Wow, talk about detail. I think the words "excruciating" and monotonous both work here. Down to every service they attend and who sings what songs off-key or not... If you're wondering if the monk's life is for you, this seems to be a pretty descriptive book to give you an idea. It was a bit confusing to keep the characters straight, since you can't go by clothing descriptions (obviously they're all monks); keeping the personalities matched up with the names is hard too because they're each known by their Christian names and their monk names both. Decently written but much too long for my taste.