"In 1973, Paul Seneschal, a shy nineteen-year-old from rural Manitoba, takes refuge from the world behind the wrought iron gates of St. Norbert Abbey. Here he is immersed in an austere, centuries-old culture where silence and prayer are governing forces. Forty monks grow their own food, wake at three in the morning to pray, and converse largely through a spare but expressive vocabulary of hand signals. As Brother Antoine, Paul strives for wisdom and holiness, learning poverty; chastity; and obedience. But life within the cloister can't block out all of humanity's foibles. One monk lapses into pyromania; another, a French Canadian, attacks any English speaker who gets too close; still another looks like "a bald Martha Ray."". "Amid a daily routine that meshes worship with hard work, Brother Antoine's preconceived ideas of holiness fade as he finds himself progressing along a crooked road to enlightenment. He comes to realize that the most mundane occurrences reveal the divine at least as often as they conceal it."--BOOK JACKET.