In the past couple of months, Father Jacob Restrick, O.P. has been busy. In addition to his ordinary round of duties as the chaplain for the nuns in Buffalo, NY, he has been promoting the life of nuns in a new way: by promoting his first novel, Sr. Mary Baruch, O.P., the Early Years. Below is a review of the work. Click here for ordering information at Amazon.com.

There is a small industry of books taking a reader "inside the cloister," and most are written from the perspective of an ex-nun, a disgruntled sister, or someone wanting to share salacious details; practically none are from what one would actually find in most monasteries - a first-person perspective of a joyful nun, still in the habit after half a century of contemplative life. Fr. Restrick's debut novel, Sister Mary Baruch, O.P.: The Early Years, is a unique and welcome change to this trend. Here I would like to briefly discuss its contents (without giving anything away!) and some of its main themes.

The novel roughly covers three periods in the life of Rebecca Feinstein, later Sr. Mary Baruch: seven chapters covering about six months prior to her conversion (pp. 1-95), chapters eight through fifteen covering about four years as a Catholic (pp. 96-214), and chapters sixteen through twenty covering her first few years as a nun (pp. 215-300). Thus, the main weight of the narrative is on her life leading up to entrance into the convent.

The protagonist is a likeable, self-conscious, slightly overweight, frank Jewish girl. A main theme in the work is her relation to her family. They are portrayed as New York Jews in the 1960s who practice their faith enough to keep the weekly Sabbath, though they are certainly not Orthodox. Overall, the plot is dialogue-driven; little space is devoted to descriptions, other than a detailed explanation of certain portions of the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York City.

One could say that the novel is a comedy in the classic sense: it is a work where the goodness of God's grace shines through human events. Although the work may be called a "coming of age novel," it is so only in an extended sense: it shows how a woman came to know herself better, not through experiencing the world in sin, but by coming to see herself in relation to God in a profounder way. Because the protagonist's conversion to Catholicism is so central to her life, much time is spent on her relation to the Church. Nevertheless, the novel is primarily about how Rebecca Feinstein gradually became a nun. In this way, the novel's focus differs from Rumer Goddin's classic In This House of Brede, which primarily speaks of the protagonist's past through flashbacks and allusions.

Also unlike Goddin's novel, Fr. Restrick's novel is rife with laughter. The author has a real gift for bringing out the humor in a situation. The scene where Becky tells her family that she is converting to Catholicism stands out among many funny scenes:

"Sally asked unceremoniously across the table: ‘So, Becky, what's new in your life; what's going on?'

‘Oh, I'm taking three courses this semester, including one on Shakespeare; my best friend, Grace Price, died a week ago; I lost three pounds this week; and I'm taking instruction to become a Catholic.'

If Sally had worn dentures, she would have blown them across the table. Instead she kind of sprayed us with a mouth full of coleslaw. Mama dropped her fork wit ha great clunk on her plate. Ruthie exclaimed: "I'm right, I'm right, I win. I bet Bridget Murray that you're becoming a Catholic.'" (91-92)

It would be exaggerating to say that the novel qualifies to be in the humor genre, since its aim is more than to make a person laugh, but one has to read only a few pages before coming across something genuinely comedic. The light-hearted approach is testimony to the joy of a monastic vocation. Too often a nun's life is seen as something primarily tragic. Even if that tragedy is seen in a positive light, perhaps a heroic and worthwhile sacrifice as in the long scene in Hugo's Les Miserables, authors have trouble finding the real, though often hidden, supernatural cheerfulness in the convent walls. Other hilarious scenes in Sister Mary Baruch worth mentioning include the attempts of some young women to be nuns - Sr. Rosita (229), and another who gave up while cleaning the floor with a toothbrush (258) - and all the sisters at recreation (230-232). There are many other funny items; I don't want to give them all away.

If the book is not a humor book, neither is it an apologia for the Catholic faith. Those unfamiliar with Church teachings may appreciate some explanations of things such as the pope, the holy Eucharist, and so on, but it is not primarily a didactic novel. As mentioned above, the central aspect of the novel is how the protagonist comes to know herself and God. The scenes from within the monastery are very endearing. This is so not only because of their humor, but also because of their spiritual quality. We see in the protagonist a quintessential Dominican love for books and study and a holy introspection probably typical to most contemplatives. In sum, Sr. Mary Baruch is a warm-hearted godly woman. The young nun's difficulties with superiors and others in her community are treated well. Her thoughts certainly ring true, but one wonders whether or not more serious crises would have beset such a woman in her formative years. Or perhaps the crises could have been portrayed in more depth. Nevertheless, the novel's frank and human way of showing the ordinariness of a nun's vocation is one of its main appeals.

In sum, the novel is well worth reading, particularly for those interested in seeing a fresh side to a nun's story. Fr. Restrick clearly knows and loves Dominican nuns of all sorts; this book will help the reader share in the same knowledge and love, and to see the human face beneath the monastic veil. Its gentle humor should make you laugh, its insights into the theology of vocations and human relations should make you think, and some of its scenes may even make you cry. At least, they did so for this sentimental and sympathetic reader.

Rumor has it that Fr. Jacob is working on a second volume. Given the success of the first volume, enthusiastic readers expect great things to come.