Five fur Sorrow, Ten for Joy by Rumer Godden

[ShaneWalshgirlfriend]

I'm a big fan of RG but this book blew me away. I'm equally fond of This House of Brede, another convent book, but this one seems much darker.

It's about a woman who was previously the proprietor of a brothel in Paris just post WW2.he becomes a nun and is later exposed in terms of her previous work. It really is VERY dark and the most beautifully written - very RG.

Had anyone else read it? I think it's out of print, I've got a very dramatic 70s feel cover picture on mine.

Yes me!! In This House of Brede is my favourite, but Five For Sorrow comes up right behind it. It's a real epic! The emotion it portrays is outstanding.
PS, my treasured item is a signed copy of "Brede".

OMG! I'm very jealous, how did you acquire that?

I love HoB because it's one of those books that are really long but you want it to just keep going. And I love the part where the new Abbess is selected and she's clearly appalled by the notion. And the part where two of the Sisters die on the same day and they see two swallow circling in the chapel.

(I've never met anyone else who has read it before!)

I love In This House of Brede too - I have got Five for Sorrow on my kindle, and I’m sure I read it years ago, but haven’t got round to rereading it yet.

I liked Greengage Summer.

I found it in a bookshop, and paid a fair bit of money for it, but I love it!! You've now made me want a re-read!
I love The Greengage Summer too, a real coming of age story.
I also love her children's stories!
I think Coromandel Sea Change might be next on my list to read.

Yes, I've read it more than once, and HoB, I love the books. What is it about convent life that is so fascinating?