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    Obedience
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    Obedience
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    Obedience
    Ebook274 pages4 hours

    Obedience

    By Jacqueline Yallop

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Sister Bernard has lived in a gray-stone convent in rural France for more than 70 years. In that time, a once youthful and lively cloister has gradually emptied, until only Bernard and two other nuns remain, a knot of survivors facing the creeping challenges of old age—ailing bodies and worn-thin friendships, slips of mind, and, in their most secret moments, slips of faith. Now, the halls will fall silent as the three women pack away their few possessions into wooden boxes, preparing to leave the building that has been their home for decades. For the nuns, the closing of the convent means more than losing a home: the crumbling walls have shielded them from a changing modern world; for Sister Bernard, the quiet monotony of the religious life has protected her from memories of the past—the disgrace of when, as a young woman in wartime France, she became the unwitting prize of a cruel wager; when her devotion to God faded in the face of her need for a young Nazi soldier; and when she experienced the full horror and violence of war. Rich and complex, Obedience is a story of betrayal and divided loyalties; a powerful portrait of conflicted love, which goes beyond the veil to reveal a woman who feels adoration and fear, guilt and pride, and all too rarely, peace. Sister Bernard is a remarkable creation: a woman torn between her irreconcilable private passions—her love for Christ and her blistered memories of physical desire.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtlantic Books
    Release dateSep 1, 2012
    ISBN9780857895752
    Author

    Jacqueline Yallop

    Jacqueline Yallop is the author of three critically acclaimed novels and three works of non-fiction. She lives in West Wales and teaches creative writing at the University of Aberystwyth.

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    Reviews for Obedience

    3.5/5

    3 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Sister Bernard, a young nun in a French convent during WWII, falls for a German soldier who is billeted nearby. It is difficult to know if Sister Bernard is capable of rational thinking; however, in the hope of keeping the German soldier interested, she betrays not only her vows, but the secrets of the Resistance movement. This novel moves between her past memories and the present day reality of having to leave the convent when she is in her 90s. There is a poignancy to this novel when the reader is allowed to see the consequences of Sister Bernard's long-ago decisions and heartbreak. I found it thought provoking and an interesting view of convent life.
    • 5/5
      I found this novel well-written, interesting and thought-provoking. I think the novel is about naivety, the abuse of power (the Nazi occupying forces, Mother Catherine, Corrine), one's faith and guilt.I felt empathy for Sister Bernard. She was used by other characters for their own gain and then shunned by various groups. She is portrayed as a naive and lonely character. I liked the way the novel went from past to present to slowly reveal different parts of Sister Bernard's life. I really enjoyed the symbolism of Sister Bernard losing God's voice from her head.I do recommend this novel.
    • 1/5
      It is difficult to determine the target market for this story.Being non-religious, I found the relentless trope of a nagging peevish god that shadows Sister Bernard tedious and off-putting. The story is exceedingly slow to take off and Yallop seems to have difficulty carrying off telling the story of Sister Bernard's present when it is her past that might have made her interesting. The euphemistic descriptions of Bernard's passion for the solider seem intended to force the reader to focus on the nun's present, where she is still being punished for the transgressions of her youth. Bernard is depicted as a stupid person, without any real allegiance except to herself. She appears oblivious to the vows she made to become a nun and casually betrays her community and the village where she grew up to the occupying forces. She never fully accepts responsibility for anything; neither leaving the convent for love, nor giving up that love for the convent. The characters are insipid, and for the most part petty. Bernard is a sad figure, surrounded by self-righteous and vindictive people. No one cares about her (including the reader!) and, ultimately, the only solace she finds is in her memories of what might have been. Religious readers will find her fall from grace objectionable, and non religious readers will find her piety and devotion tedious and incomprehensible.