SONOROUS DESERT: WHAT DEEP LISTENING TAUGHT EARLY CHRISTIAN MONKS—AND WHAT IT CAN TEACH US. By KimHaines‐Eitzen. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2022. Pp. xxii+145. Hardback, $27.95.

In this stimulating volume, Haines-Eitzen, Professor of Ancient Mediterranean Religions at Cornell University, reflects on the relationship between early Christian monasticism, deep listening, and the human quest for solitude. Since most people in the ancient world could not read or write, they listened to the Bible. Haines-Eitzen argues that sound inspired ancient imagination intensely, and with access to the specific sounds of the desert (animals, human voices, water, wind) in which Christian monasticism emerged, we might deepen our understanding of early Christianity—and also gain valuable insights to reflect on our own listening skills (or lack thereof). Weaving monastic texts (e.g., Athanasius: Life of Anthony; Jerome: Life of Paul; Sayings of the Desert Fathers) with her own field recordings from Israel (Negev; the Judean Desert) and the USA (deserts in Arizona; California; New Mexico; Texas)—which are presented at the end of each chapter in digital codas—Haines-Eitzen unveils the challenges of monastic life and its “paradoxical pulls of solitude and community.” The soundscapes are evocative: desert life can be really loud! Some of the hagiographies in this volume display young Christians in almost desperate attempts to find silence. Alas, even in the remotest part of a desert, daily life might include a “perpetual roar” of a canyon. The nexus of silence and solitude is complex and compelling—and essential in human search of spiritual repose, both past and present. With her engaging style and innovative approach to historical research, Haines-Eitzen has written a book that is not limited to scholars alone but easily accessible by the general public.