"Once upon a time� Once upon a time everything was possible�

And then there is the fish with many legs. No matter what color stone it swims up to, it takes on that color: if it is white, it turns white, if it is green, it turns green. Some people, child, are the same: they are Christians with Christians and infidels with infidels.

Laurus is an unexpected conjunction of magic realism and hierography and the book is tragically poetical.

Ustina was not separate from his love for her. Ustina was love and love was Ustina. He carried it as if it were a candle in a dark forest. He feared that thousands of greedy night-creatures would fly toward that flame all at once and extinguish it with their wings.

The main hero was presented with a precious love, like a gift from above, but he couldn’t keep it, his love was dramatically lost. So ever after, tormented by his guilt and grief, he lived trying to redeem this irretrievable loss by healing the others and attempting to be impeccably righteous.

What is this? the new abbess asks those present, herself most of all. Is this the result of our brother Ustin’s therapeutic measures or the Lorde’s miracle, appearing independently of human action? Essentially, the abbess answers herself: one does not contradict the other, for a miracle can be the result of effort multiplied by faith.

He heals not just with profundity of his faith but also with the power of his will and the purity of his spirit�

A city of saints, whispered Ambrogio, following the play of the shadow. They present us the illusion of life.
No, objected Arseny, also in a whisper. They disprove the illusion of death.

But who can draw that borderline after which sinful existence ends and sainthood begins?"

" We simply need to remember that only the material world needs time,

There was only a time, maybe once or twice when I earnestly considered the idea of Grace. Both instances were fleeting and predictably linked to a woman. The path I tread isn't geared to such. I watched an interview with Gunter Grass yesterday, where he ventured his preference for Camus over Sartre. When asked why, the master responded, I don't harbor any faith for God but I do worship Saint Sisyphus.


Despite the blurb on the front matter, Laurus is much closer to Dostoevsky than Eco. My favorite elements of the novel were its visible reach for the timeless and the layering of history onto the quest. The Guardian noted this is a novel about God. I saw nature. Who is to quibble?"

"To say I took immense delight in absorbing its pages would be still poor to render. I just love it. Worthwhile 100%! I will come back to it. It has that power to convince someone. An unforgetable experience! "