The Cloister

Héloïse. Intelligent readers of historical fiction are in for a treat while reading James Carroll’s novel titled, The Cloister. Carroll presents two strong female characters in two time periods and the similar work they did in preserving important documents. We see the intensity of the famous relationship between Héloïse and Abelard in France in the 1100s, and how Héloïse preserved writings by Abelard that might have otherwise been destroyed. The other time period moves us to Manhattan after World War II and to Father Michael Kavanagh who meets Rachel Vedette, a Holocaust survivor whose prize possession is a document written by her deceased father about Abelard’s engagement with Jewish scholars. These interwoven stories are finely written, and Carroll moves with ease from one time period to another delving into all kinds of matters of importance. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase The Cloister from amazon.com.