Ruth Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Yes I can see what you mean re Brother Crispin. I'm not a fan of medication if it can be avoided; however, for some people it is extremely helpful. As you say, the other Monks' treatment of him could not have helped his situation, and could very well have worsened it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 (edited) I agree ,but arent we missing the point of monks ,that they are supposed to be religious men and should of been turning the other cheek ? Anyway I thought it hilarious that one of them had his teeth bleached . why would a monk think that was important ? Edited March 28, 2012 by charmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Anyway I thought it hilarious that one of them had his teeth bleached . why would a monk think that was important ? I know! It's all a bit Father Ted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Onto Chapter 6 the Work Chapter. I have been putting off talking about this one because it doesn't relate very much to the world of work I know. I know these crappy high pressure sales jobs do exist though and it rings true in places that the work drive is a sublimation of the male sex drive. But for most of us who go out every day to provide for our families it is not the way she portrays it here. This example is too skewed, too extreme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 My thoughts exactly. I thought that she wrote about the characters as if they were stereotypical sitcom characters almost. I too had a hard time relating to this chapter, as it does not gel at all with my own work experience. Out of all the chapters, this was the least interesting one for me. I will have to give it some more thought and then come back and post about it further. I didn't blame her for not revealing the truth about her identity to them though. Not because of any possible repercussions - I doubt there would have been any - but because it was pretty obvious that the bosses really didn't care two hoots about their employees, who they were, or anything else, as long as they got results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 I'm sorry for not having taken any part in this I've just too much on my plate at the moment, studies wise + personal life. I don't think I'm going to be able to catch up now I'm glad you've been having some interesting conversations though, I hope to finish the book someday and come back and read your thoughts on it and post my own thoughts. Sorry guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 No worries Frankie! Real life is the curse of the reading classes. Take care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 I ve never been in a work situation like she describes ,so I can't comprehend where shes coming from .but I do agree that this was the worst chapter to relate to . My personal opinion is that she is a complacent writer and I find her style intolerable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) Strong words there charmer! Do you mean like complacent as in lazy? I didn't realise you disliked it quite so much. Well done for reading right to the end then. Edited April 4, 2012 by vodkafan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 no complacent as in smug, self satisfied . she writes as if she can never be wrong . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I'm sorry for not having taken any part in this I've just too much on my plate at the moment, studies wise + personal life. I don't think I'm going to be able to catch up now I'm glad you've been having some interesting conversations though, I hope to finish the book someday and come back and read your thoughts on it and post my own thoughts. Sorry guys Life gets in the way for me sometimes too . Hope everything is okay with you though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Has everyone read the last chapter yet? If not, you might not want to read ahead, because there are bound to be spoilers. I grew to really dislike Norah/Ned in this chapter. The men's therapy group in itself was a very strange set-up (what was with all the jumping over benches stuff, and drawing pictures of heroes, etc?) - I can only see it screwing people up even more, rather than helping them! Nonetheless, it was a therapy group for men, the very essence of which was honesty - being able to be completely and totally honest with other members, and expecting complete and total honesty from them. To lie about her very identity in such circumstances was arrogant (how dare she think it was okay to do that for the sake of her own little experiment?) and pretty much unforgiveable. I can't help wondering if it was guilt that led to her own breakdown as well - after all, she has lied to a great many people, a lot of whom deserved far better treatment than she afforded them. And as I asked with the chapter where she infiltrated the Monastery, I wonder what would have happened if a man had disguised himself as a woman to ilfiltrate a woman's therapy group? I suspect there would have been a lot more serious consequences. I'm betting that the reason that she didn't come clean to the men's group was because she feared repercussions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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