The Song of Bernadette - Softcover

Werfel, Franz

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1586171712 ISBN 13: 9781586171711

Publisher: Ignatius Press, 2006

Synopsis

This is the classic work that tells the true story surrounding the miraculous visions of St. Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France in 1858. Werfel, a highly respected anti-Nazi writer from Vienna, became a Jewish refugee who barely escaped death in 1940, and wrote this moving story to fulfill a promise he made to God. While hiding in the little village of Lourdes, Werfel felt the Nazi noose tightening, and realizing that he and his wife might well be caught and executed, he made a promise to God to write about the song of Bernadette that he had been inspired by during his clandestine stay in Lourdes. Though Werfel was Jewish, he was so deeply impressed by both Bernadette and the happenings at Lourdes, that his writing has a profound sense of Catholic understanding.

About this title

About the Author:

FRANZ WERFEL (1890-1945) was a Czech-born poet, playwright, and novelist. His writing focused on religion, heroism, and human brotherhood, as seen in the popular novel, The Song of Bernadette.

From AudioFile:

Werfel, an Austrian Jew, wrote this historical novel about a Catholic saint to commemorate his narrow escape from the Nazis via Lourdes. It recounts events surrounding the 1858 visions there of the Holy Virgin encountered by the asthmatic 14-year-old named in the title. It is a sincere but worldly book that Johanna Ward reads with equal respect to subject and writer. Thankfully, she plays down the sentiment that alternately blesses and curses Werfel's writing and gives us strong characterizations. Her performance is marred by the limited range of cadences she brings to the narrative. One also hears evidence that editing has eliminated pauses that would have added interest and expressiveness. Nonetheless, the tape is well worth the listen. Y.R. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Ignatius Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1586171712
• ISBN 13: 9781586171711
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 600