The Sacrament

Memory. What triggers our recollection of memories? In Olaf Olafsson’s novel titled, The Sacrament, the trigger for protagonist Sister Johanna, a French nun, is her return to Iceland. Two decades after her first investigation into allegations of clerical sexual abuse, a Vatican official from her past asks her to go to Iceland to investigate another allegation. With finely written prose, and insight into human nature, Olafsson draws readers into an examination of memory and secrets. The author sneaks us around the edges of Sister Johanna’s recollections as we learn all that he wants us to observe. Johanna shows readers how nuns inside the institutional Catholic church can be powerless in some respects and vital in others. While there is an examination of suffering in this novel, there’s also deep insight into the nature of love. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Sacrament from amazon.com.