So I finished reading this one back before the wedding, when I was ill. It was during Lent and, as Noah had given up watching TV, I agreed to stop reading challenge books after finishing this one, which I had borrowed from the library.
I did rather enjoy it - though I am surprised that it was added to a list aimed at children. A curious tale of nuns taking over an old mansion, formerly used by a rich general as a home for his women folk and somehow ill-suited to any other occupation. Ayah, the one-time servant of the princess who lived there, sees no reason to welcome the nuns; the villagers do not understand them; the situation is unaccommodating and Sister Clodagh, head of the new nunnery, is obliged to rely on the help and advice of Mr Dean, the only European in the area and a man she dislikes, disapproves of - and finds extremely intriguing. “I’ll give you until the rains,” he says. But will the sisters last that long?
In brief glimses Sister Clodagh’s own history is revealed. It was this, interspersed with the conversation between Mr Dean and the nuns that I enjoyed. The way that the nuns love Mopu, despite its unsuitability as a location for their convent; the unexpectedness of the nuns’ and the locals’ reactions to each other; and the subtle change in Sister Clodagh’s character make this a book I would recommend.
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