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The Silence of the Vessel
A story of mothers and daughters, family, faith and fate.
"I want to be a nun."
Elspeth, recently retired from Cape Breton University's Celtic Culture Department, is not sure how to deal with her teenage daughter Cecelia's outdated and strangely troubling post-secondary plans. Maybe the spiritual inclination Cecelia has would have been welcomed in the past, but with all the scandals the Catholic Church has been going through during recent decades, all Elspeth can do is wonder if it is too early in the day for a glass of wine before responding.
Cecelia has always been a quiet, sometimes even cold child, and Elspeth worries once again if she and Andrew had been too old to raise a menopausal baby. Now as Cecelia approaches high school graduation, and all the decisions that come with that transition, the gap between them seems to be more than merely an age thing.
As she tries to understand her strange desire to become a nun, Cecelia befriends an aging Sister at the Notre Dame congregation at the convent in Mabou. Madonna, a fitting name for a woman who lived a life devoted to God, is in a time of transition as well, struggling with ailments of an aging mind and body. Because of Cecelia's interest, she tries to piece together the reasons she became a bride of Christ.
Faith, family, and fate bring these three women together. Cecelia is looking for hope in an increasingly fragile world but Madonna's past, if she can face it, may challenge all of them.
"I want to be a nun."
Elspeth, recently retired from Cape Breton University's Celtic Culture Department, is not sure how to deal with her teenage daughter Cecelia's outdated and strangely troubling post-secondary plans. Maybe the spiritual inclination Cecelia has would have been welcomed in the past, but with all the scandals the Catholic Church has been going through during recent decades, all Elspeth can do is wonder if it is too early in the day for a glass of wine before responding.
Cecelia has always been a quiet, sometimes even cold child, and Elspeth worries once again if she and Andrew had been too old to raise a menopausal baby. Now as Cecelia approaches high school graduation, and all the decisions that come with that transition, the gap between them seems to be more than merely an age thing.
As she tries to understand her strange desire to become a nun, Cecelia befriends an aging Sister at the Notre Dame congregation at the convent in Mabou. Madonna, a fitting name for a woman who lived a life devoted to God, is in a time of transition as well, struggling with ailments of an aging mind and body. Because of Cecelia's interest, she tries to piece together the reasons she became a bride of Christ.
Faith, family, and fate bring these three women together. Cecelia is looking for hope in an increasingly fragile world but Madonna's past, if she can face it, may challenge all of them.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2020
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19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 1, 2021
Review: MacLennan-Dunphy, Brenda. 2020. The Silence of the Vessel. Lawrencetown Beach, NS: Pottersfield.
I enjoyed this novel. I thought that this, MacLennan-Dunphy's second, was better than her first (Never Speak of This Again, Pottersfield 2018). The plot is a slightly different take on a recurring theme in Cape Breton literature: questionable parentage and sleazy priests. Those are here, alright, but it has refreshingly few of the common threads of the Cape Breton trope: alcoholism, substance abuse, self-abuse, violence.
Cecelia is a young woman approaching high school graduation. The only daughter of academic parents, Cecelia is mildly disillusioned by the banality of the interests and choices pursued by her peers, and with an eye on making the world a better place, is seriously considering joining a religious order. Growing up in a household of researchers, she decides she wants to learn more about the vocation and befriends a near-retirement nun.
Over the course of their encounters, the nun’s past life is slowly revealed, thanks in part to Cecilia’s mother’s research into that past. It’s a past veiled by time and isolation, one not easily uncovered. Once it does get filled in, the three women learn that their lives are closely linked. The story line had me genuinely interested in it and its outcomes.
The novel is neither devotional nor atheistic, tropes into which it could easily have strayed. It enjoys good pacing in a natural style, not flowery or forced. In the afterword, Brenda hints that the skeleton of the story has been with her a long time and was finally written fully formed, which the reader can sense in the narrative – it doesn’t read like been overly burdened with an editor’s suggestions.
=30=
I enjoyed this novel. I thought that this, MacLennan-Dunphy's second, was better than her first (Never Speak of This Again, Pottersfield 2018). The plot is a slightly different take on a recurring theme in Cape Breton literature: questionable parentage and sleazy priests. Those are here, alright, but it has refreshingly few of the common threads of the Cape Breton trope: alcoholism, substance abuse, self-abuse, violence.
Cecelia is a young woman approaching high school graduation. The only daughter of academic parents, Cecelia is mildly disillusioned by the banality of the interests and choices pursued by her peers, and with an eye on making the world a better place, is seriously considering joining a religious order. Growing up in a household of researchers, she decides she wants to learn more about the vocation and befriends a near-retirement nun.
Over the course of their encounters, the nun’s past life is slowly revealed, thanks in part to Cecilia’s mother’s research into that past. It’s a past veiled by time and isolation, one not easily uncovered. Once it does get filled in, the three women learn that their lives are closely linked. The story line had me genuinely interested in it and its outcomes.
The novel is neither devotional nor atheistic, tropes into which it could easily have strayed. It enjoys good pacing in a natural style, not flowery or forced. In the afterword, Brenda hints that the skeleton of the story has been with her a long time and was finally written fully formed, which the reader can sense in the narrative – it doesn’t read like been overly burdened with an editor’s suggestions.
=30=
March 23, 2021
I have relatives who live in Cape Breton my Aunt having moved there with her Canadian husband so have visited a number of times so knowing the area made the book very special.
But even without the local knowledge it is a good read especially in the context of the church in the modern day and the conflict within the church.
But even without the local knowledge it is a good read especially in the context of the church in the modern day and the conflict within the church.
February 9, 2021
Wonderful book! So well written. Growing up and living in Cape Breton all of my life, I can definitely see the parallels of characters in the book to people in real life, especially with the prom ordeal. Like a true Cape Breton family secret, so many unexpected twists!
January 21, 2023
A lot of great twists and turns. A good read. Especially if you're from western Cape Breton where the book is set.
December 8, 2025
"over and over again, the reach of the church struck her. how it could inspire such loyalty and devotion, while ripping and tearing at the fabric of people's souls" 5!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews