2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Beautiful, July 27, 2011
This review is from: The Hardest Thing to Do (Hawk and the Dove) (Paperback)
'The Hardest Thing To Do' is the fourth masterpiece in a series of spiritually moving novels that portray the working, religious and, most poignant, community life of the brothers at St Alcuin.
This novel sees the brothers faced with a morally up heaving decision as they debate whether or not to admit an enemy Prior into their abbey.
With most of the brothers bandying for justice, the onus lies with the newly appointed Abbot John to hold out for mercy for the sake, not only of the maimed and despised wolf, but also for the peace and composure of his flock of brothers as they journey through the turmoil and anguish of the hardest thing to do; knowing the right thing to do.
Penelope Wilcock's novels flow with a poetry and symbolism that soothes and calms the reader the instant the book is opened. The gentle, though challenging life of the monks, set against the rugged beauty of the English moors, makes the reader forget the troubles and demands of daily life as they become absorbed, transformed and left thoroughly refreshed. Dipping into a novel of Penelope Wilcock's is like sliding into a cool river on a burning summer's day; it provides relief, comfort, and most of all, peace.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful characters and beautiful story, October 16, 2011
This review is from: The Hardest Thing to Do (Hawk and the Dove) (Paperback)
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"The Hardest Thing To Do (The Hawk and the Dove" is the first book I have read by Penelope Wilcock. At first, I thought it might be difficult to read a book in the middle of a series, then I thought it would be hard to care about monks living in a monastery, and finally I thought it might be a book primarily for Catholics - which I am not. Then I simply read the book and stopped thinking about anything other than what a beautifully written story it actually is.
It is a story about forgiveness and doing the "hardest thing to do". Interestingly, the hardest thing seems to change from person to person and from event to event. What I took away in the end, was that the hardest thing to do is the thing that your heart tells you is the right thing to do but which your head tells you that you don't want to do. In the midst of reading the book, I actually had a moment in my life where I had a "hard thing to do". Because of the story I was reading, I was able to get my heart and head in perspective and to do the right thing in spite of myself! It is a profound moment in life when a novel influences you so strongly.
It turned out to be a very easy book to read in the middle of the series. I might have missed some nuances but if so, I wasn't aware of a lack. I plan to read the earlier books in the series very soon. Again, the story about monks turned out really to be a story about every man or woman... they just happened to be in a monastery. While I did not understand some of the religious significance of some of the story (not being Catholic), it was not an issue for me as the story was so compelling.
I hope that anyone who shares my initial concerns will be influenced by my review - this is simply not a story to be missed. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Living Forgiveness, August 27, 2011
This review is from: The Hardest Thing to Do (Hawk and the Dove) (Paperback)
Penelope Wilcock's new novel, The Hardest Thing to Do, rejoins the brothers of St. Alcuin's abbey to prayer walk day by day through the transitional season of Lent. This Lent proves unusually hard and unusually transitional as the community learns the ways of their new abbot and he learns to be himself in a new obedience.
Over the course of the book we learn "the hardest thing to do" for a number of the brothers, each in their turn. Some of the things are humorous, some mundane, some substantial and serious. The hardest "hardest thing," however, spans the length of the book and challenges the very soul of the community.
What is that hardest thing? To forgive.
An earlier book in The Hawk and the Dove series described the cruel humiliation of the beloved Father Peregrine at the hands of the prior of another monastery. Brother Tom, Father Peregrine's personal attendant, felt the offense at least as keenly as his abbot and responded with characteristic passion and impetuosity.
The new novel unites Brother Tom with the prior who insulted his beloved (now departed) mentor, but in this meeting the balance of power has reversed and Tom and his brethren are confronted with a choice. Will they nourish resentment and turn away a man in profound need, or will they allow God to transform them for and through the hard thing of forgiveness?
As the narrative unfolds, the reader experiences the contagious, destructive effect of even a single person's choice of resentment and also the taste of resurrection transformation resulting from even one person's openness to forgive. The emotional impact of both did not entirely surprise me, having experienced that in the earlier stories, but the breadth of the change effected did.
One sometimes hears the axiom that resentment is like swallowing poison and expecting someone else to die, but this novel portrays it more like a fire that burns away at offender, offended, and the entire community of which they are a part. Conversely, forgiveness (in Father Theodore's language) is a miracle which brings warmth and light out of death and ashes and enlivens not only forgiver nor merely forgiven but the entire community as well.
Upon reflection, this depiction seems more truthful than the more common and simpler simile. Forgiveness is indeed a corporate discipline, and resentment a communal sin. Both are personal, but neither is private. I have witnessed this but did not understand so well what I was experiencing before I walked with these fictional medieval Benedictines through one Lent of their journey towards Christlikeness.
Other comments on structure, characterization, themes, and style could be made and would perhaps be more germane to a proper review, but today I'm inclined to limit my comments to this response instead. The Hardest Thing to Do is a wise book and one I hope to keep learning from in days to come in my non-fiction relationships.
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