Ok, here's how the List of 500 functions. A picks a number from one to 26 to correspond with the letters of the alphabet. She tells me how many titles are under that letter, and I get to choose a corresponding number to select the book. As fate would have it, her first selection was #17, which is "Q", and there was only one book title under "Q". So, the first book from the List of 500 is Antonia Fraser's Quiet as a Nun. Honestly, our first thought was, thank goodness this is a thin book.
Quick recap of the story: Jemima Shore, a television reporter, receives a call from the Mother Superior of her former school. Mother Superior requests Jemima's help to solve a mystery involving the death of a former classmate. The former classmate, now known as Sister Miriam, was the heir of the family who had owned the convent grounds. Jemima investigates a false priest, whether Sister Miriam may have bequeathed the convent lands to another charity, and the Black Nun - a malevolent ghost who appears whenever death comes to the convent.
I would imagine the title of the novel comes from Wordsworth's poem, and much of the book takes place in darkness -- whether that be evening, shadows or tombs -- evoking Wordsworth's description of evening. The book was written in the late 1970s, and I found it interesting how prevalent the traditions of the religious life were to the story. Girls attended convent school, and many went on to become nuns at those convents. Jemima's claim to fame is as an investigative reporter, with a small number of successful programs under her belt, but she knows she needs to keep producing. She is young, makes very human mistakes, and you can readily recognize her insecurities and character growth through the novel. Subsequent to completing this book, I learned that this was the first in a series of Jemima Shore novels, written by Ms. Fraser through the mid-90s. I enjoyed it enough that I would look for the additional novels, although I understand many are out of print.
Interesting note: In doing a little research on this book on the Internet, it seems the book was adapted into a six-part miniseries for Britain's ITV in 1978. The end of the third part of the mini-series still ranks as one of British TV's scariest moments. That moment showcases Jemima's introduction to the Black Nun. The writing to describe that scene is very compelling, so I can imagine the visual representation in 1978 must have been quite chilling. I'd love to see that part to see how it compares to my mental image and whether someone who is used to more graphic representations would find it scary today.
Here's where we stand:
- Project 1 - Flavorwire Top 10 of 2010 - 10 books by 12/31/10 - 10 left to read
- Project 2 - Puddly Award Winners - 34 books by 12/31/10 - 34 left to read
- Project 3 - List of 500 - 500 books by 12/31/12 - 499 left to read
