Solitary Monk In A European Monastery

[greendryad]

Wow---it's been a minute. Hi, guys!

A new friend is looking for a book she read as a kid in the 1980s. She was at her grandma's house in California.

-The book was a novel/chapter book with no illustrations or pictures, much too old for her as an elementary-school kid. Ah, the things we read when we're bored out of our minds at relatives' houses.

-It was less than 100 pages long, regular novel-sized book. No oversized stuff here. It appealed to her because it was short.

-It was definitely published before the 1980s and was not set in the future.

-It had a plain cover, also with no pictures. She doesn't remember what color it was.

-It told of the life of a solitary monk in a monastery who lived in Europe, near the ocean. The monk was not a leader of any sort. She was adamant that it had no plot. It was a simple book.

What do you think?

Comments

[full_metal_ox]

Does your friend remember whether the book was in first or third person, and fiction or nonfiction—which might narrow it somewhat? There are a lot of diaries by monks; the cloistered life fosters introspection.

[teyrnon]

There's a book that I recall that was popular with a certain segment of religious folk in the 80s. The paperback pocket-size edition was about a hundred pages. It might still be in print. It was written by a monk, and his monastery was indeed near the ocean. Even though it was short, it was by no means what I'd call a light read. Unfortunately, I don't remember the title. It's been about thirty years since I've seen a copy.

If you went to a Christian bookstore and asked about it, they might know it.