Product Description

This is a unique and compelling look into the hidden world of the Carthusians - the western world's most ascetic monastic order. In 1960, five young men arrived at the imposing gates of Parkminster in West Sussex, the largest centre of the Carthusians - the most rigorous and ascetic monastic order in the Western world. This is the story of their five-year journey into a society virtually unchanged in its behaviour and lifestyle since its foundations in 1084. "An Infinity of Little Hours" is a uniquely intimate portrait of the customs and practices of a monastic order almost entirely unknown until now. It is also a drama of the men's struggle as they avoid the 1960s - the decade of hedonism, music, fashion and amorality - and enter an entirely different era and a spiritual world of their own making. After five years each must face a choice: to make "solemn profession" and never leave Parkminster; or to turn his back on his life's ambition to find God in solitude. A remarkable investigative work, the book combines first-hand testimony with unique source material, to describe the Carthusian life. And in the final chapter, which recounts a reunion forty years after the events described elsewhere in the book, Nancy Klein Maguire reveals which of the five succeeded in their quest - and which did not.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94405 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
"Maguire has produced a vivid, gripping and deeply touching picture of a world that is now lost. For an outsider to enter such a closed society and to capture its essence is an astonishing achievement: this is a work of history, but it has all the best qualities of a psychological novel." Diarmiud MacCullogh "It is fascinating to enter, if only for a few hours, into this way of life, where extreme devotion forms at last a bit of a bulwark against humanity's digressions." Los Angeles Times"

Bookseller Magazine
"A warm, readable account of life in Parkminster Charterhouse during the 1960s."

Publishing News
"A compelling portrait of the spiritul journey of five young men..."

Customer Reviews

A Snapshot of a Time
This book was for me a gift from God as I am considering that type of vocation and this book gave me a glimpse into what it is like. Although the book is looking back to a time in the 1960s before the church began to modernize as a result of Vatican II it is recent enough for the reader to identify with each the monks as modern people in a very challenging environment.

The Carthusian Experience
In this book we follow five men as they enter the Parkminster, England's only Carthusian Charterhouse, in 1960. We are given a rare glimpse inside Saint Hugh's and the life of the Carthusian monks. The author has done a fantastic job at being allowed to look inside and share what she learned with us.

We follow these five men as they apply to become a member at Parkminsiter and what it takes to become a Solemn Professed Carthusian. They share their thoughts and feelings as they progress in their vocation. And their hopes and fears are laid out for us to see. What it takes to stay and the strength required leaving.

I felt I was living those years with these men as they sought God. How hard and rewarding the solitary lifestyle in a community of hermits really is. And how few are truly called to this life. I felt that nothing was hidden from the reader. We are given an honest and clear view of the life. And we even get a summary forty years later from both those who succeeded in the life and those who left.

I got the book today and read it in 4 hours. I could not put it down. If you ever thought this was the life for you, this is a must read.

Silence and solitude
I first heard of the Carthusians whilst reading about Thomas More. He spent three years with them and considered joining them before realising that his vocation lay elsewhere. I remember the passage in the book that told of his standing by the window of his cell in the Tower of London, watching the monks he knew from the Charterhouse being 'drawn' behind horses to their agonising deaths for their refusal to swear agreement to the act making Henry VIII head of the church in England. More's comment to his daughter Margaret was that they were going to their wedding feast.
I found this book fascinating, but more than that I got so involved with the experiences of each of the novices it almost felt like an intrusion! The struggles, spiritual, mental and physical of these young men seeking to know God in a way that they all felt strongly called to are sensitively and honestly shared and I felt very privileged to be allowed inside the Charterhouse.