Little Hours: A Novel

by Lil Copan

2022 GOLD NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS - FICTION/SMALL PRESS

2022 NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS - REGIONAL FICTION


REVIEWS

"I read it straight through. I'm not confident that I even breathed while reading it. The novel is a wonder! Formally, literarily, and spiritually, it's just staggering. Wise and absorbing. Reading LITTLE HOURS, I had the all too rare experience of losing the self-conscious awareness that I was reading; I was, instead, simply and suddenly placed in a world that was both familiar and unfamiliar to me. What a gift."

— Lauren F. Winner , author of Girl Meets God

"What characters they finely drawn, indelibly comic, charming, irascible, forbidding, wise. And foolish, as we all are, in most compelling, most believable, ways. Beautiful writing and penetrating intelligence . . . [reminding us] sometimes wayward paths end up being the surest."

— Carlene Bauer , author of Frances and Bernard

"Gorgeously written. Lil Copan's luminous new book will do wonders for your soul."

— James Martin , author of Building a Bridge

"Little Hours is immediately funny, intimate, and soul-tending. From the first exchange of letters, you love the women writing them. You realize that their questions, desires, and temptations are your own, so you hang on every word, waiting to learn and grow along with these beautiful characters. This book is so true, and so gentle and loving in its truth telling."

— Vinita Hampton Wright , author of Velma Still Cooks in Leeway

"This is one of the best models for spiritual companionship I’ve seen in print. It’s a profound book. I hope that my listeners will pick it up and will love it as I have loved it."

– David Dault , host of Things Not Seen radio show and podcast


BOOK DESCRIPTION

When Miriam—restless, and longing for something she cannot name—picks up a copy of Sister Bird’s Guide to Small Birds she finds on the last page an invitation from the Sisters at St. Hildegard Monastery on Plover Point—“we gladly respond to questions about the life of birds and the life of faith.”

Debut novelist Lil Copan brings us a book for birdwatchers, coffee drinkers, baseball fans, bumper-sticker readers, animal lovers and all those who care about life's most piercing, unanswerable, tender, humanizing questions.

One set of letters over the course of two years reveals deep internal conflicts, a small farm on the verge of going under, a nun with a gambling addiction, and another with a profound secret that might upend everything the community worked so hard for.

When an innocent birding question begins this special correspondence, what emerges is a revelatory journey of the spirit.

Genres: Fiction

323 pages, Paperback

Published June 9, 2021

Reviews

[Mary Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Hours surprises the reader in very subtle ways. Lil Copan gently and effectively draws her readers into caring for the life of a married woman letter writer as well as the lives of a small group of women, all Sisters in a fictional monastery in Weymouth, MA. It is a quiet story told with wit and insight into the human condition. Copan set two writerly constraints for herself: the novel is written entirely as correspondence; the setting is a very small monastery. Both constraints work. Little Hours is a book in which not much happens yet everything happens. The novel is aptly named as the reader shares the little hours which make up the lives of these women while recognizing that those same little hours fill our own lives. Little Hours is a book for birders, Red Sox fans, donkey lovers, letter writers and more. Both charming and wise, Little Hours was a treat to read.

[Amy Couture · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters in this novel are so thoroughly created I felt as though I were engaging with a set of new - if crusty- friends. I loved every minute I spent with these ladies and oftentimes found myself contemplating their struggles with life, death, love, and faith hours after I had stopped reading.

[J. Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful debut novel by a wonderful editor and writer. Filled with subtle wonder and insight. I highly recommend it.

[Cberke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a committed atheist with a fondness for thinking about grace, with all the contradiction that might imply. This novel, told in a series of letters from a nun to a middle-aged woman, is gentle and forward, kind and questioning, and addresses questions of faith, calling, vocation. And Plovers, the Red Sox, a yearning for donkeys, and bearclaws. It's a continuing conversation with an old friend.

[Kristen Mcknight · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an unusual book, and not for everyone - especially if you are looking for an action-filled book. It took some time to get into it, but eventually I came to love the realistic characters - mostly nuns living in a small convent.
The author is an acquaintance of mine and a fine editor (including a book or two of my husband's).

[Kelly Brill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recommend this book to those who are spiritually curious...especially curious about the contemplative life in a spiritual community. I recommend this book if you're a bird-watcher and/or a Boston Red Sox fan. The entire book is comprised of letters written by Sister Athanasius to Miriam, a woman who initiates the correspondence as a way to explore the restlessness she feels in midlife. Through the letters, we learn of Miriam's family, her profession, her battle with cancer - as well as her daily life: the flowers, the birds, the seasons. Through the letters, we learn of life in a monastery for women, a monastery/0rder named for Hildegarde of Bingen. We meet the characters in the small, close-knit community. Copan is gifted at painting the scene: the kitchen where mouth-watering baked goods are created - a place of coffee and baseball conversations, the barn (the domain of Sister Farm), the shore where birds are watched, recorded, and sketched. A sweet book, slow-moving book, with a few gems scattered throughout, like this one about my favorite character, Sister Anne: "From the outside it looked like she was living the same life of the religious for over 50 years, but she reinvented her life as a person, creatively and intuitively." (Hildegarde's "veriditas")

This book makes one think of the possibilities available wherever one finds oneself - are you really noticing the world around you? Are you paying attention? "If you do not see what is around you every day, what will you see when you go to Tangiers?"

A few more quotes: "...some days there are only the daily things - after long stretches of illness and hope and fledglings and extraordinary days. Then there are days when there are no extraordinary stories, no new word of surprise. And still every psalm from Matins to Compline calls out the name of God. And every hour we chant it. This, Miriam, is a rich day on a revolving earth."

"Not attending to spiritual work...is to fall away from one's best knowledge."

[Claudette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quiet book that will grab and hold you. Written as letters from a nun, it touches a range of human emotions and events. When you finish, you will want to visit the monastery and sit down with coffee or tea and a bear claw. This book is for Red Sox fans, birders, nature lovers, bee keepers and those who believe in the “medicinal power of hope.” Each character is wonderful in his or her own way. Highly recommended.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this. After reading almost 1/3 of the book, I realized it was not for me. It began well; a correspondence of a nun with a woman, and some discussion on birds at the monastery sounds intriguing. But we only see the nun's responses.

The letters written by Sister Athanasius get longer, wordier, and headier, as well as increasingly boring. It may pick up, but my time and patience is limited. I quit.

[Marsha Compton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing reminded me of a classical themed PBS or BBC special in written form. I do enjoy those shows, but found this book difficult to stick with. The description made me think this was to be a light hearted book with laughter, of which it was not. It felt like I was reading the rambling and repetitive reflections of a bored aunt. Some of the characters' traits were humorous and you could see the struggle and heart of each member of the community who tried to find peace within their roles and their commitment to be there.

[MAYA QUARTZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“At various and frequent points in our lives we all necessarily question our places in the world.”

“In this monastery there is little screaming, but oh, screaming must be done. The psalms, no matter how quietly I pray them, house my anger, my dread, my most awful moments…. They form the private interior place of great yellings at God.”

"Little Hours" is set within the confines of a small monastery in Weymouth, MA. Through a series of heartfelt letters exchanged between a nun and an average middle-aged woman, Copan weaves a narrative rich in faith, friendship, and the quiet beauty of life's simple moments.

Despite its seemingly modest premise, the book's realistic characters and subtle surprises felt very authentic and managed to explore a vast array of experiences that make up the human condition. This novel probably would not appeal to those seeking action-packed plots, but its gentle storytelling and profound reflections offered me a poignant reminder of how interpersonal connections shape our lives.

If you are looking for a book that really makes you feel like you are somehow eavesdropping on friends who haven't caught up in a while, this is it.

[BookTrib.com]

LITTLE HOURS is not a page-turner. Instead, it is a novel that acts as a companion, inviting readers to ponder their lives and relationships with others. This book is a read that you won’t forget.

Read our full review here:
https://booktrib.com/2021/09/16/littl...

[Christine Nault · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book as part of the Mass Center for the Book reading challenge. February was a book set in your home town/city or state. It is a fictional version of Weymouth, MA but I still really enjoyed it. I liked the characters and the slower pace of letter writing made it more contemplative for me.

https://www.massbook.org/readingchall...

[Diane Laughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of spiritual questioning and insight. A book of faith and friendship. A book of encourgement and support. A lovely novel of thoughtful letters from a nun to an outside seeker. Add to that Red Sox baseball, an interest in birds, the love of farm animals, beekeeping and pastry cooking. I will read this again. (And again...)

[Anastasia Tuckness]

Christianity today finalist for fiction. Seems to be not very widely read but looks good. Not at APL.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful words. Encouraging and thought-provoking.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful and hope-filled. It took me a bit to get into it, but once I was in I was hooked.