I know from the start that not everyone has the courage to pick up a 700-page book, especially one with such an unpromising title. Bernadette—everyone thinks they know her story already. What's the point of such a massive tome?
And yet, having read it myself and savored every page without a moment of boredom, I urge you to set aside your doubts. I'm confident that at least some of you will dare to listen to this song, if only out of curiosity.
How could a Jewish writer, unconverted, have produced such a precise, delicate, and captivating portrait of the Bernadette Soubirous we thought we already knew?
In 1941, Werfel fled with his family to escape Hitler's persecution. He tells us:
"Those were years of anguish, but also deeply significant ones for me. I was given the grace to know the wondrous story of young Bernadette Soubirous and the miraculous healings of Lourdes. One day, troubled as I was, I made a vow. If I escaped that desperate situation and reached the American shore, my first work would be to sing the song of Bernadette as best I could. I dared to sing the song of Bernadette—I, who am not Catholic, but Jewish."
I wish for you to overcome your laziness and prejudice, and to become listeners to this beautiful song.
M.B., 2010