I'm so conflicted about this book. On one hand, I have to admit to being fascinated by monastic life. Those who choose that way of life have always been deeply interesting to me. To have that much devotion to your faith is amazing to me. However, an oblate is donated to the church by his family so, in a sense, did not choose that life. It is from this knowledge that much of Winwaed's behavior is understood. And yet, he is still so devoted to his faith in the end that he feels the deep need to confess a sin that the less religiously devout would probably not bat an eyelash at. So this is what I liked about the book. These realizations about faith and the motivations of God's monastic servants.

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. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

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.
( )

I found the premise of the book interesting, and the writer has obviously done a good bit of research, but I had difficulty finishing it. As others have noted, the attitudes of some of the characters seem rather anachronistic, and I found the story line rather heavy going. Another reader might enjoy it greatly, but it was not to my taste.