Title: We Need No Wings by Ann Dávila Cardinal
Book Beginnings/First Line Friday quote:
The first time Tere Sánchez levitated, she was in the garden.
Friday56 quote:
But the most famous depiction of Santa Teresa was the Bernini sculpture, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. The Italian baroque artist had created a marble portrayal of the transverberation of the saint, the vision she'd had where her heart was pierced by the golden flaming arrows of a seraph, an angelic being.
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| Bernini's the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (Rome) |
Summary: Tere's husband died a year ago and now her life is all upset and she no longer knows what she wants or should do. While in the yard one day, watering his plants, Tere levitates. She is both frightened and astonished. Trying to get her bearings, she calls her aunt in Puerto Rico. While they are talking the aunt mentions that they are descendants of Saint Teresa of Ávila. Because of this comment, Tere decides to travel to Spain to see if she can gain any insights about levitating from being in the hometown of her famous relative, and see if she can locate a living relative who is a nun.
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| Statue of St. Teresa (Ávila) |
Review: We Need No Wings was a book club selection this month. Everyone had fairly high hopes for the book and indeed liked the book but also felt the book didn't live up to its potential. Also a few things mystified us. Why did Tere, a 60-year-old woman, swear so much and fly into angry fits so easily? It was out of character for a college professor of 30 years to be such a loose canon. One gal said the book reminded her of a YA novel, because the writing wasn't very sophisticated.
But there were some good aspects. For one thing we all agreed we want to visit Ávila now. It sounds like a beautiful city with its intact medieval wall. Secondly, we all were delighted by the chapter headings which were quotes from the writings of St. Teresa. In fact, those quotes were my favorite parts of the book by far. None of us knew much about St. Teresa or about the Discalced Carmelite order of Catholicism that she founded. All of that, including how these old churches have parts of saints, or relics, saved for the faithful to view. We talked about that a lot!
This quote opens the book:
"The soul here resembles someone on a journey who enters a quagmire or swamp and thus cannot move onward. And. in order to advance, a soul must not only walk but fly." --Saint Teresa de Ávila, The book of Her Foundations
My rating: 3 stars
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