Flamingo Through the Narrow Gate, Literature, Culture & Art, Paperback, Karen Armstrong
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Price: £9.99
Brand: Flamingo
Description: Through the Narrow Gate is Karen Armstrong's memoir of life inside a Catholic convent in the 1960's. Flamingo Through the Narrow Gate, Literature, Culture & Art, Paperback, Karen Armstrong - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: Harper Collins
Product ID: 9780006550549
Delivery cost: Spend £20 and get free shipping
Dimensions: 129x198mm
Keywords: Catholicism,biography,memoir,religion,god,convent
ISBN: 9780006550549
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Author: M. J. Robinson
Rating: 5
Review: Karen Armstrong gives the reader a very detailed picture of what life was like in a Catholic Covent in the 60s. I would imagine convent life these days is probably very different. It was a disturbing read at times as Karen - obviously intellectually extremely gifted - battles with her questioning mind and struggles with obeying her superiors who are supposed to help her empty herself of her worldly ego and thus open herself up to God's will. Many faith traditions have at their core this aim of negating the ego and emptying oneself up to the divine impulse. I found the whole convent scene in this book incredibly bleak and saw few glimpses of divine love and more exhibitions of anger and cruelty from the so-called superiors which shocked me. There were, thankfully, one or two moments when human compassion crept in. Karen Armstrong seemed to have a deep sense of self-criticism and she displayed some self-mastery and this enabled her to be one of the survivors of the batch of 10 postulants which shows her strength and resilience and in fact worthiness for a faith path. What a pity she hadn't embarked on a more compassionate, more self-directed path as someone like Etty Hillesum (Jewish diarist - see 'A Life Transformed' by Patrick Woodhouse) did and really found God. Whatever the outcome the whole experience has made Karen Armstrong the great writer on religious affairs we have today and that suggests that Karen is now leading a more integrated life with herself and the divine and has realised her unique gift in this life through her writing and lecturing career. It is a pity though that the convent superiors didn't recognise Karen's talent and nurture it like the superiors of the Trappist monk Thomas Merton (1915-1968) fruitfully did. The convent life, by suppressing her natural creativity, possibly fostered Karen's formation as a writer - no experience is wasted in life and as a result the individual grows in self-realisation. A fascinating read. A book recommended for anyone seriously contemplating institutionalised faith seeking and for those who are just interested in what makes people subject themselves to such institutionalised austerities as a way of perfecting themselves. The drive in some people to seek perfection of self and the paths they take to attempt to achieve this realisation is a humbling insight into the deep recesses of the human psyche and its longing for something greater than itself. The combinations are endless and extremely fascinating. Karen's 'aborted' journey in the convent is just one way. It is interesting to reflect how the writing gifts of Karen Armstrong (writes on all faiths), Etty Hillesum (diaries) and Thomas Merton (Trappist monk and prolific writer) help other generations expand their knowledge of the divine and across faiths. As Thomas Merton said: 'For me to be a saint is to be myself.' Karen Armstrong has encountered her true self as a writer.
Author: lloyd
Rating: 3
Review: The first chapter grasped me with the author telling the reader that she entered the convent at 17! I did eventually read the book, but it took perservance! At times it did get SO boring, with her conflict, as crucial as it was! Overalll I was dissappointed with this book somehow. Even though, she potrayes her turmoil and questions her faith and what she is doing in the convent to begin with, I did find myself losing pstience with the author somehow. It does so make you question why did she ever enter the convent in the fist place! This book is SO DISAPPOINTING.DO NOY BUT IT! I thought I would buy the sequel book to it,to find out how the author has developed after this.But if this book, is anything to by, I am SO not going to buy it! her storytelling, for me is SO boring!! D
