The Sisterhood

Ahh! That is the sound of satisfaction after reading a superb novel. The Sisterhood is very circuitous in its plot, weaving back and forth in time from the 16th century, to modern times, to as early as 37AD. All the text has to do with the Convent of the Swallows or las Gollondrinas. We switch back and forth between sixteenth century Spanish nuns, sixteenth century South American nuns in the same order, and a modern girl named Menina, who was found with the symbol of the Convent on a chain wrapped around her three year old neck in miracle save by sailors after a hurricane. She is later adopted by Americans and given not only the swallow, but a very old chronicle that the parents must promise to give to her on her sixteenth birthday. These stories interweave with that of a prominent but little-known Spanish portrait artist, who gets himself in the middle of things.This is a big broad canvas that Helen Bryan uses to paint her masterpiece, with a fantastic amount of players. Each one that enters the picture is fully formed and quite human. Epic in scope, we cross three continents and three centuries to find that we've come full circle and are home again.This book has adventure, humor, it has mystery, it has religious tolerance, it has romance, but primarily it's a story about being true to yourself and your sisters all through history. The Inquisition is involved, an alternate Gospel, a hidden sister, a missing royal heir, Inquisitors through the centuries hunting the girls, heretical paintings, Incan nobleman and a famous dancing sister. I highly recommend this novel to all women and girls who want to read something intelligent about women through history and not just the "Chick Lit" Lite reading. This is not hard to read, it is just wonderfully satisfying - like a hot bowl of stew on a cold winter's night versus sugar-water.This book is a keeper, and I will definitely read this multiple times over the years to come. Bravo Helen! They should make all high school girls read this before they graduate.

In some ways, this book is really quite great - although fantastical and not particularly believable, the historical sections of this book are exciting, and read like Dan Brown novels. Basically, the story revolves around an additional gospel that was not included in the canonical Christian bible. This gospel has been preserved by an order of nuns, and threatens to transform all Christian theology. The historical section, is focused in the 15th and 16th centuries, and talks about how many of the women make their way to this nunnery, and how they work to preserve this text, against the backdrop of the Inquisition.I did not particularly like the modern section, which tells the story of Menina, who finally uncovers all of this, and is actually bizarrely connected to this story. Although the set up is interesting if ridiculous-she is a distant descendant of some of the women who sought refuge in the convent, the modern trials of the location, and her thrown together romantic interest are ridiculous. Before coming to the convent, Menina went through a major trauma which is vaguely dealt with in the story, but is used only to move the plot forward, rather than as a major focus, which I think it could me. In the modern day, there is some kind of police operation going on in this sleepy little town-and the police officer tells her all about it! Then, a story which could be a book in its own right, is resolved in a few pages - with no character development, details, or sense of completion.Overall, this story was quite enjoyable. This author is relatively new, and is not quite up to the challenge of constructing a narrative that happens on 3 continents in three time periods. It feels like the author took several stories and created a clumsy amalgamation. I don't regret reading this book, and I will probably read others from this author. However, she could use a good editor who calms down all of those ideas, and teaches her to focus on a more tight narrative.

The Sisterhood, by Helen Bryan, is a sprawling saga that spans 3 generations and many different countries. We have one storyline of Menina Walker, who was rescued and taken in by a missionary orphanage, and then adopted as a child. When Menina's engagement ends, she extracts herself from her situation by traveling to Spain to research her thesis, and after a series of unfortunate events, finds herself stranded at an age-old, dilapidated monastery in the countryside, filled with nuns. The other storyline is that of a monastery filled with remarkable nuns, who saved many little girls, and sent several nuns along with four unique young girls on a journey to the New World for the safe-keeping of a secret that is very important for the monastery. When Menina finds herself at the monastery, she soon realizes that her arrival may be fateful as clues soon start to point towards her own roots and origins.What I love best about this book is that it takes several stories, and is able to successfully intertwine them into one, while keeping the reader engaged. The research is well done, and many of the situations described in history are quite accurate in their gravity, and can be both interesting to read and heartbreaking at the same time. The writing is excellent, and although this is a big book, the story moves at a pretty good pace, keeping the reader glued to the characters and the situation at all times. I would DEFINITELY recommend this book to history lovers, mystery lovers, and those who like reading books with strong, female protagonist(s).

Loved the jumping between times and the nuns in the convent. Great historical novel, fantastic holiday, reading when you have time to be drawn into a story.

Coinvolgente, adoro leggere in lingua straniera. La trama è molto accativante. Ti fa viaggiare oltre che nei paesi in cui si ambienta, anche nel tempo.

I choose this one randomly but as ms.Walker said "it just getting started."If u like history, adventure, classic this is for you.

This was a captivating story of the establishment of a Spanish convent and it's role in the lives of those who sought asylum within its walls.I picked up this book as a result of Amazon's recommendation and the fact that the premise intrigued me. As a Catholic, church history fascinates me - I was hooked from the very beginning.Author Helen Bryan weaves a beautiful and soulful story of strong women among the corruption of the Inquisition, the Spanish taking back the Spain, the Conquistador in South America and the treatment of women from the Catholic fathers. This story brings in so many different aspects. The author intertwined the historical period with a modern story of a young woman struggling to reconcile her adopted life with her true roots. The mingling of the two stories was done well.This story starts with Menina Walker, who is rescued and taken to an orphanage run by Catholic nuns and then adopted by a Georgian childless couple. Then, we go to Spain to an old convent, where it all begins...What if Jesus had a sister? What if that sister founded an order of nuns in Europe to continue Christ's work on the European continent? How would such a sisterhood look? Those are just some of the questions that this book tried to answer...Helen Bryan has a tremendous imagination to be able to write such a book. There was so much information and characters to keep up with that it is a book that should be read when you can concentrate and read it in one sitting. It is not a book that can be put down half way through and picked up later easily, as there is so much information to be remembered. At times, it was weighed down by some side stories. But nonetheless it was utterly original and fascinating.I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Catholic history or feminism.

El libro (de momento solo en ingles) es buenisimo en mi opinion. Mezcla historia y ficcion y seria interesante para cualquier persona que entiende algo de España y de la Inquisicion. El trama va fluidamente de tiempos modernos a los momentos pasados.