BOLD ENCOUNTER

Described as ""A Novel Based on the Life of St. John of the Cross"", this volume is more accurately considered as fictionalized historical biography. It tells the story of the struggles, persecutions and courage of St. John in connection with the part he played in furthering St. Teresa of Avila's Carmelite Reform, stressing the victim's role he assumed to bring about the ultimate triumph of the Reform. It is an interesting and inspiring story in itself, and the clash of the characters involved is a fascinating and colorful one. The writing, however, obtrudes itself and the conversational technique employed is not quite natural in style.