Tadeusz Chabrowski's Shreds of a Monk's Robe is a nostalgic, epistolary novel through the eyes of Martin, who writes about living at the novitiate of the Pauline Order in Lesniow, Poland as a young man. As Martin studies and meditates, he writes to his family and loved ones weighing complex philosophical and theological issues. In one respect a coming of age story, taking place within the austere confines of a monastery with strict rules, the young monk deals with issues of adolescence, questions of piety and faith, and intense emotions within a critical time of his life.