Mark Salzman’s Lying Awake is a finely wrought gem that plumbs the depths of one woman’s soul, and in so doing raises salient questions about the power-and price-of faith.Sister John’s cloistered life of peace and prayer has been electrified by ever more frequent visions of God’s radiance, leading her toward a deep religious ecstasy. Her life and writings have become examples of devotion. Yet her … devotion. Yet her visions are accompanied by shattering headaches that compel Sister John to seek medical help. When her doctor tells her an illness may be responsible for her gift, Sister John faces a wrenching choice: to risk her intimate glimpses of the divine in favor of a cure, or to continue her visions with the knowledge that they might be false-and might even cost her her life.
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I read this book straight through without stopping, and then when I was done, I read it all over again. It is one of the most beautiful novels about faith I’ve ever read. I wish the word luminous were not so overused, because it is in fact luminous; and it is profound. How did Mr. Salzman convey so much life and humanity and insight in such a …
A remarkable novel: Salzman explores neurological illness and monastic life — both of which are frequently misunderstood — with insight, sympathetic accuracy and respect, and in doing so he reaches beyond experience to the heart of the religious requirement.
A nun begins having incredible visions that, not only bring her closer to God, but inspire a torrent of poetry that gain her acclaim beyond the Carmelite monastery where she lives. Those visions, however, are accompanied by fierce headaches that turn out to be a brain tumor. If she has surgery to save her life, will it take away her divine …
Mark Salzman writes like he has to pay $20 for every word. The result is perfect word choices, excellent vocabulary, with no just-in-case-you-didn’t-get-it extras. This particular novel brings one into the world of faith with many inspiring God thoughts and a main character, a nun, you fall in love with as you live in her mind. It also leads one …
Stunningly beautiful writing
Thought provoking
Well-written novel that is absolutely on target about the spiritual life.
Beautifully written. Fascinating story of faith and the cloistered life
Mark Salzman conveys the nature of convent life without romanticizing it. His respect for the interior life of the nun is impressive — no mystic ‘mumbo-jumbo,’ no trying to explain away religious wisdom by pompous use of medical diagnoses — but simply a touching portrait of a woman trying to strike a balance between science and soul.
I loved this book. I loved the questions it made me ask myself, even if I didn’t come up with answers. It made me think, in a good way, about big issues. And it did all this in a book that was also a good read.