This was a life changing book for me. Thank you Sara.

A BOOK OF SILENCE comes from a feminist, mother, and author who found herself living alone in the country after a lifetime of noisy family - and who came to love it. Here Maitland describes how she decided to expand her newfound love of silence, from experiencing silence in the Sinai desert to Scotland and a remote cottage on the Isle of Skye. Her journey brings her a deeper understanding of the meaning of silence and self-discovery in a fine survey counteracting the noise of daily life and promoting an appreciation for silence in the world. Any general lending library will welcome this.

Having been in an extended season of reading more than a few books on silence, solitude and contemplation, Sara Maitland's book is by far one of the absolute finest. She is an astute writer and I can't say enough about how much I appreciate her willingness to take us as readers along on her journey for that perfect silent place.(I also loved Anne d. LeClaire's book, "Listening Below the Noise.")

In this book Maitland writes across the board on various topics to do with silence that others I've read haven't dared to touch on. Topics I found utterly fascinating, such as the dark side of silence, or the difference types of silence (self-emptying of the desert hermits, vs. self-fullfillment of the romantics). I can see how a person only mildly interested in the subject might become bored after a few chapters, but not me. The whole book was sheer nutrition to my soul. Having just finished the book last night I am very sad today that it's over as I hung on every word.

I wish there were more books out there on the subject with the depth and integrity of Maitlands but I'm afraid that's like asking for the moon. I'll just be thankful for having discovered her book when I did.

Like several other reviewers, I am not sure I know what I was expecting when I ordered this book. I have always been drawn to silence, monastic retreats, and so on, and fight for silence in my own life, using such low-level techniques as avoiding music, phone calls, etc when I am 'doing my hermit thing.' So perhaps I was hoping that she would give me a few tips on how to incorporate more silence, without radically changing my life---like those oblates who don't actually join the convent but observe some of the practices at home. But it's a very individual book and its experiences don't transfer to someone else. The historical digressions got tedious; the best parts were her own experiences with her mother, her writing, and so on. I did find the discussion of accidie and how it differs from depression to be very good. I thought it would have been more effective if she had said less, say about the romantic 'ramblings' and such. I also got tired of the mantra of Thoreau. I have no idea if this is true but I read somewhere that for all his talk about the woods, he brought his laundry home regularly for his mother to wash. That rather spoiled him for me. (Maybe it isn't true but...)

Well, you don't need to be overly perceptive to agree with Maitland that this world is very loud world indeed. Just think of the mp3-players that you see all around you, think of the mobile phones and construction workers, think of the screams and shouts in your office or in your home and you'll understand it. People do rush and expect everything to be done as quickly and as good as possible. There is no room for failure. And in the world like that, personal freedom, meditation, and listening to sound of silence (or as a Maitland would put it - sound of God) have no value whatsoever. If you're willing to try the silent way of life, like Maitland did, you'll become sort of an outcast, person looked upon with queer squints, and you'll most probably be judged somehow. Existence of personality outside the borders of society is something that we're still afraid of. And world keeps turning, moving ever forward (or in circles if you prefer it that way), neglecting and deleting those who will not budge under its pressure. In this book Maitland explores her personal quest for a different life, writing about silence and its almost material presence; covering the history of a search for it, covering the life stories of eremites and cenobites that went on this quest before her and writing about practicalities of modern-day living that makes this quest so difficult. It's a good read, skillfully and scholarly written, introspective and passionate but still, something is so very wrong here.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have found thoughts of value in this book, but I did found thoughts that shouldn't be uttered by anyone if he wants himself to be considered serious (like the one about mobile phones being a weapon of Satan, which is utter in a mode that doesn't even resemble metaphorical mode of speech). And while more peaceful and quite life seems as a valid goal to which we should strive I can't but think that it's advocate comes from a rich family, goes around on voyages across the globe in search for a perfect spot where she can listen to silence and I can't but think of all the people who will read this book and never be able to leave their small, rental houses for one reason or the other. Maitland's writing about silence lack profoundness and simplicity of Buddhist teachings, lacks introspective gracefulness of scholars and thinkers of past ages, and overall it feels and reads as another example of pompous new-age philosophy.

Maybe I'm being hostile without a reason, but somehow it feels that while this is the book about beauty of silence it is in the same way book about one's own ego. There exist only author and her experience (however scholarly it might be written) and the diversity of the world and its people somehow got removed from this mental picture. Maybe I'm thinking in the wrong direction when asking of this book to be more politically observant (but somehow I can't escape the notion that every author out there should reflect or at least be aware of political topics), after all, quest for silence kinda puts you out of touch with contemporary society, but I can't help but to think that book that speaks praises for an alternate model of society can willfully choose to neglect all of this and still remain viable. It is almost as Maitland put on her shoulder mantle of romantic poets, questing for lost spirit of some ancient time, while at the same time forgetting about hungry and ravaged hordes of people that live underneath her doorstep. Yes, it is a good book, one that I should be reading again, but still strangely unsettling to me because of all that remained unsaid or unthought-of. If we look for silence to find ourselves and ignore the screams of others, have we done a good thing? Maybe. But, sadly, Sara Maitland, doesn't provide us with an answer of her own.

Maitland's odyssey, The Book of Silence, is a story about a discovery of self and God in a world of Silence. From moments on the Isle of Skye, to the Sinai Desert, to the Scottish Hills, Maitland is driven to discover the meaning of silence and the subtle difference that lead either to `self-emptying' like a desert hermit or, to greater self awareness that enables the `creative aspects of self' to emerge as a writer. Ultimately, the path that Maitland travels leads her to a decision to build a hermitage in Galloway on an isolated moor. This book is a must read for anyone who is following a path of silence as a way of life. Maitland's insightful awareness and comments on history and tradition helps the reader to discover aspects of silence that can only help build a balanced life between prayer and work (Ora et Labora). The Book of Silence is a reflective guide to the integration and integrity of both.

Maitland manages a sensitive disquisition on living in silence, its different forms/kinds, manifestations and meanings to different persons/cultures. She spans both secular and religious categories in her discussion, and I especially enjoyed the section where she considered the different effects of living extensive periods in silence. A highly recommended read and certainly an inspiring reference source if you seek silent places yourself.

Sara tells us, in one of the more interesting passages in her book, that people did not start reading silently to themselves (as opposed to aloud) until St Augustine, and that this evolution in our capacities led to independent thinking, the reformation, and the individualism of the enlightenment and beyond.

On this and many other levels, Sara takes us into an interesting examination of silence, including her personal experience on the moors, the desert, and the forests. She contrasts the hermit's quest for meditative and self-denying silence,with the long silent walks of the romantic poets. She delves into sensory deprivation and hallucinations and the silent listening of psychoanalysis.

Like a romantic poet, Sara takes us on a very long ramble, and all the time, I keep wishing she would use fewer words! It is impossible to read Sara's book without remembering On Walden Pond by Thoreau, who used leaner and more elegant language to get at some of the same points.

In recent years, some critics have "called" Thoreau on what might be considered his self-absorbed life-style. I would raise the same question about Sara, while adding that she needs to put a little more of the silence she prizes into her own writing.

An extended personal exploration of silence, in religious and secular writing, in communities and alone, in nature and in "flotation chambers". An insightful, wonderful book, rich in many ways.