Customer Reviews

Memoirs of a Nun (Everyman's Library Classics & Contemporary Classics)

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

 

 

Very enlightening about the atmosphere in convents at that time and in that place. Reminds me of Lewis' -The Monk- which treats of the same subject and has much the same viewpoint which is that religion is all right but the church is not.

For me, it's definitely a page turner. I chose this book for the subject of my master's thesis in French lit. Diderot truly brings to life the sufferings of his heroine, Suzanne. The idea of forcing young women to take vows had already fallen out of favor at the time Diderot wrote this novel, so it was not as revolutionary as it may seem. All the same, Suzanne arouses the reader's sympathy and we follow her in anguish from convent to convent and long for her escape.

One caveat: You may find it disturbing that the author depicts female communities, above all religious communities, as inherently sick. This is not necessarily an accurate picture of convent life in 18th-century France, even though Diderot includes many factual details about ceremonies and daily life in religious orders.

For me, this is probably the greatest Masterpiece in fiction ever written about a religious. Sure, others are free to disagree. But if this isn't your thing - forget about it! If you, like me, are intensely passionate and curious about the lives of religious as brilliantly penned here by the genius, Denis Diderot - you will not be disappointed especially at Amazon.com's incredibly great price. One of the best books ever so long as you agree to disagree that what's great to some will not be for others.

Are you people really comparing Diderot to Steven King? Diderot is an author of historical significance who helped define enlightenment France. Steve King is a bubble gum horror author. I reccomend you drop the King, and pick up some Diderot.

Certainly a very interesting book--and much more modern that I was expecting, considering it's a contemporary of Richardson and Fielding. I was expecting it to be a bit of a slog but it was clear, emotional, unadorned. Good stuff!

I disagree slightly with the previous reviewer's opinon. The book is inferior in comparison to "Needful Things", but it is certainly better than "Tommyknockers."

Not bad, but not as good as "Needful Things" or "Tommyknockers"