The Monk Upstairs: A Novel [Hardcover]

Tim Farrington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 2007

Heavenly Ever After?

When Rebecca Martin finds the love of her life, it's finally time to cross off one giant task from life's to-do list. But not so fast. The wedding is a minor disaster, the honeymoon doesn't get much better, and then the biggest shock of all—living together as monk and wife.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gentle humor leavens the weightier themes of trust, religion and second chances in this satisfying sequel to The Monk Downstairs (2002). Tough-as-nails divorcée Rebecca Martin eases into married life with former monk and tenant Mike Christopher while she wonders just what they've gotten themselves into. Her pot-smoking ex-husband is trying to reform and be a responsible father, but his inability to follow through adds extra tension to Rebecca and Mike's newlywed life. Farrington beautifully renders the touching relationships between Mike and his young stepdaughter, Mary Martha, and his mother-in-law, Phoebe, whose mental acuity is steadily declining after a stroke in the previous novel. Mike's struggle to reconcile his contemplative nature with his new responsibilities (and Rebecca's disdain for religion) is engagingly portrayed as escapes to the attic to meditate. When Mary Martha decides she wants to attend mass with Mike, Rebecca's conflicts intensify; "It wasn't that she was opposed to God, per se. She just didn't want His damn church screwing with her daughter's head." Farrington has a knack for unusual descriptions, such as mid-week morning mass, a "wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am affair, like framing work in carpentry.... They left the interior decoration and finish work for Sundays." A poignant death scene ensures readers will reach for the Kleenex. Farrington's talent blossoms in this engaging novel. (May)
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From Booklist

In the sequel to The Monk Downstairs (2002), Farrington gifts readers with a rare realistic portrait of a romantic relationship between two complicated, funny, loving adults. Former monk Michael Christopher and lapsed Catholic Rebecca Martin have a fair amount of personal baggage--he has yet to find satisfying work after leaving the monastery; she has some qualms about his deep faith versus her more skeptical approach. Yet the two move beyond their personal issues, with a good deal of humor and grace, and decide to get married. After an idyllic honeymoon in Hawaii, they return to face more mundane matters, including Rebecca's difficulty in dealing with her spirited daughter's new fascination with Catholicism; her mother's physical limitations due to a recent stroke; and her lackadaisical, pot-smoking ex's seeming transformation into a responsible citizen. Through it all, Michael retains his ability, honed from years of meditation, to "step out of the traffic of the world . . . to seek the moment's deeper reality." Moving between wry humor and poignancy, Farrington takes on the big issues of faith, love, and work. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060815167
• ISBN-13: 978-0060815165
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,600,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the tenderest, most human characters returns, May 17, 2007

By 

Stephanie Cowell (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Monk Upstairs: A Novel (Hardcover)

I am a passionate fan of "The Monk Downstairs" and devoured this second book about Michael Christopher, a former monk in his 40's who has tremendous wit, patience, sensuality and deep, common-sense spirituality...and his relationship with his world and mostly Rebecca, a single mom and former hippie, whom he marries in the first chapter of this new book. How a monk who retreats for prayers and has so much love and time for people meets or doesn't meet the corporate world, and how he and Rebecca and Rebecca's bright young daughter make a life is the story of this book. He is just the man to be a tender help to Rebecca's sick mother and console the dying homeless, but not quite as good as a competitive breadwinner. It is wonderful to have a protagonist with a real spiritual life. A jewel of a novel! -- from Stephanie Cowell, author of MARRYING MOZART and NICHOLAS COOKE

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wise and realistic, May 29, 2007

By 

Anne Parker "lifelong book lover" (Rockford, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Monk Upstairs: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book is the tender sequel to the The Monk Downstairs (Plus). It picks up the story with the wedding of Rebecca (single mother of one) and Mike (former monk and former fry cook at MacDonalds) and lovingly describes the early days of their marriage and the final days of Rebecca's mother, Phoebe. As in the first book, the characters all have human faces and plenty of warts, kindness and realism abound and tragedy is treated with respect and love. It's a quick read, but a worthwhile one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Love is still just love', September 21, 2007

By 

J. Cameron-Smith "Expect the Unexpected" (ACT, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Monk Upstairs: A Novel (Hardcover)

Those who have read 'The Monk Downstairs' will be familiar with the key characters in this novel. 'The Monk Upstairs' starts with the marriage of Mike and Rebecca and gently observes and explores many of the relationship challenges faced when people from such diverse backgrounds commence a shared life. Mike has his own struggles with post contemplative life while at the same time bringing wonderful perspectives to the lives of others. The scenes between Mike and Phoebe (Rebecca's mother) are magical. Rebecca is learning to adjust to a slightly different pace of life as well. Her new role as wife joins a role of responsibility for her mother Phoebe and her adaptation to the changed roles of her previous partner Rory.

The novel is about life, adaptation, change and acceptance. The novel is also about the changing roles in relationships, and focusses more on the journey than the destination. Tim Farrington's prose is elegant and spare. His insights are both simple and powerful.

Highly recommended to all who enjoy well written fiction. I have enjoyed each of the Tim Farrington novels I have read, and this is no exception.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith