The Cloister

By James Carroll,

Book cover of The Cloister: A Novel

Book description

From National Book Award-winning writer James Carroll comes a novel of the timeless love story of Peter Abelard and HĆ©loĆÆse, and its impact on a modern priest and a Holocaust survivor seeking sanctuary in Manhattan.

Father Michael Kavanagh is shocked when he sees a friend from his seminary days atā€¦

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Cloister as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The Cloister: A Novel by James Carroll (Anchor, 2019) is a gripping, magical novel that dramatizes the connections between the medieval and modern worlds. Father James Kavanaugh meets Rachel Vedette at the Cloisters, the famous museum and gallery in upper Manhattan dedicated to the art of the Middle Ages. He is a parish priest with doubts and worries; she is a Holocaust survivor; and their relationship brilliantly conjures up the forbidden love affair between the medieval philosopher and ā€œrock star,ā€ Peter Abelard, and Heloise, an immensely talented nun. James Carroll, a former priest, is also the author of Constantineā€™s Swordā€¦

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