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kbecker40's review against another edition
DNF at page 149. Scattered. I was expecting more of a moving book of the life of Benedictine monks. It seemed like a disjointed rambling of all aspects of her life and marriage. She was very clear that she was a poet. But the language on the page was not evidently poetic. There was some profound and moving essays about monastic life and the men she met. But this book was much different than expected and sadly isn’t for me.
ajay_1111's review against another edition
4.0
The Cloister Walk is a uniquely beautiful book. It is deeply spiritual and light with humor written with the prose of a poet. It is rich in both the historical and current monastic life. Norris portrays the ups and downs of the lives of monks and nuns in a very real way that depicts their true humanity without over-spiritualizing them. This book deepened my appreciation for monasticism and the community, rituals, and liturgy that comes with it, yet was very applicable to my own life experiences and spirituality.
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
An odd mixture of contemplative thought, memoir and discussion of life in the world of the Benedictines, but an interestingly odd mixture.
I wish Ms. Norris had discussed more the why and how of her life there (I confess I was confused that she spent so much time at a monastery, among monks), as well as what had really led her there. What is it that an oblate does, for example, is missing. I suspect this was written expecting the reader to have more knowledge of Christianity, let alone Catholicism, than I do.
On the other hand, her thoughts about life and death, religion and "real life" are fascinating. It is difficult to imagine having read this book and not viewing the Psalms differently than before.
I wish Ms. Norris had discussed more the why and how of her life there (I confess I was confused that she spent so much time at a monastery, among monks), as well as what had really led her there. What is it that an oblate does, for example, is missing. I suspect this was written expecting the reader to have more knowledge of Christianity, let alone Catholicism, than I do.
On the other hand, her thoughts about life and death, religion and "real life" are fascinating. It is difficult to imagine having read this book and not viewing the Psalms differently than before.
poplartears's review against another edition
3.0
I am not entirely sure what it is I like about Kathleen Norris'rambling way of writing a book. This is here second book and as with the last there doesn't really seem to be an ending per se. In fact it is just a collection of musings that are woven together in a strange but wonderful way. I think I may be reading them backwards but I will definitely be picking up another Norris book soon.
hem's review against another edition
For now, I'm done with this one. I get the idea that she writes about her own experience in a way that is meaningful for her, but at this point in my life it doesn't resonate much with me.
lizbusby's review against another edition
3.0
I felt like I walked into the middle of a conversation with this book. Some more context on the author's experience would have been useful to me. The subjective experience stuff was awesome, but I wanted more explanation of her beliefs, how staying at a monastery works, etc. It does have the virtue of being short though.
nadoislandgirl's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the middle section of this book quite a bit. I thought the insights into the Psalms were wonderful and her thoughts about Jeremiah interesting. I lost momentum at the end and the book just couldn't keep my attention for the final chapters.
bluejayreads's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
This is another recommendation from my mother-in-law. It sounded somewhat interesting, but wasn’t high on my priority list until she actually gave me a copy. I haven’t read a physical book in a long time, but I am trying to work through my unread shelf, so I figured I’d give it a shot.
This is not at all what I was expecting. I was expecting something solidly memoir about the author’s experience of being a Protestant-raised nonreligious person spending time in Catholic monastery. I expected a series of events presented in chronological order, along with what she learned about religion and monasticism and some reflections on monastic life. I was not expecting … whatever this is.
Kathleen is a poet, and this book reads like a poem in prose form. I know that’s an oxymoron, but I don’t have a better way to describe it. It reads like poetry – reflective and metaphorical and not limited to a particular place, time, or sequence of events – but it’s written in proper sentences and paragraphs and such like prose. It was an interesting and unique reading experience, and I rather enjoyed the slow, reflective pace.
I also found a lot to relate to in Kathleen. She was raised Protestant but rejected the religion of her youth. Although when the book opened she considered herself generally nonreligious, she still was a sort of spiritual seeker, looking for some kind of religious or spiritual transcendence. The main difference between us in this regard is that she is willing to go back to Christianity to search for it.
I’m glad she did, though, because the result was this book, which is fascinating. I have never been Catholic, so it was interesting learning about little details of Catholicism, and especially about monastic life and the Benedictine monks that she spent time with. She reflects on a lot of different topics in regards to religion and monasticism – everything from saints she particularly likes to the experience of singing psalms every day to more controversial aspects like mandatory celibacy. All of it was fascinating, and some of it was even inspiring.
Even though I have no intention of looking to Christianity for my spiritual seeking journey, I’m glad Kathleen could find positive things. And I’m very glad she decided to write about them in this book. It’s more an invitation to reflection than any sort of memoir, but I found it engaging, poetic, and surprisingly resonant in many places. It feels especially crafted for the spiritual seeker.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Death, Mental illness, and Murder
okiecozyreader's review against another edition
4.0
I have thought about this book on and off for almost 20 years. I think about what it was like to live in a monastery and what a life looks like of simplicity. I feel like I remember a passage where she asks a monk about sin, and he mentions the only time he does not sin, is when he is in constant communication with God. This book helped me see life and sin from a different perspective