The Cloister: James Carroll with Mary Gordon

Wed. Mar 14, 2018 at 6:30pm EDT
All Ages
All Ages
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All Ages
Event Description

The latest novel from the National Book Award–winning author bridges midcentury Manhattan with twelfth-century Paris, united by the epic love story of Abelard and Héloïse.


Two relationships divided by eight centuries, one a passionate and forbidden love affair, the other an unlikely friendship charged by the horrors of the recent past—at their centers questions of faith, identity, love, and honesty that transcend time.


Michael Kavanagh, a parish priest in Inwood, and Rachel Vedette, an expat Jewish Parisian, meet unexpectedly in the Cloisters, the Metropolitan Museum's center for medieval European art, where Vedette works as a docent. Plagued by a "perpetual inner bleakness," Kavanagh recognizes in Vedette—who has lived through the Nazi occupation of France—a spirit kindred in its darkness. She slowly reveals parts of her past to Kavanagh, particularly the work of her late father on the life of Peter Abelard that she helped to research. A professor at the Sorbonne, her father had come to discover Abelard to hold profoundly forward-thinking and positive views on Jews and Judaism. The complexities of Abelard's story and the horrors hidden in that of Vedette's torment Kavanagh as he himself wrestles with his place in the Church and what life he might have had outside it. Woven into their narrative is a reimagining of the legendary love affair between Abelard and Héloïse, intertwining the past in the present as all four of the characters encounter the brutalities of prejudice and intolerance. 


James Carroll  discusses this novel, his twelfth, with novelist, critic, and Barnard professor Mary Gordon.


FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED
For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A stand by line will form one hour before the program.


PRESS 
Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc.) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Ayofemi Kirby at ayofemikirby@nypl.org.

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Venue Details
Map of Venue Location.
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Margaret Liebman Berger Forum (2nd Fl) 476 5th Ave
New York, NY 10018