skygiants | (no subject)

As soon as I read

rachelmanija's review of Dorothy Gilman's A Nun in the Closet I announced to myself and to the world I'M GONNA READ THIS NUN BOOK and indeed reading this nun book was one of the best decisions I've made this month.

The plot: an impoverished nunnery housing seventeen exceedingly cloistered nuns suddenly learns that they have inherited a large estate in upstate New York! Sister John and Sister Hyacinthe are sent to Investigate!

Sister John: good at most things; enthusiastic about pretty much all things; Has Perfect Faith
Sister Hyacinthe: good at plants and very little else; enthusiastic about plants and very little else; given an unfortunate introduction in which Dorothy Gilman explains that she is part Native American and (implication: as a result) fey and superstitious and considered deeply strange by everyone in the nunnery but then turns out to be a perfectly normal nun with a very reasonable sense of self-preservation (especially as compared with Sister John)

In short order, Sisters John and Hyacinthe discover:
- an extraordinarily large sum of money hidden in the well ("God's plan!" says Sister John)
- a man with a gunshot wound bleeding out in the closet ("what if people come looking for him?" says Sister Hyacinthe; "if we dub him Sister Ursula and then tell everyone we've just got an extra nun around the place it's kind of sort of not technically lying," says Sister John)
- a revolving door concealing a hidden room in the cellar ("this sort of thing is so upsetting for Sister Hyacinthe," sighs Sister John)
- massive quantities of mysterious white powder in the pantry ("who needs that much sugar?" says Sister John, "oh well, we can make sugar cookies!" ...thankfully they are interrupted before they actually make sugar cookies)
- a collection of friendly hippies living on the outer grounds trying to make a go at sustainable farming ("our siblings in cloistered ascetism!" says Sister John; "LET'S TALK ABOUT PLANTS," says Sister Hyacinthe)

Meanwhile, Sister John befriends the most political-but-disillusioned of the hippies, discovers 1970s protest movements, and starts campaigning on behalf of migrant workers, leaving Sister Hyacinthe with wounded Sister Ursula and a phalanx of hippies to defend the house against a series of very-helpful salesmen who seem to want to gain entry FOR SOME MYSTERIOUS REASON, WHAT COULD IT BE.

I love the nuns, I love the hippies, I love that both nuns AND hippies are actually taken quite seriously in their ideals and their desire to somehow improve a deeply flawed world, more nun-hippie adventures please and thank you!

My favorite character (aside from the nuns) is Alfie, the hippie who happens to be helping them fix the plumbing when they discover the secret room in the cellar. He's so excited about it that Sisters John and Hyacinthe start feeling vaguely guilty every time they make a new sinister house discovery and Alfie isn't there to appreciate it; it just brings him such joy!

My other other favorite character is the less-cloistered young political nun that Sister John bonds with jail, who (as Sister John is delighted to discover) belongs to a feminist nun union.

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From:

oracne

I read this book years ago and am feeling the desire to read it again.

skygiants

I was one hundred percent charmed!

rmc28

Feminist. Nun. Union.

Oh wow.

They're organizing to get greater respect and recognition within the church hierarchy!

landofnowhere

Social justice nuns are the best! My mother identifies as a Catholic UU, and likes to share stories about Nuns on the Bus and similar: most recently she got to see this movie about a nun who leads worship at a small congregation in upstate NY.

(I also read A Nun in the Closet based on rachelmanija's review, it was great, I don't have anything to add to that!)

I think the closest real-world counterpart is probably the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which is an official committee of the Catholic church -- they recently came under investigation from the Vatican for being too liberal in their theology until Pope Francis called them off. They've been advocating for women's ordination since the 70's and have taken stands on lots of social justice issues.

I am so glad there is at least something of a real-world counterpart!

...and actually, I went back to see what the book said exactly, and the National Coalition of American Nuns is a real thing, and is super-feminist, but seems to have had a lower profile lately (no website :( )

venetia_sassy

I know Dorothy Gilman is on my list of Authors To Read. Can't quite remember why but I suddenly feel an urgent need for this particular book!

She also wrote the Mrs. Pollifax books, about a grandma who gets bored with her quiet suburban life and decides to join the CIA!

Edited Date: 2018-10-15 01:52 pm (UTC)

lokifan

OH MY GOD AMAZING

The best crime-fighting team I've encountered all year

kore

I just got this, it sounds super charming!

It's so delightful, I hope you enjoy it!

musesfool

It was so delightful!

Crime-fighting social justice nuns!

issenllo

I adored the Mrs Polifax books, did not realise she wrote something so awesome. *must read it*

I honestly wouldn't have known she'd written anything besides the Mrs. Pollifax books, if it wasn't for

rachelmanija's post!

rachelmanija

Isn't it delightful? I loved how she has such a huge cast and every one of them is likable (well, except for the villains) and distinct and has their own motives. The nun union nun was also one of my favorites.

Every hippie got personality! I was braced for awkwardness when the guru appeared but actually the whole thing required significantly less cringing than I expected.

Same. She has some similar guru characters, but they've all been less cringey than usual because they're always in a context of multiple characters who all have their own philosophies.

schneefink

I put the book on my to-read list :)

It's a very good stress-relief read!

osprey_archer

*bangs tankard on table* More nun-hippie adventures!

It would not have occurred to me to put nuns and hippies together but now that someone else has done it I'm totally feeling it.