Rating: 
Summary: God's Mystery
Review: Sister John of the Cross is a Carmelite nun in Los Angeles. Despite some desert spells in her faith, she has persevered and is now experiencing exstatic visions of God, which she writes, and shares with the laity. These books have brought her reknown, and Sr. John thinks she has been living up to God's plan for her. When Sister John discovers, however, that she has curable epilepsy, some difficult decisions must be made. Should she put herself, and her closeness to God first, or must she focus on the disruption and harm that her illness may cause her community and her sisters? And, if she has surgery, will that mean that her visions were false? This book is a lovingly told portrait of an impossible inner struggle by a present-day nun. Sister John is portrayed with such humanity, it is impossible to not feel deeply about her struggle. The volume is lean, but packed with meaning, and is very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: 'All of us will be tested in faith, again and again'
Review: Mark Salzman's LYING AWAKE is the story of one woman's test of faith. She is Sister John of the Cross, a Carmelite nun living in a monastery surrounded by the hubbub that is Los Angeles. She has given most of her life to the service of God, and she has been gifted with wonderful, ecstatic visions. Words have poured out of her into her journals -- her poetry has inspired seekers within and without the Order. Now in middle age, she suddenly discovers that the headaches that have accompanied these visions could threaten her life -- and, more devastating than this, they could be indications that her visions are nothing but hallucinations brought on by a medical condition. Her choice is plain but difficult -- if she agrees to the surgery that could correct this condition and possibly save her life, she risks losing the one aspect of her religious life that she has seen as a validation of her Vocation. Not an easy choice. Salzman's prose is as spare and delicate as any I have read -- and yet it conveys so very much. Life for the cloistered Sisters is revealed to the reader without romanticizing -- in all of its simplicity, hardship and beauty. His descriptions of the nuns' cells, the chapel, the monastery garden all shine with a gentle but firm light -- they all seem so present and real. The emotions that pass through Sister John are just as real -- this journey she is taking is one of the soul, and it is not an easy one. Her journal entries are so spiritually evocative -- 'an invisible sun
a shock wave of pure Being
swept my pain away, swept everything away
until all that was left was God. God awakening.' In another entry, she describes the dissolution of the Self to the Eternal Will: 'You were here all along.
I pierce the universe.
God pierces me.
I do not think; I am thought.
I do not know; I am known.' The luminous journal entries attributed to Sister John are alone worth the read -- but there is so much more to be garnered from this marvelous work. The quotation at the very top, another from her journal, is so true for all of us -- particularly in light of recent terrible events. Her journey -- and its resolution -- can inspire us when we need it the most. This is a book of incredible insight and feeling -- remarkable for its beauty (and frugality) of language. I know that I will find myself returning to it again and again throughout my life. I'm glad it's coming out in paperback -- I can see myself giving a few copies as gifts, and the hardcovers would break me!
Rating:
Summary: A Remarkably Insightful Account of Cloister and Spirit
Review: I wasn't sure what to make of this book, but since I had to read it for a book group, I figured, "Why not?". This story is about a nun who finds depths of spiritual insights after countless years of spiritual aridity. To borrow a phrase from St. Ignatius Loyola, after many years of "desolation" she receives "consolation." But is it from God, or from her epilepsy? Her physical condition (and I never knew this until reading this book)enhanced her creative powers, both in literary and spiritual terms. She writes best selling books about faith, and her poetry is highly regarded.Then she discovers she needs an operation which may end this period of consolation. What to do? She almost doesn't want to get better, but then she realizes that this may not be what God has in mind for her. Ultimately she does have the surgery, and the visions disappear. Then she's a 48 year old woman with a bad family history who isn't sure why she entered the convent in the first place. But.... and this is the genius of Salzman's book, God is still there! Even, and especially, in the aridity. Our heroine doesn't leave the convent when things aren't going her way (she thinks about it). This is a remarkable book that has many astute observations on the nature of religious life as lived out by the Discalced Carmelites. I was surprised at how young the author looks in the jacket photo, because he has certainly been blessed with depth, insight and most importantly, compassion! Read it if you get a chance. It's a powerful book!
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic novel -- I highly, highly recommend it.
Review: I'm always a little leery of men writing about women in religious life, but Mark Salzman was wonderful. This is a wonderful character study of a woman who is a bit of a misfit in the "real" world, working out her place within the cloister. The protagonist, Sr. John, was beautifully written. Her struggle to accept that her ecstatic moments were probably a result of epilepsy was so poignant. But the most moving thing of all is that she makes her decision about whether or not to have the surgery based not on her own needs, but on the needs of her sisters around here. This was just so true of the ideal in religious life. If you are interested in religious life, you should read this book. If you just really love superb character studies, you should read this book. If you only read one book a year, and that one under duress, you should still read this book. It has much of value to tell us all.
Rating: 
Summary: I Became Uncomfortable
Review: I was really enjoying Lying Awake - the real world of cloistered life, the conflict of the solemn vows and the interluding poetry - until I reached page 139, about three fourths the way through the novel. Here we are told that the Miserere was an ancient poem written in honor of the Blessed Virgin. Lots of us (Catholic or not) know that Miserere, "have mercy on me", comes from the 51st Psalm (Vulgate Psalm 50) and has been the foundation of many noteworthy music arrangements throughout history. Fiction or not, I became uncomfortable in not knowing Salzman's further diligence and research.
Rating: 
Summary: not so good an excution on a brilliant idea
Review: Always a big fan of Mark Salzman, I am disappointed in his newest book "Lying Awake". The book is stiff and formal, completely lacking the spontaneity and liveliness that is the trademark of Salzman's writings. Like a little boy who decides to take on some serious projects, Salzman seems to have approached the subject of this book with such reverence that he feels he has the need to deliberately suffocate the occasional sparks coming from any wayward mischievous impulses. The end result is, not really sparse or luminous, but almost sterile. The book is built upon a brilliant idea. Unfortunately, in this book, the idea is only "presented", but never "developed". The dilemma faced by Sister John remains throughout the book to be just that. On the NPR interviews, Salzman seems to be able to give this idea more relevancy and resonance. Somehow, it never takes off in the novel. The reason that it took Salzman so many years to write this book may precisely be that he has tried to be too cautious and too self-constricting. And the book does read labored.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoughtful and evocative
Review: Mark Salzman poses a fascinating question for his main character, Sister John of the Cross: If the source of her divine visions is not divine, if it is instead a physical ailment, must she give up what has sustained her faith for many years? The book moves slowly and introspectively through to the answer. Like many major life decisions, there is no absolute wrong or right, and in communal life, a personal choice resonates with communal consequeces. If Sr. John of the Cross loses her visions, and the poetry these visions allow her to write, the cloister will suffer a financial loss. If she gets the physical "glitch" repaired, she loses her divine gift and maybe her faith as well. The book shows the nun's personal struggle in the context of daily Carmelite life, which is measured and has a greater purpose than the desires of the individual. It would be natural to assume that a cloistered life would produce a decision made in silence and private. But Sister John's past life noisily haunts her thoughts. The lives of the nuns and novices around her influence her judgement. In this way the book allows the reader to experience vicariously the simultaneous detachment from the outside world and the intense involvement of a cloister with the spiritual demands and needs of that world. The book has a few flaws. If the book's purpose was a meditation, it was successful. The central thought makes for a great mental wrestle: can a cranial short-circuit be the basis of faith? If your vision of divine love turns out to be a disease, how does that change your relationship with the divine? But the book is not a meditation, it's a novel. The pacing is sometimes uneven. The other nuns are sometimes not fully drawn. Their struggles are somehow not important to us. The evening that Sr. John makes her momentous decision comes up suddenly, and is, I felt, rushed over as a group event. I also wanted either a deeper exploration into the personal reasons for her decision or a longer view of the consequence--an epilogue of ten years later. But perhaps that is exactly what Salzman was avoiding--a neat, tidy answer. Sister John's decision was made with the facts at hand, and it is possible, that after five years of living with the consequences, she may have wished for another chance. And don't we all.
Rating:
Summary: Exquisite Tickling of the Heart , Mind, and Spirit
Review: In just a few pages I was pulled deeply into the quiet peace of the cloistered Sisters' lives, only to be surprised and entranced by the rich interior life of Sister John of the Cross. Her dilemma is riveting: to be faced with the decision of whether to risk her identity, her life's purpose. I found this to resonate with an experience common to many people: whether to medicate with antidepressants, etc. and risk losing the gifts that make each person unique. I love this book and will long enjoy the intellectual, emotional and spiritual questions it inspires.
Rating:
Summary: A lovely jewel of a book
Review: I was a bit apprehensive about reading Mark Salzman's latest book, especially after reading the New Yorker piece. Could the book possibly live up to that review and profile! I've had Mark's book sitting on our bookcase for nine months and just didn't get around to reading it. Well, I finally picked it up last week and read it, in one wonderful sitting. I was so thoroughly moved, at one point I had to stop and reflect on the clear simplicity of his very lovely story. I will think about the idea of faith, seperate from the idea of religion and yet equally as profound. Thanks Mark.
Rating: 
Summary: Ex-Carmelite in San Francisco
Review: Overall, my review of Lying Awake would be this, "Please do not pass this book on to anyone else!" The only reasons I read the book to the end were that two young friends asked me to read it, and I hoped there would be some saving grace. But I found absolutely none! This author had no business passing himself off as having any knowledge about either the spirit of Carmel or that way of life, and the potential damage this book will inflict on unsuspecting souls is far less than innocent. First of all, even the author's writing style was completely self-absorbed. His attempts at poetic images were, for the most part nauseating, and he attempted to paste his own romantic images into the picture at odd junctures, and many were blatantly wrong. They were more distracting and disgusting than inspirational or illuminating. I found this extremely annoying, and certainly not entertaining. He liked to watch himself playing fancy word games. It's obvious that someone did give him a lot of little details about the monastic life, but they could have been about the monastic life of any order. However, there were far more details and statements that glaringly revealed his complete ignorance about the life of a Catholic or a Carmelite nun, and in fact, they were quite insulting. I started to make a list of all the things that couldn't happen in a Carmel, because they are against the rule and not a part of the community of any Carmel of which I know, but I finally gave up because there were so many outrageous untruths. Also, there were quite a few places where he made statements that showed he had not done his homework at all. For instance, he said that St. Therese died when she was 25, rather than 24. And what Catholic would say that the priest "leads" Mass? The most absurd and insulting mistake he made was in his description of the community's act of penance in the choir. First of all, the nuns would never chant a hymn in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary during this community act, and it certainly would not occur in the choir! (Also, he quoted lines from the Alma Redemptoris, but he mistakenly called it the "miserere"-again, he didn't do his homework). The author's lack of authentic details, however, was not what really set me off. After all, this was a piece of fiction, right? I am almost positive that this man is a Buddhist, for he made many blatantly Buddhist statements in the book, passing them off as God's voice speaking to the nun in her mystical experiences. For instance, "Self had been an illusion, a dream. God dreaming." This is not a Christian message-it is pure Buddhism! I found this theme recurring throughout the entire book, and this was very disturbing. Do you have any idea how many Catholics today do not think there is anything in Buddhist teaching that is antithetical to Christianity? Do you know how many ways Buddhist practices and thought are being brought into the Catholic Church, and what damage this is doing to people's faith and souls? There just are not enough sentries at the borders who know enough to be able to sound the alarm, and there are not enough souls in our relativistic times (even among our fellow Catholics) who are willing and able to discern the truth. This is definitely one way that the wolves in sheep's clothing are walking right into our midst and being welcomed with open arms. This book, I believe, is just one more strike in that direction, and I was disturbed by it for several days after I put it down. It doesn't appear so on the surface, but this is most definitely an anti-Catholic book, one that will subtly plant a lot of doubts and fears into unsuspecting minds and hearts. As to the life of a Carmelite nun, this author betrayed almost everything that is "sacred" in this life. In particular, disobedience and lack of humility were portrayed as the acts of a sole "heroic" soul, the only one who was truly "awake" spiritually. Even though the author did go back on this idea at the end of the book after the nun had her brain surgery, when she questioned all of her actions and visions for the previous three years, this was a paltry reversal. What was really left in the reader's mind was the idea that what happened to her was tragic, that now she was "doomed" to the everyday dull existence of a Carmelite's life, and that she was merely resigning herself to this reality out of an obligation to obedience. Also, where was the love in this story? Was there any portrayal of a real love for Christ, for the other Sisters, or for the souls they had come to Carmel to help save? No, there was absolutely none! My personal reaction to the community members and life that he described was pure nausea. In fact, several times I actually moaned in disgust. This was not a community I would ever want to join, and there was nothing real about them. There was not one character in the story whom I could admire or desire to imitate in my spiritual journey. As far as I'm concerned, the author was merely describing a bunch of petty, selfish, self-absorbed women who happened to be wearing religious habits. Saint Teresa would surely be spinning in her grave if they were any of her daughters!
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