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The Sacrament
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The haunting, vivid story of a nun whose past returns to her in unexpected ways, all while investigating a mysterious death and a series of harrowing abuse claims
A young nun is sent by the Vatican to investigate allegations of misconduct at a Catholic school in Iceland. During her time there, on a gray winter’s day, a young student at the school watches the school’s ...more
A young nun is sent by the Vatican to investigate allegations of misconduct at a Catholic school in Iceland. During her time there, on a gray winter’s day, a young student at the school watches the school’s ...more
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A sophisticated novel told from the perspective of an elderly nun trying her best to enjoy her golden years tending to her roses and beloved dog. Her past comes back with a vengeance when she is required to return to Iceland to investigate events from her youth that have resurfaced but have never been forgotten. The unreliability of memory, youthful incompetence, first love, the abuse of power, and the marks on the heart that “sins” and sin leave are deftly and deeply explored. This is my first
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I love mysteries that deal with different places. Here, we are transported to Iceland. A French Catholic sister is sent to Iceland to investigate a charge of abuse against two school boys. Why does the Catholic Church send a nun, you ask. Supposedly because she speaks Icelandic. But even she susses out the truth - they don’t want her to discover the truth and are expecting her to fail.
We hear from Sister Johanna Marie both at the time of her investigation and some 20 years later, when she is ...more
We hear from Sister Johanna Marie both at the time of her investigation and some 20 years later, when she is ...more
This story takes place in both Paris and Iceland in dueling time frames. The main character Sister Johanna grew up as Pauline before she became a nun. As a teenager, she found that unlike her friends, she never was interested in the opposite sex. Then when she boarded at college in Paris, she became intensely attracted to her Icelandic roommate, Halla. As time went by, they worked on learning each other's language, but Pauline was a bit more serious about learning Icelandic. Matters took a
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3.5 Dark and bleak, is this story of a young woman who struggles with a sexual orientation condemned by the Catholic Church. Going back and forth in time and alternating between Paris and Iceland, the story takes the reader inside the abuse accusations in the church. A nun herself now, she is tasked with the responsibility of investigating the abuse accusations arising out of a boys Catholic school in Iceland and their priest. Silence, a most potent motif is a result of sins kept hidden, of boys
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I received a free e-copy of The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson from NetGalley for my honest review.
Sister Johann is asked to travel to Iceland and investigate an alleged sexual crime between a priest and some young boys.
After a very thorough investigation, Sister knows he is guilty. The problem is that none of the children or their parents are willing to have it documented. The priest knows this, of course, and provokes her.
An well written and intriguing read.
Sister Johann is asked to travel to Iceland and investigate an alleged sexual crime between a priest and some young boys.
After a very thorough investigation, Sister knows he is guilty. The problem is that none of the children or their parents are willing to have it documented. The priest knows this, of course, and provokes her.
An well written and intriguing read.
Oct 27, 2019
Caidyn (SEMI-HIATUS; BW Reviews; he/him/his)
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
DNF at 35%
Well, here we are. I thought this would have a lot of promise -- an Icelandic Catholic nun investigating abuse charges in the Church in Iceland??? Sounds like an awesome book. But, it didn't work for me at all.
My biggest complaint was how distant I felt from the story. It doesn't use quotation marks, so it was hard to read for me. That meant I was more focused on trying to see where the sentences started and stopped, and ...more
DNF at 35%
Well, here we are. I thought this would have a lot of promise -- an Icelandic Catholic nun investigating abuse charges in the Church in Iceland??? Sounds like an awesome book. But, it didn't work for me at all.
My biggest complaint was how distant I felt from the story. It doesn't use quotation marks, so it was hard to read for me. That meant I was more focused on trying to see where the sentences started and stopped, and ...more
A gripping, emotive literary accomplishment. Most highly recommended. Complete review to be posted closer to the publication date of 12/3/2019.
I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
First things first: I ABSOLUTELY did the silly thing where I saw the cover of this book and assumed it to be horror or even suspense. However! After realizing my mistake, I quickly started enjoying this book for the lovely piece of literature that it is!
This story is told through the eyes of Sister Johanna Marie, an elderly nun who is called back to Iceland after years to further discuss a case that she looked into ...more
First things first: I ABSOLUTELY did the silly thing where I saw the cover of this book and assumed it to be horror or even suspense. However! After realizing my mistake, I quickly started enjoying this book for the lovely piece of literature that it is!
This story is told through the eyes of Sister Johanna Marie, an elderly nun who is called back to Iceland after years to further discuss a case that she looked into ...more
I loved the setting of this book and the main character. It was a good solid Nordic mystery . I will read more by this author.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book
Intense Nordic drama!
A boy locked in a school's broom closet views something strange out of the window.
A Catholic nun whose locked away her own secrets, including the reasons for her not quite belonging despite her best efforts. Her sense of humor, her attachment to her dog George Harrison and her rose garden don't quite still her heart. The persuasive church hierarchy who don't want to know. Cardinal Raffin, a sly holder of Sister Joanna Marie's life from before. He thinks that sending a nun ...more
A boy locked in a school's broom closet views something strange out of the window.
A Catholic nun whose locked away her own secrets, including the reasons for her not quite belonging despite her best efforts. Her sense of humor, her attachment to her dog George Harrison and her rose garden don't quite still her heart. The persuasive church hierarchy who don't want to know. Cardinal Raffin, a sly holder of Sister Joanna Marie's life from before. He thinks that sending a nun ...more
Sister Johanna Marie is one of the most reluctant investigators I’ve ever read about. She’s only looking into accusations of abuse at a Reykjavík Catholic school for two reasons. First, she’s one of the few people in the bishop and the cardinal in charge know who speaks Icelandic. Second, the cardinal who put her on the case thinks he has dirt on Johanna and can push her to make the “right” report when she’s done. But surprising things happen in The Sacrament, by Olaf Olafsson. Maybe this time,
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I received a copy of this book from the goodreads giveaways. I would give it a 3.5. This book "The Sacrament goes back and forth between different time eras. In the 80s when she has to go to Iceland to investigate why a priest died falling from a tower. It is rumored he molested some young boys Johanna cannot get the parents of the boys to interview and say what happened. 20 years later in present day. she is brought back to Iceland to talk to one of the boys who is 20 years older now. the books
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***I received a free advanced copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
Alternating primarily between present day and the 1980s, The Sacrament follows Sister Johanna Marie as she recalls her time investigating allegations against the Church at an Icelandic primary school in the 1980s. When the school's Headmaster, Father August Frans, falls to his death from the church bell tower during the investigation, his death is ruled a suicide. But decades later, new information from an ...more
Alternating primarily between present day and the 1980s, The Sacrament follows Sister Johanna Marie as she recalls her time investigating allegations against the Church at an Icelandic primary school in the 1980s. When the school's Headmaster, Father August Frans, falls to his death from the church bell tower during the investigation, his death is ruled a suicide. But decades later, new information from an ...more
Sister Johann has been called to Iceland to investigate a crime. It is a crime of alleged sexual misconduct between a priest and some of the young boys.
She is chosen because when she was young she had a friend that was from Iceland and taught her the language.
After a thorough investigation Sister Johann knows he is guilty. However, none of the children or their parents will go with her to have it documented officially.
What's more the old priest knows her dilemma and taunts her.
This is a story ...more
She is chosen because when she was young she had a friend that was from Iceland and taught her the language.
After a thorough investigation Sister Johann knows he is guilty. However, none of the children or their parents will go with her to have it documented officially.
What's more the old priest knows her dilemma and taunts her.
This is a story ...more
This book was captivating. As a Catholic, I’ve always questioned certain things and this book simply fueled that fire. I simply adored it.
The Sacrament is the story of Sister Johanna Marie, a nun who is sent to Iceland to investigate a possible sexual abuse charge against the Church. As she travels there, she recalls her time at school as well as her early years in the Church.
This book is a difficult one to review. On one hand, there was a lot that I appreciated. The prose is lovely and thoughtful, the plot is intriguing, and I'm always a sucker for a good story set in Iceland. However, there was also a lot that I struggled with ...more
This book is a difficult one to review. On one hand, there was a lot that I appreciated. The prose is lovely and thoughtful, the plot is intriguing, and I'm always a sucker for a good story set in Iceland. However, there was also a lot that I struggled with ...more
In his new novel The Sacrament, Olaf Olafsson grabs his readers’ attention by briefly telling how a young boy comes to be locked in an Icelandic Catholic school broom closet. Standing on an overturned bucket to peer out the window, he imagines he is seeing Batman take flight from the church tower to save him. Instead, the black-clad figure plummets to the ground.
Set in France and Iceland, The Sacrament shifts between three time periods all focusing on the central character whose birth name was ...more
Set in France and Iceland, The Sacrament shifts between three time periods all focusing on the central character whose birth name was ...more
Though admittedly, The Sacrament at times can be a bit of a confusing read, it is well worth your time and effort!!
The book is mostly told through the POV of Sister Johanna Marie and at times through a narrator. There are three distinct time periods covered: First, when young teenager Pauline Reyer comes to realize that she is different from most people she knows and tells her parents she has decided she wants to study theology. The reader "goes" with her to university and is privy to some of ...more
The book is mostly told through the POV of Sister Johanna Marie and at times through a narrator. There are three distinct time periods covered: First, when young teenager Pauline Reyer comes to realize that she is different from most people she knows and tells her parents she has decided she wants to study theology. The reader "goes" with her to university and is privy to some of ...more
Via https://cavebookreviews.blogspot.com/
Pauline's interior life plays out over many years in this new novel by Olaf Olafsson. While studying at the Sorbonne and living in a Catholic hostel, Pauline's path crosses with a priest who finds ways to intimidate and humiliate the young student. She follows his command and moves to another hostel, losing a meaningful friendship with an Icelandic student. These events changed Pauline's life.
Years later, when the student, who is now a nun living in ...more
Pauline's interior life plays out over many years in this new novel by Olaf Olafsson. While studying at the Sorbonne and living in a Catholic hostel, Pauline's path crosses with a priest who finds ways to intimidate and humiliate the young student. She follows his command and moves to another hostel, losing a meaningful friendship with an Icelandic student. These events changed Pauline's life.
Years later, when the student, who is now a nun living in ...more
I have been thinking of The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson since i finished it two days ago and I fear that I may not be able to do it justice with my review. This was a wonderful book. I was at first slightly confused as the story is told in flashback form but this was the perfect format for this very moving story.
Sister Johanna must travel into her past to bring peace to her present. She starts a journey to Iceland to meet someone from her past. She is not sure why this person will speak only to ...more
Sister Johanna must travel into her past to bring peace to her present. She starts a journey to Iceland to meet someone from her past. She is not sure why this person will speak only to ...more
May 05, 2019
Jennifer Shanahan
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
arc-giveaways
WOW. Once I started this book I could NOT put it down. Although it was was incredibly in tense and detailed, it was was well worth reading. It is narrated in the first person by Pauline, first as a young girl growing up and then Pauline turned Sister Johanna, a nun in the Catholic church. The chapters skip back in for the between the current day, the past when Pauline was in college and the recent past where Sister Johanna was investigating a sex abuse charge against a priest at a Catholic
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This was a most interesting read, but sometimes I felt so lost and confused due to the storyline. I would get lost between Sister Johanna remembering her younger years as she was thinking of becoming a nun, in the 1980’s and then we would jump to the 2000’s and her trip to Iceland. I was completely confused on the broom closet, who was in it, and when did it happen. In the end though, it was all tidied up with a bow.
The story is told in first person by Sister Johanna, on one page, we would ...more
The story is told in first person by Sister Johanna, on one page, we would ...more
The Sacrament is a meditation on abuse of power, faith, regret, and memory. While the story is at times intriguing, the book is marred by troublesome and confusing time shifts.
The main character (a nun) is called back to the scene of an investigation of abuse she conducted in Iceland from twenty years prior that ended in a suicide, which churns up memories from both that time period and her past life during her schooling. Her memories of her school days and her relationship with her Icelandic ...more
The main character (a nun) is called back to the scene of an investigation of abuse she conducted in Iceland from twenty years prior that ended in a suicide, which churns up memories from both that time period and her past life during her schooling. Her memories of her school days and her relationship with her Icelandic ...more
May 16, 2019
Ericka Seidemann
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
netgalley
A quiet, intriguing story set in Reykjavik, The Sacrament is more about the catharsis of its protagonist than the investigation of sexual abuse allegations.
The story follows Sister Johanna as she returns to Iceland to probe allegations reported in an anonymous letter of sexual abuse at the Catholic school. Sister Johanna is chosen to go to Reykjavik because she speaks Icelandic. We follow her from her time when she was just Pauline, a young college student in Paris, to her mysterious, ...more
The story follows Sister Johanna as she returns to Iceland to probe allegations reported in an anonymous letter of sexual abuse at the Catholic school. Sister Johanna is chosen to go to Reykjavik because she speaks Icelandic. We follow her from her time when she was just Pauline, a young college student in Paris, to her mysterious, ...more
I often think of a mystery as a form of verbal patchwork quilt, with scraps of clues and characters and plot forming the patterns -- which can vary from the randomness of a silk-and-velvet crazy quilt to the structure of the calico wedding-ring template.
One of the delightful surprises of quilting is the beauty that can result in from re-combining the simplest of materials. It was just so in the case of Cold Fear by Olaf Olafsson. A nun's memories from two earlier periods of her life, pieced ...more
One of the delightful surprises of quilting is the beauty that can result in from re-combining the simplest of materials. It was just so in the case of Cold Fear by Olaf Olafsson. A nun's memories from two earlier periods of her life, pieced ...more
I consider Olaf Olafsson an excellent writer and have loved all of his previous books, yet this novel--the story of a nun who is sent from France to Iceland to check out an accusation of abuse by the headmaster of the church school was hard for me. It is told in the first person by the nun, Sister Johanna, in 3 time frames: as a girl before she takes her vows, when she is a young nun, and when she is elderly. I could not relate to this woman who believes in a real forgiving and loving God while
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Sister Joanna has been called up from her quiet retirement at a convent in France and sent back to Iceland where she conducted an investigation at the request of the Vatican 30 years before. This is a subtle novel that winds around the central mystery of her earlier investigation. Yes, you know a priest jumped from the bell tower of a church and yes you know a child saw it from the closet he had been locked in but how does it all relate. This spreads over three time frames- Sister Joanna's early
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A young nun is sent to Iceland to investigate the dark, malignant underbelly of the Catholic Church when an anonymous letter arrives with abuse accusations level at the priest in charge of the local school. So begins this wonderfully written, and haunting story which dwells inside this horrible secret that the church has tried to ignore for years.
Sister Johanna, now older but still conflicted with her own feelings, is sent back to Iceland to relive her first time there when, in the midst of ...more
Sister Johanna, now older but still conflicted with her own feelings, is sent back to Iceland to relive her first time there when, in the midst of ...more
Does everyone else find reading books by authors from other countries interesting? Interesting as in different, refreshing or thought provoking? This book was one of those for me. How these characters processed thoughts and their emotions seemed so different from how American characters may have acted/reacted, not especially what said but more what was held back. As for the plot, it is nice to be reminded that people with good intentions, fighting against wrongdoing, still occasionally question
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The main character was interesting and the settings came alive, but the mystery and the revelations were a little quiet. I was somewhat surprised by the twist at the end, but it felt a little anticlimactic. I wanted to know more about Pauline/Johanna's friendship with Halla, and the resolution there was disappointing. I didn't understand why Raffin targeted Pauline, why he was so attuned to her feelings, why he followed her for so many years, why she played into it, and that really wasn't
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodreads Librari...: please combine these editions | 3 | 13 | Jun 03, 2019 02:47PM | |
| English Translati...: Olaf Olafsson - The Sacrament | 1 | 8 | Apr 17, 2019 03:15PM |
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Olaf Olafsson was born in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1962. He studied physics as a Wien Scholar at Brandeis University. He is the author of three previous novels, The Journey Home, Absolution and Walking Into the Night, and a story collection, Valentines. His books have been published to critical acclaim in more than twenty languages. He is the recipient of the O. Henry Award and the Icelandic Literary
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