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Summary: This Book Was a Blessing
Review: I have never had a book affect me in such a profound way. The Cloister Walk was given to me by a friend at a time when I needed help. I started to read it and half way through started it over with highlighter in hand.I kept wondering how Kathleen Norris was speaking directly to me and how the friend who came into my life to bring me this book at just this time ... Divine intervention?
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Summary: New Life for Theology
Review: I first read Cloister Walk after deciding to write my senior thesis on her writings. I was intrigued by a writer who was a feminist, embraced Christianity, explored monasteries, and found an audience outside the conservative Christian market. As a person who has grown up with a strong faith in God and love for Jesus, I also longed for new ways to talk about God. Norris's honesty and exploration of what it's like to live out the beliefs and ideas of the Christian faith gave me confidence to explore my own experiences of these beliefs. Her chapter on the Psalms was particularly amazing. I felt like I was being set free with Norris to be honest with God and others about being human--complete with anger, doubt, and depression. Her theology, or speech about God, is grounded in everyday living. She finds God revealed in the simplest things, which is consistent with the Bible and the character of God--who chose to become a human in Jesus. This affirms for me that even the smallest things I do everyday are important to God--because he loves me enough to become someone like me.
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Summary: LECTIO DIVINA, indeed!
Review: Haunting, Holy, holistic, and happy. I am a Protestant (Lutheran Persuasion) who wondered what a poet/Benedictine oblate could have useful to say regarding religion, especially Christianity...a LOT, I can tell you that much. Such a CATHOLIC book, but in a mesmerizing, spell-binding way...a journal of faith with the life of poetry, praise, and prayer as the soundtrack. Kathleen Norris is one of the true unsung heroes (or heroines, as Norris would prefer) of contemporary Christian writing. Just a word of warning--if you consider yourself a right-wing fundamentalist Christian stay away from this woman, since you will find nothing of value in her work and will likely think her work is "Biblically unsound" and "leading to hell." Your loss. Open your eyes and change your hearts.
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Summary: Looking for Faith in the right places.
Review: A former student gave me this book knowing my sister is a nun. Kathleen's incite on the monastic life brought me closer to my sister in way I've never had before. It also reaffirmed my faith and brought a breath of fresh air to my spirit. I gave a copy to my sister and she gave copies to many of her friends.I read each chapter like a gem and continue to re-read it. Kathleen gets to the essence of her faith.
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Summary: storytelling, spirituality, humor, and history at its best
Review: Having read Kathleen Norris' "Amazing Grace" I was eager to hear more from this gifted author. "The Cloister Walk" was all I had hoped for and more. Norris' sometimes painfully honest recollections of her spiritual journey will resonate with any reader who has battled both the demons within and the church without. Norris' mix of humor, storytelling, and church history undergirds her compelling description of life among the Benedictines.
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Summary: Christianity that you can relate to
Review: This is an incredible book that has helped me to reclaim my faith in God and His Church.Kathleen Norris's stream of consciousness approach to chapter content allows the soul to bathe in a myriad of emotions, thoughts, and experiences. With one topic lingering in my psyche I was moved into a new context and experience at the start of each chapter. In some cases I truly wished that the some chapters would never end. The beauty of this approach is that a rich spiritual tapestry emerges over the course of the book. The mind spends a great deal of time pulling themes together across a number of days of reading, with a number of lightning strike insights resulting. A second amazing achievement of the book is that she opens up the Monastic experience for all to relate to. I never appreciated the essential role of monastic people, in our time and through history, until I too lived day to day with the dedicated souls of Saint John's. Whether you relate to this level of spiritual dedication or not, you will at least understand and see the courage it takes to pursue God in such a single-minded fashion.
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Summary: Strange and Beautiful
Review: As a lapsed Catholic and a searching person for the meaning of organized religion in my life, I found this book rich with bursts of insight. The various personalities in religion; aspects of life within the Benedictine church; and a variety of small, beautiful critical thinking essays on the meanings of icons and values are some of the topics Norris explores in her chapters. Overall, they are thought-provoking and reveal a person who is more than a visitor to the ways of the Benedictine. I only gave four stars, since I found her writing style a bit distracting and the organization of the book not exactly conducive to easy reading. It's true that each chapter is a handful, but the editor might have done Norris a favor by facilitating the outline of the book.
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Summary: This book is sorely needed by a generation of Catholics.
Review: A friend loaned me this book as I was moving to a new city. That was 3 months ago; I just finished it last night. Every night, I have treated myself to one tiny chapter, or maybe two on a rough day. As a Catholic with some experience in the rhythm of communal life, it was like being wrapped again in the love of that community. It literally helped me calm down. I wish Ms. Norris could have coffee with all my lapsed Catholic siblings of her generation; as it is, I may dare to give one of them the book for Christmas. Thanks to the author for unfolding her story.
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Summary: I wish I had purchased the hardcover version.
Review: I've recommended and loaned out my copy to several friends and now regret that I didn't spend the extra money for a hardcover copy of this excellent book which I intend to read again should it ever be retruned to me. Reading over other reviews, I am surprised by comments that Norris is self-absorbed. To the contrary, I found her self-deprecating humor to be refreshing for a book of this genre. And although she rambles a bit, she always returns to her central themes regarding the beauty of the Benedictine way that brings order to chaos and a soothing, meditative approach to developing one's prayer life. Having spent two years as a second grader in Sr. Romuel's class in the mid-fifties, I had a special appreciation for those stories of saints and hermits. The chapter on the virgin martyrs was particularly entertaining!
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Summary: Excellent explanation of our relationship with God
Review: I cannot recommend this book enough. I have read literally thousands of words on religion and the Bible (including the Bible itself in entirety 5 times) and I have never found a book so spiritually touching as this. Ms. Norris should be counted among the most gifted Christian authors of literature.
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