The Cloud of Unknowing: With the Book of Privy Counsel Paperback – April 14, 2009

This translation is a work of art. The book itself is for the reader with a modicum of spiritual maturity-- much of the advice will fall flat on ears not prepared to hear it.I am absolutely putting the rest of Butcher's translations on my To-Buy list, though. She renders Middle-English with a colloquial immediacy that captures the intimacy between author and reader. It reminds me of my favorite translations of Chaucer. :-)

This is an incredibly readable and "accessible" work, even though it is scholarly.No one should be afraid to read it. It is clearly written. It does not impeded the Spiritual intent of the author in any way. It augments the reader's experience by the addition of appropriate (optional to read) footnotes as regards the Biblical basis of many statements in the text, the Old English literary technique and "flavors" a strictly modern translation looses, the historical and contemporary references of the author's time and apparent exposure.This volume in connection withFr. Menninger's DVD "Cloud of Unknowing,"(and Evelyn Underhill's translation for Old English comparison), andFr. Timothy Dolan's "To Whom Shall We Go" http://www.amazon.com/To-Whom-Shall-We-Go/dp/1592760503make an excellent and safe gateway into why one can and should engage a Lay Contemplative journey as part of a balanced Christian existence.Used in combination, one will not only have sources of instruction, but inspiration and guidance...and guidance is necessary because all powerful spiritual journeys are opposed by ignorance, self-delusion, accidental pratfall, spiritual warfare. Adding a connection to a community of Lay People who engage in Contemplative growth strategies is probably the safest method of all.This volume would also be quite useful for those who are in pursuit of more secular-type meditation, but are frustrated with Eastern practices.I think this would be especially so for people who had become distanced from their Judeo-Christian roots while in pursuit of an inner harmony or a state of self-acceptance and a foundation of balance which they sensed ought to be part of their Christian Life--but couldn't find. If I am not mistaken, this volume--written in the local vulgate and not Latin, was "leaked" to the lay community to answer just such a need, and the need remains very real today.Peace.

I must admit I did not read the "most helpful" review that stated this translation was good but too informal. I believe this is the best translation for a non-academic. This is the third translation I've read, and the most readable and enjoyable. At least for me, when it comes to spending my time with spiritual exercises/reading, I take more from something that is easy on the eyes, the mind and heart. It is also not a children's book. Simply - it reads like poetry, and the initial author of these words on a page, was also a poet in style. HE was also humorous and kind to the student he was teaching. In this translation, the same message comes across. I think the original one states there is no need to make this high and mighty...just be simple and steadfast. Butcher stays true to the deep message. I have gifted this translation to several friends, and look forward to sharing it with more.

Professor Butcher offers a very readable contemporary English translation of The Cloud of Unknowing, with a helpful introduction providing wise insights into the times of the writer. For another recent edition of The Cloud of Unknowing, also in readable English, but offered in 366 daily readings through a full year, see CLOUD DEVOTION: THROUGH THE YEAR WITH THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING by David Robinson (Paraclete Press, 2020). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1640604332?pf_rd_r=HZ3E5KNX7TB4GGAQBGPG&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee

If you are a prayerful person, this book will open your eyes to a deeper form of prayer...If you live in solitude it's a game changer...I've read the Old English translation and felt I missed a lot, this translation is very easy to understand and work with...

I tried to read Underhill's translation, and got so bogged down in deciphering it that the message itself was lost to me. This translation is wonderful, easy enough to grasp the meaning of what anonymous was trying to tell us, and retains his (her?) warmth, humor, and friendly, chatty style. I highly recommend this to anyone who, like me, wants to learn a Christian method of meditation. I only wish I'd found this years ago.

Here is by far the best translation of this Christian classic I have ever read. The language is engaging and lively without diminishing the subject's gravity. This is a friend writing to a friend, urging him forward in his prayer, yet admitting that the journey is difficult.

Some good sentences.Emphasis on vertical spiritual axis and the human searching for God. Caveat: only one reading.

Having studied other versions of The Cloud of Unknowing (by Underhill and Gallagher, both excellent in their particular ways), I was looking for a rendition in contemporary English which would still give an accurate reflection of the original. My way of discerning whether this would be the case was to read a few chapters and compare them with the above.Unfortunately, I found that there were some serious inaccuracies, and a good deal of what should be described as either interpretation or interpolation, presumably to make the work compatible with current morés. Chapter 22 contains a particular howler, but there are plenty more. Elsewhere, the third person is occasionally rewritten into the second, thereby changing the emphasis from the descriptive to the imperative.The only positive which I can offer is that it's very readable, and so provides an easier introduction to the work than other, more scholarly versions. But ultimately I found it excessively idiomatic, and a distraction from my studies.For anyone looking to find an appropriate edition, a really useful guide to both the original book and subsequent translations is in the 'Voice in the Wilderness' blog by Maggie Ross

For a book group- just what I need

Excellent easy to read and understand translation.

De fácil leitura,descomplicado e as vezes até ingênuo.Mas não se iludam.Muito sabedoria agregada.

Für mich der eindrucksvollste und wichtigste Text zum Thema christliche Meditation, Grundlage des "Centering Prayer". Bereits die Lektüre in der herausragenden Neuübersetzung gibt einen Vorgeschmack dessen, was es heißt, den Weg der Stille zu gehen.