Man of Silence, A

Hidden away from the outside world, tucked in the corners of rolling hills, lies a monastery. Only open to the public during certain times of day that align with the monks’ strict schedule, a young girl, Mary Baptisia, and her parents volunteer to work in the garden. While there, Mary ogles at the immense beauty of the monastery with its draping tapestries, terrifying gargoyles, and divinely high nave. Mary discovers a particular monk, John Abelard, who sticks to her immediately as if she is his muse. Though too young for the newly minted Observer, he is enamored with her beauty and innocence. Even when she leaves with her parents, Mary continues to haunt John’s holy life. Struggling through his moments of weakness, John manages to find a sense of peace apart from the civilized world. Inside the monastery, men form true bonds and discover what really tempts them to sin. In what can only be called an eye-opening experience, readers follow John through the halls of the monastery, into the cold depths of the garden at night, and within the warm belly of light from the rose window that evaporates the morning dew. Come along on a journey of discovering what it means to live a monastic life and follow a path to moral perfection.