⇒ PDF Sacred Hearts A Novel Sarah Dunant 9781400063826 Books

Sacred Hearts A Novel Sarah Dunant 9781400063826 Books

Download As PDF : Sacred Hearts A Novel Sarah Dunant 9781400063826 Books

Sacred Hearts A Novel Sarah Dunant 9781400063826 Books

Some hearts sacred, some rebellious
The Benedictine convent Santa Caterina in 15th Century Ferrara, Italy, searches for the heart of Christian living through music and purposefully limited interaction with the world around them. But their greatest strengths lie in their music, singing, and poetry of their regular devotional performances that inspire the nobles of Ferrara two or three times a year, but which thrill the nuns. And the greater virtue of Suora Zuana’s herbal medicine and skills in the infirmary. And the creative leadership of the abbess, Madonna Chiara. There is living saint Suora Magdalena, strictly dedicated novice mistress Suora Umiliana, musical composer Suora Benedicta, and poet and scriptorium supervisor Suora Scholastica. They make a placidly perfect picture of a well-functioning convent. But then enter the young sixteen-year-old Serafina, whose wailing and door-pounding frustration disrupt the peaceful pursuits of all therein. Though so far this summary sounds like a comedy, it is far from comic, for Zuana’s own longings somehow resonate to the pain of the love lost by Serafina. We are drawn into the complex conflicts among soul and body, ambition and loyalty, leader and follower. Four interesting characterizations hold the reader: Zuana foremost, but Serafina, Chiara, and Umiliana all have their moments. Dunant writes perceptively and sensitively. And the reader can learn a lot about herbal medicines in the bargain.


Tags : Sacred Hearts: A Novel [Sarah Dunant] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The year is 1570, and in the convent of Santa Caterina, in the Italian city of Ferrara, noblewomen find space to pursue their lives under God’s protection. But any community,Sarah Dunant,Sacred Hearts: A Novel,Random House,1400063825,Convents;Italy;Fiction.,Nuns;Italy;Fiction.,Women;Italy;Social conditions;16th century;Fiction.,16th century,Convents,English Historical Fiction,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction General,Fiction Historical,Historical - General,Italy,Nuns,Social conditions,Women

Sacred Hearts A Novel Sarah Dunant 9781400063826 Books Reviews

This book is a rare historical novel, a page turning drama about life in an Italian convent, compelling and exciting despite the near total absence of men–aside from a Father confessor, some anonymous workmen, and a music teacher in love with a nun entered into a convent in Ferrara against her will. Despite the constrained setting of this novel, inside the convent of Santa Caterina, famous for its singing, the novel itself manages to draw a great deal of excitement in the politics of women engaged in seeking to preserve their independence or fight for greater piety in the time of the Counter-Reformation.

Given what I have said above, it should be rather obvious that this novel is going to appeal mostly to those interested in reading about religious women, which means that most readers will either be women, or religious, or both. The novel, as can be expected, is rather cynical about the religious nature of many of the sisters–regardless of their political interests, and the political aspect of life in the times. The novel itself is written well, even if it does include some occasionally rather shocking commentary on how nuns coped with the forced vows of chastity, and it is clear that the author did a great deal of research concerning life in convents in the 16th century, an area of expertise I must admit that I do not possess.

One of the more shocking aspects of this novel is that nearly 50% of aristocratic women in Italy in the 16th century were sent to convents because dowries had gotten so expensive that even noble families could only afford to marry one of their daughters in style and were unwilling to have any other daughters marry below their station. As a result, convents were often full of women who did not want to be there, which created an atmosphere where the attacks on the virtue of nuns by Protestants led to the constriction of freedom of women in one of the few areas where they were allowed some measure of power by the Catholic Church because of the absence of men.

All of this makes for reading that is both highly political in nature as well as intriguing. It is significant that this is an Italian convent, because the politics within the convent often mirror the greater family-based politics of the late Italian Renaissance, which was crushed by the Counter Reformation and its attack of both the beauty and corruption of the late Medieval Roman Church. One can see in the fight between the two sides a sort of false dilemma between corrupt political machinations, not stopping short of murder, and a harsh and rigid piety that lacks any interest in rationality whatsoever. It is a shame that a balance between the two is so often lacking in life.

The novel itself is full of worthwhile characters, particularly Suora Zuana, the clever and lonely (and deeply scientific) head of the convent’s dispensary, Suora Serafina, the lovesick rebel with a beautiful voice whose presence threatens the stability of the convent, Suora Chiara, the ruthless abbess bred for the convent by her noble family, and Suora Umiliana, the head of the counter-reformation wing, deeply influenced by anti-rational pietism. Compared to these vivid and fierce women, the novel’s few men come off as pale shadows, which is rather ironic when one considers the shadowy existence of cloistered nuns. Still, if one wants to read 400 pages of writing about catfighting nuns fighting to preserve some small space of autonomy for women in 16th century Italy, this is a good read, with even a successful love story to spice it up a little. One can do far worse.
An author must engage the reader. Bring them into the world of the characters. Create interesting characters. Create a great plot. Have a great story telling technique. I found this novel to have none of this. I forced myself to chapter fifteen wherein I just gave up. So dull is this novel that I would skim through looking for dialog. There is so much telling that the story becomes bogged down with it. Maybe its just the nature of the subject, convent life. Obviously, that's not much of a life. I just don't think this was well executed.

I must give the copywriter a thumbs up though. The back cover copy is better written than the novel itself.

Farewell Ms. Dunant. I gave you two shots (I didn't like The Birth of Venus either).
Some hearts sacred, some rebellious
The Benedictine convent Santa Caterina in 15th Century Ferrara, Italy, searches for the heart of Christian living through music and purposefully limited interaction with the world around them. But their greatest strengths lie in their music, singing, and poetry of their regular devotional performances that inspire the nobles of Ferrara two or three times a year, but which thrill the nuns. And the greater virtue of Suora Zuana’s herbal medicine and skills in the infirmary. And the creative leadership of the abbess, Madonna Chiara. There is living saint Suora Magdalena, strictly dedicated novice mistress Suora Umiliana, musical composer Suora Benedicta, and poet and scriptorium supervisor Suora Scholastica. They make a placidly perfect picture of a well-functioning convent. But then enter the young sixteen-year-old Serafina, whose wailing and door-pounding frustration disrupt the peaceful pursuits of all therein. Though so far this summary sounds like a comedy, it is far from comic, for Zuana’s own longings somehow resonate to the pain of the love lost by Serafina. We are drawn into the complex conflicts among soul and body, ambition and loyalty, leader and follower. Four interesting characterizations hold the reader Zuana foremost, but Serafina, Chiara, and Umiliana all have their moments. Dunant writes perceptively and sensitively. And the reader can learn a lot about herbal medicines in the bargain.