After the holy man's benign death and sacred burial, his chosen successor, Anna, is abandoned at the storm-ravaged hermitage as the others, including her husband, are wooed away by the masterful Chen. Loyal Jacob, the holy bodyguard, goes to Austria to raise money to care for Anna and her children and takes the holy man's teaching with him. A Dutchman with his band of thugs pillages what is left in the hermitage, holy man artifacts to sell at auction.Time will tell if Anna is or is not the next holy man and if the Dutchman and Chen between them will wreak further havoc on the hermitage and on Anna. "Trott is as wily as her sweet-spirited holy man, using her no-pressure storytelling style to lull readers into unexpected moments of wit and illumination." - Publisher's Weekly
This sequel to the sequel was mostly disappointing. The parables and lessons felt a bit forced and contrived, a feeling that I never had when reading the Holy Man or the Holy Man's Journey. Another problem I had was the many typos and errors, including one so glaring that I question whether any editors actually read this book: the Holy Woman's husband was mistakenly called Eric (his name is Errol). Overall, this was a rather disappointing end to the otherwise enjoyable Holy Man series.
Great ending... the situational irony concluding the trilogy - surprising. A relaxing read, slowly unfolding, and a guide on living a sacred life without appearing in the s0-holy "garb" often equated with clergypersons, sages, mystics, and saints.
The story is stronger where the author avoids moralizing. In contrast, Trott's words shine most when she lets the wisdom arise from the narrative in an inductive manner.
The trilogy is a good read in living a virtuous life in a way wherein one's humanness is enhanced and sacramental in itself. Yet, also, Trott reminds us there is more potential in our humanness than we often equate with humanness. Humanness has the potential to unfold potentials largely undiscovered among us, to challenge our idea of what is truly natural.
Trott challenges us to re-explore our habitual use of words like "sacred" and "secular," "religious" and "irreligious," "holy" and "profane," ... The "Holy Man... Woman" invites us to heal the split in these dichotomies.
Again, for me better than the very first book, and excellent as a sequel to book 2! The writing is gentle, kind, and well crafted. The characters feel like they're becoming friends, and the subtext about loving others is rich. So many wise thoughts drift to the surface as you read and compassionately nudge you toward better. Really enjoyed this!
I thoroughly enjoyed this little book. I know it got the least love of the three books in the trilogy, but I found it a satisfying conclusion. In fact, when I was reading it, I couldn't put it down!
More contrived plot points (and spelling/punctuation errors) than in the first two books in order to bring the story to a conclusion, but overall I still enjoyed it.