Altar Music

A Novel

Fiction & Literature, Religious
Cover of the book Altar Music by Christin Lore Weber, Scribner
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Christin Lore Weber ISBN: 9780743213394
Publisher: Scribner Publication: September 29, 2001
Imprint: Scribner Language: English
Author: Christin Lore Weber
ISBN: 9780743213394
Publisher: Scribner
Publication: September 29, 2001
Imprint: Scribner
Language: English

In her achingly beautiful and revelatory first novel, Christin Lore Weber, a former nun, explores the nature and power of passion -- sexual, religious, and artistic -- and brings us into a mysterious, cloistered world rarely made public. Set in the wild, rock-and-lake region of northern Minnesota, this is an exquisitely told tale of three generations of strong-willed women and their inner battles to balance personal longings with the disciplines of their church.
Meghan, in the first generation, dismisses the priest's injunctions regarding sex and succumbs to her passion for her husband. But when family tragedy strikes, she believes she has been brought down by the hand of God himself for her sexual indulgence. In the second generation, Kate is so afraid of what God could take away -- "husbands, fathers, brothers, music even. God could take your life if he wanted" -- that she learns to steel herself against any deep emotion or desire, to simply "endure, be faithful, and hope to be spared some small thing she loved, something perhaps God didn't want." By the third generation, the passions that moved her mother and grandmother have converged and intensified in young Elise, who is roused by forces beyond her understanding. She is at once a daughter of the Catholic church, a music prodigy, and a tuning fork for nature's wildness. But upon her high school graduation in 1958, Elise forsakes her musical genius and her family to enter the convent -- a beautiful, exhilarating, disillusioning, and haunting experience that will drive her, ultimately, to consider leaving the church.
Written with stunning lyricism and emotional authenticity, Altar Music is a portrait of a nun as a young girl, a portrait of a family both defined and divided by its religious beliefs, and a powerful story about mothers and daughters. Heart-wrenching and thought-provoking, this novel brilliantly depicts the blurring of the lines between sexual passion, artistic passion, and religious fervor, and the losses we suffer when we try to translate one into another.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In her achingly beautiful and revelatory first novel, Christin Lore Weber, a former nun, explores the nature and power of passion -- sexual, religious, and artistic -- and brings us into a mysterious, cloistered world rarely made public. Set in the wild, rock-and-lake region of northern Minnesota, this is an exquisitely told tale of three generations of strong-willed women and their inner battles to balance personal longings with the disciplines of their church.
Meghan, in the first generation, dismisses the priest's injunctions regarding sex and succumbs to her passion for her husband. But when family tragedy strikes, she believes she has been brought down by the hand of God himself for her sexual indulgence. In the second generation, Kate is so afraid of what God could take away -- "husbands, fathers, brothers, music even. God could take your life if he wanted" -- that she learns to steel herself against any deep emotion or desire, to simply "endure, be faithful, and hope to be spared some small thing she loved, something perhaps God didn't want." By the third generation, the passions that moved her mother and grandmother have converged and intensified in young Elise, who is roused by forces beyond her understanding. She is at once a daughter of the Catholic church, a music prodigy, and a tuning fork for nature's wildness. But upon her high school graduation in 1958, Elise forsakes her musical genius and her family to enter the convent -- a beautiful, exhilarating, disillusioning, and haunting experience that will drive her, ultimately, to consider leaving the church.
Written with stunning lyricism and emotional authenticity, Altar Music is a portrait of a nun as a young girl, a portrait of a family both defined and divided by its religious beliefs, and a powerful story about mothers and daughters. Heart-wrenching and thought-provoking, this novel brilliantly depicts the blurring of the lines between sexual passion, artistic passion, and religious fervor, and the losses we suffer when we try to translate one into another.

More books from Scribner

Cover of the book One For The Money by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book Nixonland by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book War of the Bloods in My Veins by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book The Bookman's Promise by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book The Good Priest's Son by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book Animals in Translation by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book Taking The Streets to the Music by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book Innocents and Others by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book Three Minutes to Doomsday by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book Collected Stories of Reynolds Price by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book The Spy Who Was Left Behind by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book The Complete Short Stories and Essays, Volume 2 by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book The Hand That Feeds You by Christin Lore Weber
Cover of the book You Can Be Right (or You Can Be Married) by Christin Lore Weber
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy