William Peak
Autore di The Oblate's Confession
Sull'Autore
Fonte dell'immagine: William Peak photo by Tom McCall
Opere di William Peak
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Nome canonico
- Peak, William
- Nome legale
- Peak, William
- Data di nascita
- 1951-10-01
- Sesso
- male
- Luogo di nascita
- Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Luogo di residenza
- Easton, Maryland, USA
- Istruzione
- Washington and Lee University
Hollins University - Organizzazioni
- Talbot County Free Library
- Breve biografia
- William Peak spent ten years researching and writing "The Oblate’s Confession," his debut novel. Peak received his baccalaureate degree from Washington & Lee University and his master’s from the creative writing program at Hollins University. He works for the Talbot County Free Library on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. He edits the library’s newsletter, writes press releases, writes and designs promotional material, does public speaking for the library, leads book and poetry discussions, works both the Reference and Circulation Desks, and writes "The Star Democrat’s" library column (archived at http://www.tcfl.org/peak.) Thanks to the column, Peak is regularly greeted on the streets of Easton: “Hey, library guy!”
Peak’s poetry and prose have been published in "The Delmarva Review" and the "Tidewater Times." "The Delmarva Review" this year nominated one of his poems for a Pushcart Prize. Before moving to Talbot County in 1996, Peak worked as a writer for the National Association of Broadcasters in Washington, D. C. He has also worked freelance, writing exhibit scripts and label copy for museums in Washington and on the Eastern Shore. He is a member of the board of the Talbot County Arts Council.
Utenti
Recensioni
Questa recensione è stata scritta per Recensori in anteprima di LibraryThing.I expected - and wanted - to like this book: it's set in a period of history and a place that interests me, and the book itself as a physical object is lovely - well printed and designed and easy to hold as you read, but...
The writing is beautiful and lyrical but I found I couldn't see beyond it - it got in the way of the story, which went on far too long and I didn't really finish it but gave up and skipped to the last few chapters.
The writing is beautiful and lyrical but I found I couldn't see beyond it - it got in the way of the story, which went on far too long and I didn't really finish it but gave up and skipped to the last few chapters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The accolades were well deserved. I found myself reading The Oblate’s Confession very slowly, not because it is a difficult book to read, but because it is so beautifully written and so lush with details I had to savor it. The book is filled with lessons that Winwaed learned throughout his life. Among my favorites were the story of the chestnut that AElfhelm wore around his neck, and Gwynedd’s lesson on how to pray. Both of these, among others, I found myself re-reading because they were so touching, I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss any of the nuances. Needless to say, if you are a fan of historical fiction with a religious or church theme, you will love this book. If you just like to read a good story, you will love this book. I highly recommend it. Be ready to be lost in beautiful prose that will arouse a multitude of emotions before you reach the end.… (altro)
Alright, I admit I am slightly obsessed with the early Anglo-Saxon period, and any book in the Christian Fiction genre set in seventh century England is likely stir up a childish excitement and delight upon discovery.
On seeing this book mentioned amongst others in an article that demonstrated how the medieval period is becoming an increasingly popular setting in said genre, I decided it was time to read.
I expected- well I’m not sure- maybe not a sweeping epic- I did read the synopsis after all. There were many positives- the realistic account of life in the early period of monasticism, the struggles of Bishops and senior clerics involved trying to play the political game. Beautiful and evocative descriptions of the landscape and watching the young Winwead grow to manhood. Readers may appreciate the descriptions of the monastic lifestyle from the perspective of a bright boy who was given no choice over his vocation, and sometimes struggles with its strictures, and the impact wrought upon the only home he knows by the actions of others.
However, for a book that derives its title from the sinful act that the protagonist is supposed to have committed, it just seemed to take a long time to get around to mentioning and exploring it, and seemed to drag in places, with whole chapters devoted to relatively minor incidents, or occurrences that seemed to have little significance and lead nowhere. Thus the impression is given of the story jumping around rather a lot – I’m not sure whether maybe this was meant to be symptomatic of the child’s perspective of the world- quickly losing interest, and following curiosity. Also, though generally well-researched there seemed to be a few lapses into overly modern speech- though maybe this was intended- and I’m not sure all the details were entirely accurate.
The other issue was some of the religious content. Now I appreciate that the man who became Winwead’s mentor Gwynedd (pronounced Gwyn-eth) was an ascetic and something of a mystic- but I’m pretty sure Jesus never told his followers to empty their minds when they pray, and the book seemed to be drawing rather too much on the works of much later contemplatives.
For the conservative Protestant reader, some of the religious ideas put across would seem to verge on heterodoxy- and the scene in which Gwynedd starts levitating was just plain- freaky- the almost matter of fact way in which it is reported adding to the general oddness.
For those of the above religious tradition, this novel may not appeal. For this who like stories set in monasteries, or a decent coming of age tale I would recommend. I just seem to prefer my Anglo-Saxon fiction to be focused on the movers and shakers of history and the wider world, but although sometimes plodding, I would say The Oblate’s Confession is worth reading once.
I recieved an electronic version of this book free from Netgalley for review. I was not required to write a positive one and all opinions expressed are ny own.
… (altro)
On seeing this book mentioned amongst others in an article that demonstrated how the medieval period is becoming an increasingly popular setting in said genre, I decided it was time to read.
I expected- well I’m not sure- maybe not a sweeping epic- I did read the synopsis after all. There were many positives- the realistic account of life in the early period of monasticism, the struggles of Bishops and senior clerics involved trying to play the political game. Beautiful and evocative descriptions of the landscape and watching the young Winwead grow to manhood. Readers may appreciate the descriptions of the monastic lifestyle from the perspective of a bright boy who was given no choice over his vocation, and sometimes struggles with its strictures, and the impact wrought upon the only home he knows by the actions of others.
However, for a book that derives its title from the sinful act that the protagonist is supposed to have committed, it just seemed to take a long time to get around to mentioning and exploring it, and seemed to drag in places, with whole chapters devoted to relatively minor incidents, or occurrences that seemed to have little significance and lead nowhere. Thus the impression is given of the story jumping around rather a lot – I’m not sure whether maybe this was meant to be symptomatic of the child’s perspective of the world- quickly losing interest, and following curiosity. Also, though generally well-researched there seemed to be a few lapses into overly modern speech- though maybe this was intended- and I’m not sure all the details were entirely accurate.
The other issue was some of the religious content. Now I appreciate that the man who became Winwead’s mentor Gwynedd (pronounced Gwyn-eth) was an ascetic and something of a mystic- but I’m pretty sure Jesus never told his followers to empty their minds when they pray, and the book seemed to be drawing rather too much on the works of much later contemplatives.
For the conservative Protestant reader, some of the religious ideas put across would seem to verge on heterodoxy- and the scene in which Gwynedd starts levitating was just plain- freaky- the almost matter of fact way in which it is reported adding to the general oddness.
For those of the above religious tradition, this novel may not appeal. For this who like stories set in monasteries, or a decent coming of age tale I would recommend. I just seem to prefer my Anglo-Saxon fiction to be focused on the movers and shakers of history and the wider world, but although sometimes plodding, I would say The Oblate’s Confession is worth reading once.
I recieved an electronic version of this book free from Netgalley for review. I was not required to write a positive one and all opinions expressed are ny own.
… (altro)
Statistiche
- Opere
- 1
- Utenti
- 59
- Popolarità
- #280,813
- Voto
- 3.5
- Recensioni
- 33
- ISBN
- 4
- Preferito da
- 1
Unfortunately, I did find the reading a bit slow. Winwaed tended to go on and on about a lot that didn't seem relevant and his internal monologue could be droning at times. I feel like the book could have benefited from having more prominently present characters. I realize that the story is largely about how Winwaed finds in The Hermit (Gwynedd) a father figure and mentor and that was an aspect of the book I found touching. But I just found myself wishing for a little more action, I guess.
This is the author's debut novel and by no means do I dissuade anyone from reading it. It is definitely worth a read. Just be warned that if you're looking for a lot of action, you won't find it. This book is meant to be a more sober, contemplative read which, in itself, is not always a bad thing.… (altro)