The Cloister - by James Carroll: Book Review

Title: The Cloister

Author: James Carroll

No pages: 384

Publisher: Nan A. Talese

Publishing Date: 6.03.2018

Format: Kindle

Threading three different stories, the novel presents the story of people who are unable to present their cases clearly, or if they do, they are met with judgment and misunderstanding.

The story of World War Two Holocaust when millions of Jews were killed is well known. A victim of this injustice was Rachel Vedette, a French Jew, and her father, a scholar of the Torah. Presenting her story is done as a result of her discussions with Father Michael Kavanagh, a misfit in his group of Catholic priests. What helps Rachel and Father Michael understand each other and deal with their doubts and struggles is the story of Peter Abelard and Heloise. The texts Abelard wrote and Heloise made sure survived the ages showcase a man who dared to write about what he believed in and thought of, despite the shame and excommunication it brought upon him. Above all, the idea of love, in all the forms people try to see it in, is seen throughout the novel. It's what fuels every discussion and change of direction, whether it’s love for God or love for other people. 

More than Abelard and Heloise’s, Rachel and Father Michel’s conversation, and relationship, intrigued me. They seemed to play hide and seek, emphasis on seek, during their every encounter. Two people who think of themselves as impostors in their everyday life come face to face with the history of the Jews throughout the centuries and its implications for their personal lives. Two people confined to the self-sufficiency they’ve been used to up to that moment. Two people unable to be honest with each other because of their baggage and out of fear to not say too much or offend. This is what fascinated me.

I personally didn't like how some serious social and religious issues were approached. I haven't read anything by Abelard, and my Catholic knowledge is limited, but I sensed that some ideas the author adhered to were far-fetched. It was as if he wanted to tie everything in a nice bow and give his characters a final resolution and clear purpose, doubts-free. 

I enjoyed the foray into history, the musical and poetic language (which made the reading tedious at times, but I powered through) I was exposed to, and the attempt to show how apparently small and insignificant deeds of the 12th century carry weight well into our time.

Despite the heavy topic and at times slow paced reading, it was a good book, certainly appealing to history buffs. 

I received a free e-book copy from the publisher via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own. 

Karolina's Twins - by Ronald H. Balson: Book Review

Title: Karolina's Twins

Author: Ronald H. Balson

Publishing Date: September 6th 2016

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Page No.: 320

This is another Holocaust book, but with a twist, at least for me. This is the third book in the Liam and Catherine series. I haven't read the previous two books, but we'll see if/when I'll read them.

Karolina's Twins starts without unnecessary preparation and jumps straight to the point, which I loved: Lena Woodward, a Holocaust survivor, wants to find two twins born to her best friend in 1943 in Poland, therefore she hires a lawyer - Catherine, and an investigator - Liam. This is the first story of the novel, the past story. In the present day, there is the plot concerning Lena and her son Arthur. There is also the family life of Liam and Catherine.

While the story Lena recounts about her life and the War years is heart-gripping, raw, and beautifully written and told, the case filed by Arthur against his mother Lena is too much: it's not credible and the only thing it managed to do was portray Arthur as a mean person. How are we to believe he's a good guy in the end when he suddenly drops the charges when he learns the truth Lena chose not to tell him? This abrupt change is hard to believe. I kept reminding myself that Arthur is 60+ years old, and not the helpless and reckless man he seems to be. His relationship with his mother is dry, artificial, and hardly believable. Speaking of artificial - so is Liam and Catherine's. I thought it a sweet idea to have a family team involved in solving a case, one a lawyer, one an investigator, but their relationship was credible only when they were talking about work. Their relationship as husband and wife is dry, they exchange stiff lines, Catherine has at some point a sudden outrage that was so unpredictable and over something so trivial it was weird, like I was part of a moment I shouldn't have witnessed. {There were also some allusions to events that happened in the other two books, and this is something that makes me not that interested in reading them. They fall in the unnecessary drama category.}

However. The book mostly focuses on Lena's story. The idea seems hardly believable, but it caught my interest and I was engaged till the end. As one character said: people did unexpected things during the War years, so I just rolled with the plot. As with many books before this, I blame myself for thinking ahead; right when the plot twist was about to be revealed, I guessed it, and the revealing came to confirm my guess. This didn't bother me, because this wasn't the point. I liked how Lena's story evolved, I empathized with her when she learned what she wanted, and regretted with her the missing years. She wasn't the depressed War survivor, and this gives the reader a good feeling when reading the book, not doom and gloom. It's not a surprise that her story is my favorite part of the novel. Probably this is the best part of the novel because it was aided by all the available resources on the War and Holocaust. The author did a good job knitting them together and putting forward a strong woman's story.

Anyone who likes to read historical novels about the World War II and about the Holocaust will enjoy Lena and Karolina's story, and will be willing to overlook the shortcomings of the rest of the novel.

I received a free e-book copy of this novel from the publisher via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own.