Review
The biblical idea that there exists "nothing new under the sun"
frequently applies to the world of adult fiction. Familiar or foundational plots
are made fresh through detail, setting, the author's unique voice and other
elements of noteworthy novels.
All Shall Be Well; and All Shall Be Well; and
All Manner of Things Shall Be Well, Tod Wodicka's first book, seems, at
first read, to defy this concept. From the opening pages, taken from the
writings of Hildegard von Bingen, to the masterful conclusion that blends back
into another of the anchorite's diary excerpts, one feels that this story might
just be the one to fly in the face of this precept that all human ideas and
circumstances are recycled, repeated. However, underneath the peculiar
characters and layers of dark comedy that feed this story, hides another one of
those common, "nothing new under the...
Beyond the Book
Hildegard von Bingen
Hildegard von Bingen
(1098-1179), whose writings and music are integral to the novel, was trained by an
anchoress named Jutta and, in the book, is one herself. An anchoress is a female hermit – a woman who,
for religious reasons, voluntary shuts herself off from the world. Although
information on Hildegard confirms that she chose to emulate Jutta throughout her
life, it is not clear that she was an anchoress herself. In fact,
considering her achievements include founding two convents in what is now
Germany it seems unlikely she was. What she most certainly was though is a
woman of deep conviction and multiple talents - a
writer, composer, visionary and mystic. Although not a canonized saint within...
