In 1973, a sheltered young Canadian man struggles for enlightenment in a strict Cistercian monastery where silence and deprivation are part of the culture but where he encounters a colorful assortment of monks with their all-too-human concerns. "This first work by Rougeau, a cloistered monk with an MFA, is itself a bit of a respite, ably capturing the rhythms of monastic life. But it is no solemn treatise the comic blends seamlessly with the tragic and the dryly humorous prose will appeal even to readers without a great interest in the cloister" -- Ann Irvine, Montgomery P.L., MD-Library Journal "In this novel, Rougeau, a cloistered monk himself, makes a powerful but understated debut…Infused with a quiet theology of peace, this is a beautiful coming-of-age story, concerned with the small miracles that only the most contemplative and observant among us can see." - John Green-Booklist

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