The Anchoress
"England, 1255. Sarah is only seventeen when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman much like Saint Hildegard of Bingen, shut away in a small cell, measuring seven by nine paces, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth and the pressure to marry, she decides to renounce the world, with all its dangers, desires, and temptations, and to commit herself to a life of prayer. But it soon becomes clear that even the thick, unforgiving walls of her cell cannot keep the outside world away, and Sarah's body and soul are still in great danger"--
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This is a definite slow burn. It's quite hard to read at times, both because it's slow and it's very dark. It's thin plot-wise, instead focusing on the anchoress Sarah's ruminations inside her cell and her strained relationship with her confessor, Ranaulf. The pace picks up a bit toward the end, and there was a part that gave me chills. I'm docking points because it's a bit of a slog, but it really is a great glimpse into a niche of medieval history that isn't often explored, and I enjoyed it despite its slow pace.
