Brigid of Kildare: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)Heather Terrel's "Brigid Of Kildare" is a warm book about friendship, discovery, and religion all wrapped around the historical setting of the distant past. The author follows the life of Saint Brigid, the possibly apocryphal saint of Kildare, Ireland, and her attempts to not only win the souls of the pagan Irish for God, but also keep an independent Ireland from the clutches of the Roman Catholic Church while also looking to endear the church to the particularly Irish brand of Catholicism. In the present, we follow Alexandra Patterson as she works with the Sisters of St. Brigid to appraise relics that they would like to auction to raise funds for the convent. Along the way, Alexandra discovers the hidden 6th century Book of Kells, a priceless illuminated manuscript pre-dating the Book of Kells, and two other scrolls of period writing by a scribe named Decius. As the plot continue, we learn more about the lives of Brigid & Decius and their growing bond as well as Alexandra's efforts to date the manuscript and scrolls without violating either the Sister's trust in her or her belief system.
While I greatly enjoyed the book, I can see how people may feel that it is somewhat light fiction. The author somewhat skips across the surface of her characters and spends much more time developing the overall story rather than dwelling in certain places from time to time. However, the book is already 256 pages - a good number - and I can't think of anything that I'd cut to make room to flesh out the characters. As a history buff I enjoyed the "what if's" throughout as well as the historical references that the book offers to help the backstory. Above all else, I thought Brigid was an extremely believable and likable character and by the end of the book, it was hard not to fall in love with her as her friend Decius had done.
The religious aspects of the book are very muted while also being neutral in opinion. The author neither bashes the Catholic faith nor tries to win you to the cause. As a non-denominational born-again Christian, I enjoyed the even-handedness of the topics. Brigid & Decius are devout Catholics and are treated as such. Alexandra is not, but neither does she go on some "religion is evil rant". I also have to truly commend the author on "allowing" Brigid & Decius to have unrequited love for eachother while steadfastly remaining true to their vows. This was an unexpected and welcome aspect.
Other things of note are that the reader needs to pay attention to the chapter headings and the year. The author skips forward and backward throughout the book, not only between past and present, but also within the lifetime of Brigid. If you are not paying attention you can easily get thrown from the plot and start to wonder what the heck is going on. The book is also a page turner. I took very little time to read through the book's 256 pages and was disappointed that I was done when I had finished the book. In my mind, that's the sign of a good novel - whether you wish there were 50 more pages to read when you've completed the last sentence. I though about giving the book 4 stars because although thoroughly enjoyable, I felt that the present-day story line with Alexandra could have been much more developed (along with the character issue I mention above). However, it's hard to argue when the present-day theme is obviously the side story to the main plot line.

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