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Book Review of The Cloister Walk

The Cloister Walk
reviewed on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7


An interesting read from an outsider's point of view. The author may be a Benedictine Oblate, but she isn't a Catholic and therefore doesn't always grasp the connection between Catholic teaching and Benedictine practices. While she approaches the subject fairly respectfully, she's missing a bit of the picture. At times, she seems stuck between admiration for the Benedictines and bashing the Catholic Church without realizing that the religious orders are very much a part of the Church she is taking a swipe at. The Desert fathers and early saints she quotes from are very much part of the Catholic Church and its teaching - but the connection seems lost on her. For Catholics, if you can stand a little uninformed sniping here and there, it is an interesting look at the beauty of contempletive life and the difficulties that surround it.