⋙ Read Free For the Sake of Silence edition by Michael CawoodGreen Literature Fiction eBooks

For the Sake of Silence edition by Michael CawoodGreen Literature Fiction eBooks

Download As PDF : For the Sake of Silence edition by Michael CawoodGreen Literature Fiction eBooks

For the Sake of Silence edition by Michael CawoodGreen Literature Fiction eBooks

I read this book because of my involvement with the development of an Abbot Pfanner Trappist Trail pilgrimage. We were compiling information leaflets on the work of Abbot Pfanner and descriptions for each stage of the trail from one mission to the next and I thought I might find a few interesting bits of information to include. However, the more I read, the more I wondered how much was truth and how much was fiction.
One reviewer wrote that "The crux of the book (and thus the title) centers on the false assumption that Abbot Francis never took solemn or final vows. This false supposition, shrouded in silence, is the central unsolved conflict in the novel and is most damaging to the founder’s image." Did the writer use 'poetic license to endow historical facts with connotations and meanings they do not possess of their own' (as one reviewer wrote) in order to discredit Abbot Francis Pfanner? Why? Abbot Francis Pfanner was a man of integrity and would not have consented to being made prior and later abbot without having taken solemn vows. So why did Green labour over a 560 page novel based on an incorrect assumption of sin, which he admits at the end of the book, did not exist? Perhaps he was influenced by the success of Dan Brown's early books and decided to add a controversial twist to his narrative by creating his own angels and demons.
There are other events in the book, which the writer admits have been dramatised for effect. But this leads him to give a perverted picture of the Abbot and many events described in the book.
So, if you read this book, keep in mind at all times that it is a work of fiction wherein 'poetic license' was used to create a more dramatic tale which does not reflect the truth or the documented history of Abbot Fanner and his monks.
I have given the book 3 stars because I enjoyed the lyrical style, the flow of the story, and the 'landscape stories' like the gwalagwala bird feathers. (But I'm not sure if those are also fiction!)


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For the Sake of Silence edition by Michael CawoodGreen Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

Very good
A historical biographical account of a Saint who was not appreciated by the established Church of his day. The testimony to his work stands today in Mariannhill Mission and all the centres that were created during his tenure here in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa.
A well written combination of fact and fiction (What the author calls "faction" ), on the early Trappist movement and the establishment their monasteries in Natal and the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The narrative revolves around Franz Pfanner the founder of Marrianhill monastery and her satellites, and takes us through the way of life and difficulties involved in setting up these establishments in far away Africa, and the politics involved, which led to the demise of the Trappist movement.
Although I do not have a Catholic background the author's writing style kept me rivetted to the pages and having grown up near Kevelar mission and visited Riechnau and Marrianhill numerous times, the book was for me, a personal journey of rediscovery.
At over 500 pages a substantial read, but we'll worth it for those interested in the history of the Church, the mission stations and that of early Natal.
I read this book because of my involvement with the development of an Abbot Pfanner Trappist Trail pilgrimage. We were compiling information leaflets on the work of Abbot Pfanner and descriptions for each stage of the trail from one mission to the next and I thought I might find a few interesting bits of information to include. However, the more I read, the more I wondered how much was truth and how much was fiction.
One reviewer wrote that "The crux of the book (and thus the title) centers on the false assumption that Abbot Francis never took solemn or final vows. This false supposition, shrouded in silence, is the central unsolved conflict in the novel and is most damaging to the founder’s image." Did the writer use 'poetic license to endow historical facts with connotations and meanings they do not possess of their own' (as one reviewer wrote) in order to discredit Abbot Francis Pfanner? Why? Abbot Francis Pfanner was a man of integrity and would not have consented to being made prior and later abbot without having taken solemn vows. So why did Green labour over a 560 page novel based on an incorrect assumption of sin, which he admits at the end of the book, did not exist? Perhaps he was influenced by the success of Dan Brown's early books and decided to add a controversial twist to his narrative by creating his own angels and demons.
There are other events in the book, which the writer admits have been dramatised for effect. But this leads him to give a perverted picture of the Abbot and many events described in the book.
So, if you read this book, keep in mind at all times that it is a work of fiction wherein 'poetic license' was used to create a more dramatic tale which does not reflect the truth or the documented history of Abbot Fanner and his monks.
I have given the book 3 stars because I enjoyed the lyrical style, the flow of the story, and the 'landscape stories' like the gwalagwala bird feathers. (But I'm not sure if those are also fiction!)