Sister Bernard has lived in a grey-stone convent in rural France for more than seventy years. In that time, a once youthful and lively cloister has gradually emptied, until only Bernard and two other nuns remain. Now, 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 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 she was a young woman in wartime France; 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.
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### From Booklist
This deceptively quiet novel packs a powerful punch. As three elderly nuns in present-day France prepare to leave the safety and familiarity of the convent they have lived in since they were young women, memories and regrets haunt them all, especially 90-year-old Sister Bernard. As layer upon layer of past hurts and transgressions are peeled away, Bernard’s WWII affair with a German soldier takes on an increasingly ominous and significant tone. A maddeningly simple peasant girl who lives with God’s often disapproving voice constantly ringing in her head, she is swept away by a passion and carnality she doesn’t truly understand. As the tale ricochets between the sorrow of the past and the pathos of the present, the two merge as Bernard’s ultimate act of betrayal against her community is revealed, and the consequences reverberate through the decades. The narrative is artfully limned with despair, creating a disturbing portrait of faith and obsession. --Margaret Flanagan
### Review
"An intensely imagined novel about one of the defining questions of the century just past: where and how we choose to draw the line between innocence and guilt, ignorance and complicity. *Obedience* also asks us to consider what ghastly harm is committed in the name of love. It's rare to find a book that is seemingly so simple, but is really ambiguous and thought-provoking." — **Hilary Mantel, Man Booker-Prize winning author of *Wolf Hall***
"With delicacy and restraint, Jacqueline Yallop lets us get close to her characters yet never judges them--crucial, when dealing with the self- deluded and the self-righteous. *Obedience* is the best kind of Occupation romance: forbidden, tortured and indelible." — **Stewart O'Nan, author of *Emily Alone***
"Yallop's exploration of the space between innocence and guilt, of complicity and delusion has a lingering power." — ***Kirkus Reviews***
"*Obedience* will give you no answers about good and evil, innocence, guilt, holiness, God, or obedience. What you will receive is a riveting story that haunts and provokes and subverts easily held assumptions, tosses them in the air and then makes you keep thinking long after you've read the last page." — **Beverly Donofrio, author of *Riding in Cars with Boys***
"The character of Sister Bernard is a Madame Bovary of the convent world. Her fantasy and insatiable need for love prove to be far greater than her ability to analyze character. While superficially simplistic, her relationship with God is complex and she is capable of battling God with the strength of Joan of Arc. These contradictions in her character are seamless and a complex and unforgettable character emerges." — **Catherine Gildiner, author of *After the Falls***
"The deceptively quiet writing style of this compelling novel operates in perfect counterpoint to the intense drama of the story it reveals. A thoughtful and troubling look at the consequences of love, faith, blame, and betrayal, with the ferocious voice of God hovering above it all." — **Diane Schoemperlen, author of *Our Lady of the Lost and Found***
Description:
Sister Bernard has lived in a grey-stone convent in rural France for more than seventy years. In that time, a once youthful and lively cloister has gradually emptied, until only Bernard and two other nuns remain. Now, 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 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 she was a young woman in wartime France; 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. ** ### From Booklist This deceptively quiet novel packs a powerful punch. As three elderly nuns in present-day France prepare to leave the safety and familiarity of the convent they have lived in since they were young women, memories and regrets haunt them all, especially 90-year-old Sister Bernard. As layer upon layer of past hurts and transgressions are peeled away, Bernard’s WWII affair with a German soldier takes on an increasingly ominous and significant tone. A maddeningly simple peasant girl who lives with God’s often disapproving voice constantly ringing in her head, she is swept away by a passion and carnality she doesn’t truly understand. As the tale ricochets between the sorrow of the past and the pathos of the present, the two merge as Bernard’s ultimate act of betrayal against her community is revealed, and the consequences reverberate through the decades. The narrative is artfully limned with despair, creating a disturbing portrait of faith and obsession. --Margaret Flanagan ### Review "An intensely imagined novel about one of the defining questions of the century just past: where and how we choose to draw the line between innocence and guilt, ignorance and complicity. *Obedience* also asks us to consider what ghastly harm is committed in the name of love. It's rare to find a book that is seemingly so simple, but is really ambiguous and thought-provoking." — **Hilary Mantel, Man Booker-Prize winning author of *Wolf Hall*** "With delicacy and restraint, Jacqueline Yallop lets us get close to her characters yet never judges them--crucial, when dealing with the self- deluded and the self-righteous. *Obedience* is the best kind of Occupation romance: forbidden, tortured and indelible." — **Stewart O'Nan, author of *Emily Alone*** "Yallop's exploration of the space between innocence and guilt, of complicity and delusion has a lingering power." — ***Kirkus Reviews*** "*Obedience* will give you no answers about good and evil, innocence, guilt, holiness, God, or obedience. What you will receive is a riveting story that haunts and provokes and subverts easily held assumptions, tosses them in the air and then makes you keep thinking long after you've read the last page." — **Beverly Donofrio, author of *Riding in Cars with Boys*** "The character of Sister Bernard is a Madame Bovary of the convent world. Her fantasy and insatiable need for love prove to be far greater than her ability to analyze character. While superficially simplistic, her relationship with God is complex and she is capable of battling God with the strength of Joan of Arc. These contradictions in her character are seamless and a complex and unforgettable character emerges." — **Catherine Gildiner, author of *After the Falls*** "The deceptively quiet writing style of this compelling novel operates in perfect counterpoint to the intense drama of the story it reveals. A thoughtful and troubling look at the consequences of love, faith, blame, and betrayal, with the ferocious voice of God hovering above it all." — **Diane Schoemperlen, author of *Our Lady of the Lost and Found***