The year is 1978. Sarah Morrow is a brilliant Chaucer scholar. Former nun and widow of a famous artist, she creates a peerless department of medieval literature in a small Catholic college in Brooklyn, incurring the envy of her colleagues. At the peak of her career, she suffers a stroke which renders her unable to read.
Joan is a former student of Sarah's, just divorced and with too little sense of self or direction to make her newly acquired freedom work for her. She devotes herself to helping Sarah regain her powers.
Also at Sarah's side is Pietro, a Jesuit priest, a great shaggy bear of a man who has long nurtured tender love for Sarah, spending a considerable amount of time wondering what might have happened if he'd met her before he yoked himself with the Roman collar. And for a brief moment, the flesh triumphs over the spirit.
Gradually learning about each other and themselves, the two women join forces to rebuild Sarah's competence and fight against the indignity of forced retirement. Ultimately, each gains a new purpose and commitment, and the novel ends with a poignant and very real sense of hope.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Joan is a former student of Sarah's, just divorced and with too little sense of self or direction to make her newly acquired freedom work for her. She devotes herself to helping Sarah regain her powers.
Also at Sarah's side is Pietro, a Jesuit priest, a great shaggy bear of a man who has long nurtured tender love for Sarah, spending a considerable amount of time wondering what might have happened if he'd met her before he yoked himself with the Roman collar. And for a brief moment, the flesh triumphs over the spirit.
Gradually learning about each other and themselves, the two women join forces to rebuild Sarah's competence and fight against the indignity of forced retirement. Ultimately, each gains a new purpose and commitment, and the novel ends with a poignant and very real sense of hope.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Used availability for Margaret Wander Bonanno's A Certain Slant of Light