Teaser Tuesday: A Time to Keep Silence

I've been very slowly making my way through Patrick Leigh Fermor's A Time to Keep Silence.  This is a very slim little volume of less than 100 pages that could probably easily be read by a faster reader than me in a day or two, but I've discovered that I cannot read Leigh Fermor's prose quickly, nor do I really want to.  His writing is elegant and erudite and so filled with interesting facts and reflections and ideas that I automatically slow down and reread as I go.  The book is based on his experiences in the mid-1950s.  He had been in Paris writing a book but was unable to find a quiet place to work.  A friend suggested that travel to St. Wandrille, a Benedictine Abbey not far from Rouen for a peaceful place to work.  A Time to Keep Silence is based on letters that he wrote at the time to a correspondent.

Leigh Fermor was uncertain whether the monks would receive him as he didn't wish to go into retreat, however the abbot warmly welcomed him to stay.  What follows is Leigh Fermor's description of his experiences at the Abbey.  He goes into great detail exploring the history of the Abbey of St. Wadrille de Fontanelle and the monk's daily routine.  My teaser is a passage that describes Leigh Fermor's first few nights at the Abbey and the physical transformation that took place.

"To begin with, I slept badly at night and fell asleep during the day, felt restless alone in my cell and depressed by the lack of alcohol, the disappearance of which had caused a suddent halt in the customary monsoon.  The most remarkable preliminary symptoms were the variations of my need of sleep.  After initial spells of insomnia, nightmare and falling asleep by day, I found that my capacity for sleep was becoming more and more remarkable: till the hours I spent awake; and my sleep was so profound that I might have been under the influence of some hypnotic drug.  For two days, meals and the offices in the church--Mass, Vespers and Compline--were almost my most lucid moments.  Then began an extraordinary transformation: this extreme lassitude dwindled to nothing; night shrank to five hours of light, dreamless and perfect sleep, followed by awakenings full of energy and limpid freshness.  The explanation is simple enough: the desire for talk, movement and nervous expression that I had transported from Paris found, in this silent place, no response or foil, evoked no single echo; after miserably gesticulating for a while in a vacuum, it languished and finally died for lack of any stimulus or nourishment.  Then the tremendous accumulation of tiredness, which must be the common property of all our contemporaries, broke loose and swamped everything.  No demands, once I had emerged from that flood of sleep, were made upon my nervous energy: there were no automatic drains, such as conversation at meals, small talk, catching trains or the hundred anxious trivialities that poison everyday life."

This sounds really blissful to me, but then (and I hope this doesn't sound awful) I think there is too much noise in the world.  He goes on to talk about the Abbey's library, and while I won't share anymore long passages he does talk about a rare breviary that is part of the collection.  He writes that "It is a treasure that the Abbey sighs to possess."  I love that.  My own collection of books is pretty humble, but imagine having a book that you would "sigh to possess"!

Comments

[Ariel/Sycorax Pine]

Wow. That is monastic life stunningly evoke. Maybe I too need a retreat....

[Ariel/Sycorax Pine]

("Evoked," that is. I think I *do* need a retreat.)

[Danielle]

Ariel/Sycorax Pine--Yes, he does a brilliant job writing about it. Really, he seems the perfect person since he is very introspective. I think I would also benefit from a retreat as well!

[Caroline]

I am looking forward to reading this. Retreats are great but many couldn't handle it. They need constant noise and movement and talk. I do agree with you, there is too much noise everywhere.
This is a very nice teaser.

[litlove]

Oh I love this part of the book! Made me want to rush off to a retreat immediately. I so enjoyed this when I read it and I quite agree that Leigh Fermor's writing is not to be rushed!

[Danielle]

Caroline--I think you are right--imagine turning off the cell phone and not checking the facebook page and no TV or computer (I might struggle just a little with that last one myself)! :) But I really like quiet and solitude so it might be a really good experience. I sometimes feel a little too connected to things--does that sound strange?
Litlove--Isn't this a lovely little book? I admit when he went into so much detail about the abbey it was interesting but every little thing seemed to go in one ear and out the other. I've had to go back and skim parts to keep it all straight even though its such a slight book. These are the parts I am going to really enjoy--like my teaser.

[Kathy]

I agree--it sounds blissful. To be free of "automatic drains" on your energy would be so great! Maybe that's why I enjoy a day spent alone in my own home so much. Someday I'm going on a retreat where I don't have to talk to anyone, etc.

[Rebecca]

Sounds wonderful! Definitely one to savour and read slowly, I think. I have come across a few mentions of this book recently in various places and every review I read just makes me want it even more.

[jenclair]

I can see why you wouldn't read this too quickly. His prose engages a part of the brain that we don't always employ. It also physically slows your reading, as well as giving you thoughts to ponder. Thanks for including this quote and for recommending a book that I would probably never have known about!

[Rachel]

This sounds wonderful. I only know of Leigh Fermor through his association with the Mitfords, and I am so surprised by how wonderful his prose is. I shall have to seek him out.

I love retreats. To be alone on an empty windswept beach is my idea of bliss. I agree - there is entirely too much noise in the world, along with distractions of types we really don't need. If only I wasn't so addicted to my emails and my phone my world would be a much more chilled out place!

[Stefanie]

I too think there is too much noise in the world. The passage makes me want to pack my bags for a long vacation at an Abbey. I can feel the stress melting away already.

[Tiina]

I love reading books about religious life. This definitely sounds interesting!

Greetings,
Tiina

[Iris]

This sounds perfect for my NYRB classics project!

[iliana]

What a neat book and I'm with you it does sound blissful. I also think there is too much noise in the world and I think it's because a lot of people don't want or fear being alone with their thoughts.

[Danielle]

Kathy--I'd like to try this as well. Just think he wrote this in the 1950s when there weren't cell phones and computers and all the noise we have now! It seems all the more attractive for that fact.
Rebacca--One to reread as well! I keep flipping back and skimming. I read one of his other books earlier this year, loved it so much I wanted to read more of his books and this is the one I chose to read next. I will read more of his travel narratives as well.
Jenclair--He is definitely worth seeking out! His prose is gorgeous but also the sort I find I have to think about and not rush. That's okay since this book is all about slowing down anyway.
Rachel--I discovered him through is travel writing, and only later saw the book of letters that was recently published between PLF and Deborah of Devonshire. It's interesting that they have been such close friends. I have the book of letters at home and hope to be able to dip into it when I am reading Deborah's autobiography. A quiet beach sounds wonderful to me, too. When I think of what sort of vacation I could use it often includes a nice little cottage on the coast with no TV and a view of the ocean! I don't have a cell phone, but I check my email far too often--so I understand that addiction! ;)
Stefanie--I could happily pack my bags as well. I'm glad I'm not the only one who prefers peace and solitude to all the stimuli the world has to offer.
Tiina--You might like this--he talks a lot (obviously) about the monks and their lifestyle--it's all very fascinating.
Iris--Yes, this is a lovely NYRB title and less than 100 pages. Still it is one that I can't seem to read quickly, I think I prefer a more sedate pace however. NYRB has published a number of Leigh Fermor's books. I do highly recommend his work.
Iliana--I think you're right--even in the library there is so much noise--I also wonder whether people don't like to let themselves just think for a while. I'd love to get away like he did, though he was actually working/writing.

[Heather]

Mm, this book sounds excellent. It is so nice sometimes to have the kind of reading where you both want and need to slow down to really absorb/enjoy it properly. It's a good counterpoint to exciting plot-driven books where it's tempting to keep reading faster to find out what happens next, even if one misses some details along the way.

This also makes me think of the film "Into Great Silence," which was a documentary about life at a Carthusian monastery - really really great.