Rumer Godden (1907–1998)

3.5 stars

The book follows Lise, as she falls in live with a pimp and begins to work for him, serves a prison sentence, and then joins a religious order.

The book also weaves in the stories of two girls that Lise more-or-less mentors.

There were a few instances where the sexual inferences were a little too detailed for my personal taste.

I think I would have preferred for the story to be told chronologically, instead of skipping around various timelines the way it did.

Overall, though, I enjoyed the book.… (mere)

This novel explores the daily lives of a group of nuns at a monastery. I really appreciated that Godden made her characters' personalities distinct, and didn't portray any of the nuns as free of flaws.

There were many aspects that were thought provoking to me, especially since I'm Protestant, not Catholic. There were definitely things I could relate to, but also beliefs and practices that make the Catholic Church seem more cultish than Christlike.

Story-wise, one of the "challenges" seemed overcome far too easily/conveniently, which was disappointing to me, as it was a great opportunity for character growth.

Also, though a minor issue, the pages allocated to each chapter are very uneven. The average number of pages in a chapter is 30, yet one chapter is 70 pages long! This makes it difficult for me to stay motivated, as I hate having to break in the middle of a chapter.… (mere)

Kizzy Lovell, a young Romani girl, an outsider and an orphan, whose extended family doesn't want her after her grandmother dies, is taken in by other outsiders: Admiral Twiss, a man in a country house and the two men who work for him---considered an unacceptable guardian because he is a man---and Miss Brooke, an older unmarried newcomer.

It's nice that Mrs. Cuthbert, the bossy, obnoxious mother of a girl who is a bully is not as admired by the community as she thinks she should be. But perhaps it's a little too easy to see who the good guys are, although the children show that change and new understanding and acceptance is possible. Eventually everything works out nicely.

An interesting observation is made about different cultures: while Mrs. Cuthbert says the Romani are dirty and have no "table manners....'[s]ome gypsy children eat with their fingers and wipe them on their hair afterwards," Miss Brooke explains "A gypsy might refuse to have a cup of tea with you because he can't be sure of how well you wash your china. ... You might put your tea towels in the spin dryer with your bed-linen or underclothes." [pp, 67-68]… (mere)