On an ordinary day in June of 1964 in a small town in the Altiplano of Peru, Sister Mary Katherine (formerly known as Kate), a young American nun recently arrived in this very foreign place, walks away from her convent with no money and no destination. Desperate and afraid of her feelings for an Irish priest with whom she has been working, she spends eight days on the run, encountering a variety … variety of characters along the way: a cynical Englishman who helps her out; a suspicious Peruvian police officer who takes her in for questioning; and two American Peace Corps workers who befriend her. As Kate traverses this dangerous physical journey through Peru, she also embarks upon an interior journey of self-discovery—one that leads her somewhere she never could have expected.
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This novel is beautiful on so many levels. First, I mean look at the cover–not that I judge a book by its cover (oh, yes I do). Second, Wernicke’s evocative descriptions of Peru and Bolivia capture such varying landscapes and do so by capturing all the senses and explaining the impact of the landscape on culture. Whew! Third, the main character is a beautiful young nun who very humanly struggles to be her best self and do the right thing. I have never read a book with a nun as the main character and had never realized how stuck in archetypes my impressions of nuns were. This book made the nuns and the priests very relatable people. I felt as though I was learning about a whole new culture in learning about life in a nunnery. Wernicke did a lovely job of writing a story centered around religion that is neither pious nor damning. This is a lovely novel.
In this wonderful novel, O’Shea Wernicke gives us a sensitive, realistic look at the inner life of a missionary nun in Peru in the 1960s. We are privy to the thoughts of Kate, the main character, as she begins to wonder whether she is spending her life in the place and manner that she is meant to. We come to know her and the other nuns intimately as real women. Like any group of people, they are not a homogenous group, but are individuals who have come to the religious life through faith. Each fulfills her vocation in a way that is particular to her.
O’Shea Wernicke does not shy away from looking at the problems of Peru at the time, but we also see the intrinsic worth of the culture of the people of the highlands. The descriptions help us to believe we can see the landscape and hear the haunting music of the people of the Altiplano, they who live at the place “which is beautiful.”
This book is a beautiful read. In gorgeous prose interspersed with poetry and prayers, Kate introduces us to the world of the indigenous people of the Puno/Juliaca/Lake Titicaca area in the Andes of Peru. “Puffy white clouds bloomed in a sky so blue it was blinding,” and “faces lined with age and sun,” help us fall in love with the land, sky, and people, much as did this Catholic nun.
Kate is running away from her convent life and takes us with her on a tumultuous ride through cities and countryside, past desserts and along ocean fronts. As we go from Arequipa to Lima, we meet police patrols, Peace Corps volunteers, and tourists. Each bus ride introduces us to yet another group of passengers and animals, that represent the country’s residents. Sister Kate must get away from the love she feels for a priest. With her, we panic and puzzle over her rash decisions. The alternating use of the first and third person orients us so we know where we are in time and we gradually come to understand what led up to Sister Kate’s dilemma. The story and the country remained with me long after reading the last page.
I’d never know this is the author’s first novel — the writing is superb, and the story rich in its setting and plot. We feel Kate’s highs and lows as she explores her new world in Peru, questions her life as a nun, and feels the rush of first love. Toward That Which is Beautiful is just that, a lovely and loving story that embraces the reader from beginning to end.
Set in the highlands of Peru, Toward That Which Is Beautiful is a lovely coming-of-age novel that follows young Sister Mary Katherine (Kate) on a quest to find the woman she is meant to be. I did not see hers as a crisis of faith but rather that of identity. Her faith itself is unwavering. Whether she chooses to follow her love for a handsome young priest, or to remain a Dominican Sister in the Altiplano, or to leave the order and start her life over again back home, her faith remains the one constant. In fact, it carries her through her journey as she flees the highlands and embarks on a trek that will ultimately lead her to the answers she seeks. Along the way, we get to experience the rich culture of Peru. A deeply enjoyable read.