Confessions of a Pagan Nun

by Kate Horsley

Book Overview

This moving and subtle tale both embodies and confirms the enduring power of language. Gwynneve (Gwi-NEEV) is raised in a village of fishermen and pigkeepers at the height of Ireland's transition from Paganism to Christianity. All around her the new doctrines of Patrick and the "tonsured men" are inexorably driving out the old Druid ways. When Gwynneve loses the two figures she loved the most--her mother succumbing to disease, her outspoken Druid...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570627193
• ISBN13: 9781570627194
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Haunting , melancholy, and beautiful

This novel tells a history of the harsh realities of Ireland so long ago in such a lovely literary style. Fans of Historical Fiction, especially when it fleshes out such a real narrative, will enjoy this story. Set in a time when the land was divided between those who embraced the Old Ways and those who, either out of faith or fear, wanted to embrace the new ways that were being forced in. Tragically beautiful.

I fell in love with it and then it broke my heart

Usually, I'm not a huge fan of books that go from past to present chapter to chapter but it didn't influence my opinion of this book at all!!! I really love this book but the ending tore me to pieces. I haven't even started a new book yet because I'm still dealing with the emotional aftermath it left me with haha. As the ending nears you see a happy ending in sight, or so you think. Then, it just crushes you. All of that being said, I would totally recommend this book to others and have since.

Lyrical yet realistic, rates: 5 HANDKERCHIEFS

Spoiler alert: CONFESSIONS OF A PAGAN NUN is a brilliant novelette, guaranteed to break your heart! I have to warn you so that you can brace yourself to handle the inevitable, tragic ending. The author, however, does leave a miniscule possibility for us to imagine that Gwynneve, the gallant heroine, did not suffer all that much in the end; so feel free to augment the finale with your own imagination. Kate Horsley's writing is multi-faceted: lyrical yet often no-nonsense, albeit on occasion hard to read because of the bevy of Gaelic words and expressions, yet her knowledge of the era (6th Century)and locales and terrain (County Kildare, Ireland) is strong, and her insights into the character of Gwynneve, the Druid turned a nun, are illuminating. Once you enter Gwynneve's thoughts, you get to be part of her flesh, and page after page, you suffer from the cold and the dampness, shiver as goosebums appear along your arms, run down the back of your neck, your feet trouble you as if they were about to disintegrate into the mulchy earth full of rotting leaves, and your eyes... burn from the smoke of that one waxen candle lighting the parchment in front of you. Thankfully, Gwynneve does experience moments of happiness. And of course, there are those short-lived Irish summers, "when the wind is green," and you, the reader, may feel as tempted as our heroine to pause in your work and "stand outside on the hill and see the valley and the waves of hills beyond." Raised in a village of fishermen and pigkeepers during the time of Ireland's transition from Paganism to Christianity, she is blessed with the love of Murrynn, her wonderfully drawn, strong-hearted, vibrant mother (Murrynn deserves a novel of her own!), and later on with the love of handsome Giannon, her Druid teacher, reluctant lover, a very complex, tormented man who seems tempted by Christianity to foresake his druidic soul. Gwynneve is deeply romantic yet level-headed, learns quickly, retains what she learns, suffers the tragic loss of her beloved mother, then gets separated from her equally beloved teacher, in time bridges the gap between Paganism and Christianity, and still manages to retain her remarkably clear sight of how things truly are: "... I wonder if she (Sister Ailenn) has taken her thoughts from St. Paul and St. Augustine, who connect self-disgust with righteousness. Self-hatred seems to me an evil thing in itself rather than an antidote to evil. If we practice self-hatred, then the sacrifice we make of ourselves and our lives is not sacred, for it is then a gift of something we hate rather than of something that he have nurtured and loved." CONFESSIONS OF A PAGAN NUN, despite its brevity, shows well the clear-eyed observations of a young woman who, while caught in the relentless machinery of the fast-approaching dark era, continues to think independently, and of course, pays the price. "... I had thought that the love of Christ would make us kinder and less likely to smash sk

Confessions of a Pagan Nun: A Novel

I would give this book 10 stars out of five, too. My husband got this for me a couple of Christmases ago. I loved the cover (why he bought it for me: it looked like "me") and sure enough, the content did not let me down. I love Kate's lyrical writing and what she writes about. Years ago, I gave up attempting to be a Christian after reading "When God Was a Woman," mainly because I realized that Christianity hasn't been around that long and really qualifies as a testosterone-laced paternalistic cult (now look at how many women voted Bush into power!! Why?). This book is a lyrical version of that thought. Many times in my life I have felt out of place like the main character in this book: like I don't belong. Gwynneve is my hero. I hope you will read this book and I wish every woman would read this book. I am sad for what happens to her but she is the true saint if there are saints. I love it, love it, love it. Thanks Kate Horsley.

absolutely wonderful

Confessions of a Pagan Nun is a thought-provoking and breath-taking book. Horsley's style is poetic and simple and both her story and her characters are engaging. She masterfully recreates a time when Paganism was the predominant religion and Christianity was struggling to gain acceptance. Gwynneve, the narrator of the story, is a nun living in a monastery of Saint Brigit in Ireland during the sixth century. Along side her work transcribing the writings of Saint Patrick and Saint Augustine, Gwynneve tells the story of her Pagan childhood and her life in the monastery, where events are beginning to unfold that threaten Gwynneve and force her to define her beliefs. The language of the novel is beautiful and filled with rich imagery. When recounting the death of her mother, Gwynneve says "Soon my mother began to shed blood through her mouth. Death was surely just outside our door, drawn by the smell of her blood." The first-person narrative creates intimacy between Gwynneve and the reader, as Gwynneve discusses the power struggle between the Old Religion and the new. "Rather than seeing a contest between druid and Christian, I see a kinship between stone chapel and stone circle. One encloses and protects the spirit; the other exposes it and joins it with the elements." She goes on to address what she believes is an illogical desire of Christianity to denounce other religions. "Even now I do not understand a jealous God, for if He made all things, than any form of worship that protects His creations and is not destructive or cruel to them must please Him." Gwynneve also recounts how the Christians stole and reshaped Pagan rituals and places of worship. "Now they make the ancient wells and standing stones into Christian relics, attributing their power to saints," says Gwynneve. "I do not quarrel with this practice, for I believe that which is sacred does not care by what name it is called. But I often wish that I did not know history so well so that I could believe in the Christian rendition of our landscape. Knowledge often spoils devotion." Horsley's novel is a splendid mix of fiction, philosophy and history. Confessions is an enjoyable and an enlightening read.

A STIRRING VIEW OF WORLDS IN COLLISION

Kate Horsley's incredible novel CONFESSIONS OF A PAGAN NUN is one of those truly rare books that succeeds on multiple levels -- it is enthralling and entertaining, believable and full of wisdom, poetry and finely crafted prose.Simply read as an historical novel, it would be an accomplished work. The author has obviously taken great care to research and immerse herself in the world she depicts. Her descriptions of the events and lives drawn here are crystalline and coarse at the same time -- these people led lives of hardship and illiteracy, in a beautiful but unforgiving landscape. Survival was difficult, and was by necessity their primary concern, directing their lives with a firm hand. The customs and living conditions of the time are laid out before the reader in almost film-like tangibility -- Horsley's descriptions of the natural world are a well-woven tapestry before which the story is played out.Telling the story of a 5th century Irish nun -- raised as a pagan and converted later in life to the 'new faith', Christianity -- the book is a moving personal history. The nun -- Gwynneve -- is a rarity among the people of her land. She has studied with a respected druid -- Giannon, her teacher and soul mate -- and is actually literate. She learns from him many other skills as well -- storytelling being one of the most impressive. From her mother Murrynn she has learned the gathering and use of sundry herbs and plants from the natural world, of their healing and other properties. Her amazement that such a thing as written language can exist, and the power that it can possess, is made clear in the author's vividly beautiful language. Gwynneve is thunderstruck by the implied power of such a gift -- and her view of words (along with justice and truth) as the ultimate tools of power will follow her throughout her life. She is also keenly aware of the relationship between justice and truth -- it is the power held by the druids whom she most admires, and she well recognizes its place in the world (from p.105): 'The truth will inevitably cause tremors in those who cling to power without honoring justice'.Over the course of the book, the author alternates chapters containing Gwynneve's record of her own life and history with 'interruptions' detailing events occurring around her as she works in her beehive-shaped stone clochan. Gwynneve comes across as an intelligent, sensitive seeker, yearning for a way to deal with the pain and loss in her own life, and to ease the journey of those around her. She possesses the wisdom to see beyond the painful aspects of grief and loss, seeing it more deeply as an actual freeing agent that allows her to pass through trials and move beyond them.The kindness she displays to the poor people she encounters in her journeys, and to those living near the nuns' compound, is sincere, generous and heartwarming -- but she is completely without conceit in her view of herself, a compelling and refreshing character. Gwy

A Light In Historical Fiction

In "Confessions Of A Pagan Nun", Kate Horsley ingeniously creates a fictional manuscript mired in historical fact, much like Umberto Eco's masterpiece, "The Name Of The Rose". The reader is drawn into Ireland, circa 500 AD. This is a beautiful tale about Gwenneve, who is on of nineteen women (nuns) who keep an eternal flame to Brigid, pagan goddess and Catholic saint. As a child, her mother's stories shaped her young mind to explore ideas, and to use words that express intangibles in a brutal, feral world. Her mother's warning, though, to use her "cleverness [as a way to] be free from the obligations of a woman married to a [simple] man, or at least to keep secrets from him." This advice was not meant to encourage duplicity, but to allow Gwenneve to explore her psyche with a mental and spiritual freedom with Giannon, her Druid teacher, mentor, and partner. The chapters are titled "Interruptions," but the true interruptions are when Horsley litters the passages with sagacious wit and profound thoughts both simple and complex though her character's eyes. These make the reader put the book down and pause to think critically: -"For do we not all have reason to choose weakness, and is it most our duty to resist it, or the world would be full of mewling and burdensome souls?" (p.17) -(On contemplating the teaching of St. Paul and St. Augustine:) "If we practice self-hatred, then the sacrifice we make of ourselves and our lives is not sacred, for it then a gift of something we hate rather than of something we have nurtured and loved." (p.32)A hearty "Brava!" for the author's research of how Christianity grew in Ireland. The trading of agricultural technology for professions of faith was one way that the new Church came to gain believers in this remote land. With these ideas, Gwenneve questions larger issues not confined to one period, institution, or belief system. Through vivid examples of the subjugation of a culture by a "divine" institution, the author brings to light the very personal journey of a woman whose land is in violent evolution. With this foundation, the story takes on what is like a dynamic framework for Margaret Atwood's previously published futuristic "Handmaid's Tale." Gwenneve acted as one who thought most independently for herself in times where powerful people actively sought scapegoats for various reasons. She also never gave herself totally to the doctrines that were laid upon her. Gwenneve looks to Brigit as both Saint and Goddess, saying, "I believe that which is sacred does not care by what name it is called." Gwenneve says of herself that she was "not fully converted or truly baptized" and therefore was able to rationalize the use of Druidic practices (i.e. the effective use of medicinal plants). Ultimately, Gwenneve could not bridge the gap between "old" and "new" religions as her life became analogous to the life and legend of Brigid. It is only when the monks come to actively oppress the nuns -- who keep the 20-day cycle