Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy
by Rumer Godden
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From a New York Times-bestselling author: A novel of a woman's journey from prostitute to brothel madam to murderess to nun in post-World War II France. A sense of adventure and an eagerness to savor life to the fullest impel young, orphaned Elizabeth Fanshawe to escape her cold, unloving home and enlist in the British Army as a driver in 1944. Dispatched to Paris at the close of the Allies' war against the hated Nazis, she soon finds herself swept up in the intoxicating celebratory glee of show more the newly liberated French. But after she meets the charming, seductive Patrice Ambard, Elizabeth's life takes a sharp turn down a very dark road. Her love for the dashing, hypnotic Frenchman draws Elizabeth, now called Lise, into Patrice's world of crime and high-class prostitution, where she is broken, hardened, and then transformed into the whore-turned-notorious-madam known as La Balafrée, or the Scarred One. Still, her great fall will not be complete until circumstances drive her to commit a shocking murder-and imprisonment ultimately sets her free. A haunting tale of disgrace, degradation, and glorious redemption told in flashbacks from the convent of Belle Source, where Soeur Marie Lise of the Sisters of Bethany remembers her years of sin and her eventual salvation, Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy is moving and powerful fiction from one of the most admired British novelists of the twentieth century. Rumer Godden, author of Black Narcissus and In This House of Brede, has crafted a truly transformative tale about faith, forgiveness, and the mercy of a loving God. show lessTags
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Rumer Godden has a gift for writing books about religious subjects in a way that interests even non-religious me. _Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy_ is one of those books (along with the marvelous _In This House of Brede_ and the very good _Black Narcissus_). Lise is an English girl who falls into bad company in Paris after the end of World War II and becomes madam of a successful brothel; eventually, she commits a crime and is sentenced to prison for fifteen years, where she encounters the Sisters of Béthanie, a religious order devoted to work in prisons and among the lower classes, and decides to join them. The Sisters are a real order, and Godden apparently researched them extensively for this book; it shows in her in-depth portrayal of show more Lise's life at the convent. I didn't like as much as _In This House of Brede_ (which I can feel myself wanting to reread), but it's a beautifully told story, well worth reading. show less
This is an inspiring tale of conversion and redemption told in flashback sequence. We meet Lise when she is being released from prison where she has served her term for murder. She is going to join an order that ministers to those on the fringes of society. Through Lise's thoughts, we watch her go from being a young WWII staffer in Paris, become seduced by a man who has a brothel and eventually turns her into a prostitute where later on she becomes the manager. The reasons behind the murder become clear as the threads come together again in the people around Lise in current time.
The first third of the book can be tough to read as Godden is devastatingly emotionally honest as always. Despite the fact that much of the book takes place in show more a brothel the words used are unobjectionable so one needn't worry about that. As I read, I suddenly realize that I must have tried this book at least once before but always stopped as it was too painful. However, I was selling the book short by never pressing on as the last two-thirds took an upward swing that surprised and enchanted me.
Throughout it is strung the rosary, sometimes in surprising ways and always as a pointer toward action to be taken. Interestingly, Lise doesn't even enjoy saying the rosary but it is somehow integral to her journey of faith despite that. She cannot seem to escape it no matter how she might try.
I didn't realize how integral the rosary was to the book until I was very far into it. After I finished the book and thought about it over the next few days, I wondered about the title. What did it mean? Suddenly it came to me. Five [mysteries] for sorrow, ten [mysteries] for joy. It reflects the rosary itself. Reading the book with that foreknowledge might yield even more riches. I will have the opportunity to find out as I definitely will return to this book. show less
The first third of the book can be tough to read as Godden is devastatingly emotionally honest as always. Despite the fact that much of the book takes place in show more a brothel the words used are unobjectionable so one needn't worry about that. As I read, I suddenly realize that I must have tried this book at least once before but always stopped as it was too painful. However, I was selling the book short by never pressing on as the last two-thirds took an upward swing that surprised and enchanted me.
Throughout it is strung the rosary, sometimes in surprising ways and always as a pointer toward action to be taken. Interestingly, Lise doesn't even enjoy saying the rosary but it is somehow integral to her journey of faith despite that. She cannot seem to escape it no matter how she might try.
I didn't realize how integral the rosary was to the book until I was very far into it. After I finished the book and thought about it over the next few days, I wondered about the title. What did it mean? Suddenly it came to me. Five [mysteries] for sorrow, ten [mysteries] for joy. It reflects the rosary itself. Reading the book with that foreknowledge might yield even more riches. I will have the opportunity to find out as I definitely will return to this book. show less
Young Englishwoman, Elisabeth Fanshawe becomes separated from her post as driver for the American Army on Liberation Day in Paris, May 1945. In a far-fetched beginning to the plot, she is set up by a pimp in a Paris brothel, becomes his lover and eventually the madame.
The story becomes more conventional from thereon, and we trace her slow awakening to the Catholic faith, once her life as a captive to the prostitution world disintegrates into a long gaol sentence.
The more convincing part of the novel is the tone change we note as Lise (as she is known) embraces the unconditional acceptance of the Dominican nuns, who offer her a freedom to live fully and lovingly.
Well written, absorbing narrative and shows a well researched understanding show more and appreciation of the world of nuns and convent life. show less
The story becomes more conventional from thereon, and we trace her slow awakening to the Catholic faith, once her life as a captive to the prostitution world disintegrates into a long gaol sentence.
The more convincing part of the novel is the tone change we note as Lise (as she is known) embraces the unconditional acceptance of the Dominican nuns, who offer her a freedom to live fully and lovingly.
Well written, absorbing narrative and shows a well researched understanding show more and appreciation of the world of nuns and convent life. show less
Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy is another beautifully written novel of the religious experience by Rumer Godden. The title refers to the images one invokes while praying the rosary: the five are for the five sorrowful mysteries of Christ's passion and the ten for the five joyful mysteries of the Christmas story and the five glorious mysteries of Christ's resurrection and ascension. The rosary is the recurring symbol with its three sets of devotions prayed while fingering the beads.
Three is a symbol as much as five and ten. The main character has three distinct periods in her life which are revealed in a series of flashbacks. As Elizabeth Fanshaw she is a naive English girl of twenty who becomes lost in the celebrating crowds during the show more liberation of Paris and meets a charming man who seduces her and sets her up in his brothel where she eventually becomes the madame. As Lise Ambard nicknamed La Balafree she is the fallen woman who commits murder and is sent to prison . As Soeur Marie Lise of the Rosary she is a cherished nun in the Convent of the Sisters of Bethany, a Dominican order which numbers giving solice to the imprisioned as one of its missions. In addition, there are two other prostitutes who feature prominently in the novel along with Lise, one who is redeemed by Christ's love and one who is apparently lost.
The beauty of the novel is the religious setting. The reader follows Lise from the moment she realizes that she may have a vocation through her novitiate and her profession as a sister to her satisfying life as a fully professed nun. The peace of convent life is lovingly portrayed with the barest touches of humor and hints of sadness for when the sisters must accept they cannot help everyone they encounter. Simple ceremonies like the Adoration of the Host and the laying out of a dead nun are gently described. And as time passes, the sisters are not stagnant; one young aspirant, during her solitary time in the chapel, plays the music from Godspell on her little cassette player. She explains to a bemused Prioress that she felt Jesus would enjoy hearing it.
Where the novel does not quite work for me are the scenes in the brothel. For all of her youth, I couldn't quite accept the fact that Lise would so easily become a prostitute, accept the fact that her pimp/lover would kick her out of his bed for a 14 year old, and then be happy to run his whore house for him. And still be passionately in love with him. Lise seems too intelligent to be used in such a way.
But her gradual awareness of her spirituality and her vocation are completely believable and maybe Godden felt it necessary to send her heroine to the depths to make the heights even more sublime.
Highly recommended. show less
Three is a symbol as much as five and ten. The main character has three distinct periods in her life which are revealed in a series of flashbacks. As Elizabeth Fanshaw she is a naive English girl of twenty who becomes lost in the celebrating crowds during the show more liberation of Paris and meets a charming man who seduces her and sets her up in his brothel where she eventually becomes the madame. As Lise Ambard nicknamed La Balafree she is the fallen woman who commits murder and is sent to prison . As Soeur Marie Lise of the Rosary she is a cherished nun in the Convent of the Sisters of Bethany, a Dominican order which numbers giving solice to the imprisioned as one of its missions. In addition, there are two other prostitutes who feature prominently in the novel along with Lise, one who is redeemed by Christ's love and one who is apparently lost.
The beauty of the novel is the religious setting. The reader follows Lise from the moment she realizes that she may have a vocation through her novitiate and her profession as a sister to her satisfying life as a fully professed nun. The peace of convent life is lovingly portrayed with the barest touches of humor and hints of sadness for when the sisters must accept they cannot help everyone they encounter. Simple ceremonies like the Adoration of the Host and the laying out of a dead nun are gently described. And as time passes, the sisters are not stagnant; one young aspirant, during her solitary time in the chapel, plays the music from Godspell on her little cassette player. She explains to a bemused Prioress that she felt Jesus would enjoy hearing it.
Where the novel does not quite work for me are the scenes in the brothel. For all of her youth, I couldn't quite accept the fact that Lise would so easily become a prostitute, accept the fact that her pimp/lover would kick her out of his bed for a 14 year old, and then be happy to run his whore house for him. And still be passionately in love with him. Lise seems too intelligent to be used in such a way.
But her gradual awareness of her spirituality and her vocation are completely believable and maybe Godden felt it necessary to send her heroine to the depths to make the heights even more sublime.
Highly recommended. show less
This was a book club edition and I'm thinking I got it new in 1979. I have no idea why I would've gotten it - maybe it was one of those things were the book was sent to you automatically if you didn't turn it down beforehand - because I don't believe at that age I would've selected a 'religious' book.
It was excellent and not what I expected at all; yes, it was a 'religious' book, about a woman who became a nun and all that that entailed (which was very interesting), but there was also the backstory about this woman's life before becoming a nun. I'm so glad I finally read it. And honestly, I felt uplifted after reading it.
It was excellent and not what I expected at all; yes, it was a 'religious' book, about a woman who became a nun and all that that entailed (which was very interesting), but there was also the backstory about this woman's life before becoming a nun. I'm so glad I finally read it. And honestly, I felt uplifted after reading it.
"He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid and He, who is mighty, hath done great things in me."
By sally tarbox on 25 December 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
This isn't quite up with Godden's superb 'In this House of Brede', but it's still an extremely gripping and beautiful tale, set in the French convent of the Sisters of Bethanie, whose remit is to work with 'fallen' women.
Lead character Lise is an Englishwoman sent to Paris as an army driver who somehow - implausibly, I thought - gets separated from her colleagues during the Liberation celebrations and falls in with a brothel owner. She begins a new life as his lover and later the madame of his establishment. And ultimately becomes 'La Balafree' (the Scarred One), serving a lengthy show more sentence in a harsh French prison...
Lise's story is intercut with life at the convent, where she embarks on a very different life upon her release. The calm, beautiful simplicity of the nuns' world, the different characters, all goes to make for a truly enjoyable read. show less
By sally tarbox on 25 December 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
This isn't quite up with Godden's superb 'In this House of Brede', but it's still an extremely gripping and beautiful tale, set in the French convent of the Sisters of Bethanie, whose remit is to work with 'fallen' women.
Lead character Lise is an Englishwoman sent to Paris as an army driver who somehow - implausibly, I thought - gets separated from her colleagues during the Liberation celebrations and falls in with a brothel owner. She begins a new life as his lover and later the madame of his establishment. And ultimately becomes 'La Balafree' (the Scarred One), serving a lengthy show more sentence in a harsh French prison...
Lise's story is intercut with life at the convent, where she embarks on a very different life upon her release. The calm, beautiful simplicity of the nuns' world, the different characters, all goes to make for a truly enjoyable read. show less
A small gem of a book. I came across Rumer Godden when I saw a dramatization of The Peacock Spring and happened upon the book at a sale. I've read a number of her novels since then and only one clunker in them all (The Battle of Villa Fiortia, UGH). I would not think that a story of religious life would appeal to me at all but I was completely inspired by it.
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Author Information
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Margaret Rumer Godden was born Dec. 10, 1907, in Sussex, England. She was nine months old when her family moved to India, where her father ran a shipping line. She returned to London at age 20 to learn how to teach dance to children, and opened a school back in India. Returning to England while she was pregnant, she wrote her first book, "Chinese show more Puzzle," published in 1936. Her marriage to a stockbroker, Laurence Sinclair Foster, ended in 1941, leaving her penniless. In an effort to pay off her former husband's debts, Godden moved her family into a mountain cottage where she ran a school, made herbal teas for sale, and wrote books. Another novel of India, "The River," published in 1949, was one of her most acclaimed books and was made into a film by Jean Renoir in 1951. She returned to England to stay in 1945. Rumer Godden was the author of more than 60 books, including novels, short story collections, poetry, plays and non-fiction. She published her 21st novel, "Cromartie vs. the God Shiva," in 1997. Rumer Godden died a year later on November 8, 1998, in Thornhill, Scotland, at the age of 90. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy
- Original title
- Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy
- Original publication date
- 1979
- People/Characters
- Elizabeth Fanshawe (aka Soeur Marie-Lise); Father Marc; Soeur Marie Alcide; Patrice; Emile; Vivi (show all 8); Luigi; Lucette
- Important places
- Paris, France; Normandy, France
- Epigraph
- They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick ... Go ye and learn what that meaneth.
Jesus in Matthew 9, verses 12-13 - Dedication
- This book is for Dorothy Watson with love and thanks for all it owes to her adventurous encouragement, endurance - and endless patience with its author.
- First words
- The sound of the bell carried far over the orchards and fields of the convent of Belle Source.
The characters in this book are fictitious except for Pere Lataste, Mere Henri Dominique and Soeur Noel who are part of the history of Bethanie; also five other characters of today who have consented to be portrayed - with fi... (show all)ctional names - simply because I could not imagine them as any other than they are. (Author's Note)
Perhaps it was right that Lise should first see the beads as they lay in the dirt and debris of a table outside the cheapest kind of cafe among the rubbish of the Paris night. (The Pretty Beads) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Perhaps one day she will come back to fetch her pretty beads.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)What most lay people use is really a "chaplet" or "chapelet," a single strand of five decades told bead by bead, three times over. (Author's Note)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Then I took Vivi home. (The Pretty Beads) - Original language
- English
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