WHOSE HEAVEN, WHOSE EARTH?

by Thomas & Marjorie Melville ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 1970

Thomas and Marjorie Melville are former Maryknoll missionaries--he, a priest; she, a nun--who, while working in Guatemala, renounced their vows to become political revolutionaries. This book is their apologia, not only for their conversion to revolution but also for their subsequent marriage. Under both aspects, the book leaves much to be desired. The authors write of the evolving attitudes which led them to embrace violence in place of peace, and to abandon their vows of chastity for marriage. But in neither case do they convey the agony and drama of what surely must have been the instant of truth in which the irrevocable decision was made. Nor do either of them succeed in communicating themselves as persons with whom the reader can identify. Perhaps the fault lies in the organization of the book--which is actually a collection of juxtaposed pieces, one by Mr. Melville, the next by Mrs. Melville. In any case, it is difficult to think who would be interested enough to submit to this bleak and rambling account.

Pub Date: Oct. 27, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION