About this deal
The first part of the novel, Saint Cuddy, is told in the voice of Ediva, an orphan taken in by the monks as a child, now travelling with them as healer, cook and helper as they search for a final resting place for Cuddy’s coffin. Ediva is alive to the rhythms of the landscape in a way that marks her out as different; she also sees visions of the future cathedral – a building “bigger than anything man has ever built, so big it rears up like a mountain, like a great beast” – where the saint will finally be laid to rest.
All in all a fabulous book one I would hope would appear on prize lists such as the Booker prize .The book defiantly classes as a literary novel Affirming one's authentic best self -reminding oneself of their most valued strengths-protected one from anxiety. It also increases openness to others. And that allows us to be fully present. There is a strong smell of urine, the invisible scent markings of feral men after midnight staining the cold concrete. The stench of it is the perfume of bus stations everywhere; the desperate reek of transience at the crossroads of intoxicated. MORE THAN HALF A MILLION COPIES Learn the simple techniques you'll need to approach your biggest challenges with confidence. The reason why I bought this book was because Amy Cuddy's TED talk about "power posing" helped me through a difficult challenge. I felt like an impostor in my probability theory class. It was my first mathematical theory class, and, frankly, I had felt misplaced for much of the semester. I was one of the youngest people in the class and generally felt inadequate about my math preparation (even though I shouldn't have!). After watching her TED talk and committing myself to changing my posture and presence, I started feeling and thinking like I wasn't an impostor anymore. By the end of the semester, I actually started enjoying coming to class. The tangible results also showed as well. During the last week, we had to give a presentation about a special topic and I ended up getting an A on the final presentation!
Church Times/Sarum College:
Amy Cuddy has galvanized tens of millions of viewers around the world with her TED talk about "power poses." Now she presents the enthralling science underlying these and many other fascinating body-mind effects, and teaches us how to use simple techniques to liberate ourselves from fear in high-pressure moments, perform at our best, and connect with and empower others to do the same. Don't overcompensate with dominant body language in social situations. While you don't want to display submissive body language because it will make you feel powerless and cause the issues that are associated with that, you also don't want to be aggressively dominant to the level that people don't feel comfortable around you. Amy Cuddy is a leader among 'next generation' authors and academics who are pioneering evidence based approaches. She has crystallised the concept of presence in crisp and engaging language. Hitherto 'presence' had been viewed as somewhat of a mystery - My father who is a law buff introduced me to a book by Jerry Spence a Wyoming trial lawyer entitled 'How to argue and win every time' - eluded therein is the phenomenon of presence - "walking into a court room as if you owned the space.." He knew something intuitively, but Amy Cuddy has brought it alive and attainable. She has given the phenomenon a concise frame and a proven process which is accessible to all! His novel Beastings (2014) won the Portico Prize For Literature, was the recipient of the Northern Writers’ Award and longlisted for a Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Award 2015. Widely acclaimed, it featured on several end of year lists, and was chosen by Robert Macfarlane in The Big Issue as one of his books of 2014. Chosen as a book to watch out for in 2023 by The Times, Observer, Guardian, Irish TImes and Scotsman**
Myers takes a different narrative approach in each of the five sections (four major parts and one short interlude) and in fact each part is a separate story that could almost be read independently. The thread is St Cuthbert (affectionately known as Cuddy) who was declared a saint in the North of England in the late 600’s. His coffin was taken from Lindisfarne by a group of monks after the Danes invaded. These monks then travelled around the country for years before they settled in what is now known as Durham and the majestic Durham Cathedral was built to inter his coffin. When you're experiencing imposter syndrome, it causes behaviors that "reinforce the notion that we are not as good, as smart, as talented, or as able as the world thinks we are. They cause us to criticize ourselves relentlessly, spin our wheels, choke at the worst possible moments, disengage—thereby virtually ensuring that we will underperform at the very things we do best and love most. At its most extreme, impostorism can become a self-paved path to failure." (120) I loved how Cuddy was an element of all of the parts which are spread over history from the 900’s through to 2019, but the way he was referenced was unique each time. There are also recurring motifs such as girls with names that start with E, owls and stonemasons which kept things interesting. Average head weighs 5.4kg, head tilted forward to use phone (60°) has effective weight of 27.2kg. Plus it contorts us into a powerless hunched pose.
You'd be right in being confused. I am still confused and I've finished it! But I can recognise that this is a step up from what Myers has written before, and that it will bring him to the attention of people who perhaps haven't read his work before. Myers even has fun with exactly what kind of novel he wants this to be: in one section it’s a grim, grimy historical novel following a woman’s connections to St Cuddy amidst her abusive marriage, while in another it’s a literary exploration of gender and faith as it follows the sole woman in the original pilgrimage with Cuddy’s relics as she attempts to survive both the other party members and the perilous journey to Cuddy’s resting spot. Best of all might be the Victorian-set section of the book, which follows a naïve, blindered, quietly arrogant academic who stumbles into darkness, evoking the kind of bone-chilling terror of one of MR James’ more terrifying tales. Presence stems from believing in and trusting yourself—your real, honest feelings, values, and abilities. That’s important, because if you don’t trust yourself, how can others trust you?" (P7)