Mariette in Ecstasy (1991)

This ground has been covered before: Young nun exhibits what may be the stigmata and everybody freaks out.

Read the rest of my review at my blog: http://thegrimreader.blogspot.com/2012/05/i-offer-some-quick-hits-on-recent-read... ( )

The format of this novel was interesting, framing Mariette's story arc with the unofficial investigation into her stigmata. The secondary characters really make this novel what it is; each is a complete, intriguing individual, however short her or his time on the page. ( )

A beautiful and haunting tale of the appearance of the stigmata in a young postulant. All that delicious Catholicism, how could I not love it. ( )

This book had bits of the rave reviews that it received from prestigious reviewers (like the New York Times) plastered all over the back of it - lots of words like "luminous," "breathtaking," and "lyrical." In fact, pretty over the top, and I usually take OTT reviewing as a strike against the book. In one way, I was right, because sure enough, it was written in the [pretentious, arty] [choose one] present tense, with frequent one-sentence paragraphs. I DO NOT APPROVE.

But it's interesting nonetheless, exploring the sheer weirdness of religious experience, and how one person's experience of God can never be borrowed or even understood, even by the people who love and trust her. It made me think a lot about the nature of God. Mariette's ecstatic expereiences are bizarre and seem senseless, and for some this is the hallmark of the divine: doesn't it prove that God is utterly Other, uncontrolled by humans, his motives beyond our ken? And yet, this senselessness is also the primary and most convincing argument AGAINST the truth of her experience: shouldn't God make sense?

I liked that Hansen doesn't resolve any questions he raises. So, overall: if you can overlook the artiness...it's worth reading. ( )

In my opinion, Ron Hansen is one of the finest and most under-appreciated novelists writing in America today. With little fanfare or hoopla, he has been publishing a remarkably broad range of eloquent, consistently powerful novels. Don't expect the self-indulgent pyrotechnics of many modern American authors who seem far more interested in showing their skills than actually writing good stories. Rather, Hansen is a craftsman--a careful, meticulous story-teller who clearly agonizes over every sentence and every word. His goal is not to demonstrate how he can write long sentences or channel Faulkner, but instead to move his narrative forward and construct compelling characters. Mariette in Ecstasy, a short, spare novel, is one of his best. The story is simple enough: a postulant who may or may not be receiving the stigmata. Hansen does not offer a definitive answer one way or the other and, had he done so, the story would have been a far lesser work. Rather, the uncertain nature of the "miracles" allows for an exploration of both the nature of faith and the dynamic of the community of faith. Also, by leaving the nature of miracles unresolved, Hansen invites the reader to draw his/her own conclusions, thus drawing them into the fundamental dialogue that frames the novel. In other words, the question of faith posed to the convent is ultimately posed to the reader. Remarkable book. Great choice for a book club. ( )