Lambs of God - Softcover

Day, Marele

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1573227226 ISBN 13: 9781573227223

Publisher: Riverhead Books, 1999

Synopsis

Three eccentric, secluded nuns live on a remote island, forgotten by time and the Church—until a priest unwittingly happens upon them. Father Ignatius is as surprised to see the nuns as they are to see a flesh-and-blood man, and what follows is the strange, moving, and often hilarious story of their struggle—a struggle of wills, and of faith. Lambs of God is a charming, poignant page-turner from crime novelist Marele Day.

About this title

About the Author:

Marele Day is well known in her native Australia as the author of several successful crime novels, as well as short stories and poems.

From Publishers Weekly:

A man intrudes on an all but extinct order of pastoral nuns in this intriguing but heavy-handed parable from Australian crime-novelist Day. Sisters Iphigenia, Margarita and Carla live in a ruined monastery on a remote Australian island, tending their only flock: the Agnes sisters, sheep named for nuns who have died. The rhythm of life is seasonal and canonical: washing day, shearing day, Christmas, Lent. It's hard to say what year it is... until Father Ignatius arrives with a cellular phone to assess what he thought was abandoned property. A career churchman, Ignatius wants to turn a profit by transforming the forgotten nunnery into a luxury retreat for businessmen. The story takes a Stephen King turn when the nuns realize that the priest's plans threaten them. Ignatius is drugged with herbal tea, stripped, shaved and plastered up to the waist in a cast. Still, the priest's presence provokes different reactions from each nun, stirring up long-dormant secrets that threaten to tear apart their community. Ignatius himself undergoes something more than a physical transformation as he is forced to reassess the meaning of his mission in the church. Although Day has undeniable storytelling gifts and weaves together an impressive number of storytelling traditions (classical, biblical, Celtic and fairy tale), the novel's rather kitschy setup and often gruesomely graphic feminist symbolism may force even sympathetic readers to share Ignatius's feeling that "There were parts of the story that even he was having trouble swallowing." BOMC, One Spirit Book Club and Quality Paperback Club featured alternate selections; foreign rights sold in the U.K. (Anchor), Australia (Allen & Unwin), Germany (Piper) and the Netherlands (Vassalecci). (Apr.) FYI: Lambs of God has been optioned by Fox 2000, with Winona Ryder as producer and costar.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1573227226
• ISBN 13: 9781573227223
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336