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The Monk Upstairs by Tim Farrington
  | The Monk Upstairs Tim Farrington Date: 2007-05-08 — 23.95 — Book
Rating: B-/C+
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The Monk Upstairs is the sequel to the book, The Monk Downstairs, a book I reviewed for All About Romance about 4 years ago. In The Monk Downstairs, Mike Christopher, the titular monk, left the monastery he'd spent twenty years serving his vocation after a severe crisis of faith and an ongoing, personally aggravating battle with his abbot over the best way to balance the requirements of monastic life. Back in the real world for the first time in decades, Mike is at a loss as to how to begin again. Eventually, hungry and wandering, he answers a For Rent ad for a small in-law apartment in the lower story of Rebecca Martin's house. Rebecca is a single mom with a flaky ex, a stressful job, and a serious grudge against the Catholic Church. Despite all of their differences, Mike and Rebecca find peace and solace in each other.
In The Monk Upstairs Rebecca and Mike are intent on solidifying their relationship. The book begins with their wedding which, predictably, doesn't quite go according to plan. The two of them embark on their married life with some anxiety. Rebecca is unsure that marriage - between any two people - can ever work, and Mike feels insecure about his ability to contribute financially to the household. Another complication is Rebecca's mother, Phoebe. In the first book Phoebe suffered a stroke from which she only partially recovered. She now lives in the in-law apartment and requires a significant amount of supervision and help. While Rebecca worries about how best to manage her recovery, Phoebe looks forward to her death and hopes it will be sooner than later.
This is a pretty laid-back book, episodic rather than especially plotted. It's easy to assume early on that the book will be about the trials of marriage, but later it becomes clear that it's more about death and dying. Phoebe's condition causes some stress between Mike and Rebecca, but the major conflict is within Rebecca herself who is not ready to let go of her mother. A significant portion of the narrative is devoted to Phoebe's thoughts about her dying. They start off poetic and become less focused and more philosophical. There's a lot of talk about life being love, etc., etc.
I remember enjoying Farrington's prose the first time around, but here it seems to stumble periodically into pits of metaphor, simile, and lyricism. Barbara Samuel's writing sometimes strikes me the same way, like I should enjoy all the pretty language, but it's just distracting me somehow.
There is a fair amount of reference to scripture and mentions of Christian theology. Mike filters his world through a thoroughly Catholic lens, which is interesting and refreshing - refreshing in that he can view the Catholic Church without the usual cynicism or anger. (Imagine it - a religious character outside of an inspirational. And he's not evil!) He has his own opinions about how things ought to be done, but he doesn't let those distract him from viewing the Church as a whole. One of the more interesting problems Mike and Rebecca encounter is Rebecca's daughter, Mary Martha's, desire to attend mass. Mike approaches this with his usual patience and good humor.
Ultimately, this sequel wasn't as satisfying a read for me as was The Monk Downstairs. To me, a crisis of faith is a more interesting conflict than death and dying, and while Mike and Rebecca are still very sympathetic characters, their relationship doesn't offer enough conflict to fuel a whole story here. Still The Monk Upstairs is worth a read for its spiritual depth alone, and I don't regret the time I spent with it. At the hardcover price, however, I'd recommend going to the library for it.