The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson

The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson is a compelling tale of abuse and power. It is also a story of one woman’s conscious and the struggle of what is right and wrong and the lengths we will go through for justice.

Summary –

“…I do not speak with the tongues of angels, nor have my prayers ever moved mountains. Mysteries have revealed themselves to me, not in mirrors or riddles, but face to face, and neither God nor man will forgive me my sins.,,”

A young nun is sent to a Catholic School in Iceland by the Vatican to investigate accusations of abuse and misconduct. Her own past has not made her a favorite with the Church but Sister Johanna Marie would encounter in Iceland, an abomination that the Church would not acknowledge.

“…I was impatient and rose from my chair. The woman hesitated, and I had the impression that she was going to say something else. But she waited until we were in the hallway when I was about to leave.
One evening when he was in bed…
I turned around.
….he said to me: Mummy, they touched me, they touched me, Mummy.
She was in tears when I left…”

Sister Johanna Marie is certain that something is going on at the School, but when both the child and the parents refuse to talk any further, there seems nothing left to do but allow those she knows are guilty, to go free. But before she can leave, the headmaster, Father August Franz falls to his death before the very student who accused him of abuse.

Over twenty years have passed since that day, Sister Johanna Marie has resigned herself to serving the Church and tending her roses when she is once again summoned. The young boy who wrote the complaint has once again come forward. He states that he did not tell all of what had transpired the day of Father August Franz’s death and is ready now to speak. But he will only speak with Sister Johanna Marie.

Now Sister Johanna Marie must return to Iceland, to the events in the School as well as her past as a young girl in Paris. But mostly to the death of Father August Franz and the secrets she has kept all these years.

Review –

It is difficult to review this novel without giving away too many spoilers but I will do my best because seriously, this is an intricately crafted novel that deserves to be read and enjoyed.

Sister Johanna Marie is a meticulously developed character and the novel is as much about her own life within the Church and the sacrifices she has made to be a part of it. Some of these sacrifices have been forced upon her, as most tyranny is, for her own good and the good of her soul. Sister Johanna Marie lives a life a quiet regret. But that is what drives this tale. Her regret and the outright unfairness of it all. When greater sins and greater abominations are not only allowed by the Church, but hidden away, yet her own are held over her. The perpetrators of these greater sins going forth unpunished. By man or, in Sister Johanna Marie’s eyes, by God.

The Sacrament is at it’s roots, a crisis of faith and the lengths Sister Johanna Marie will go to reconcile with God and herself.

It is also an indictment on the Church itself. The politics of religion and the unjust actions it has taken. Beyond all of this, it is about the victims and the families who must choose between the truth and their place in the community. Especially a community that centers around religion. The choices that the families make that are too often wrong.

The Sacrament is a slow moving novel as most novels about introspection are. But Sister Johanna Marie is a powerful narrator and as we distinguish between the woman she was and the woman she has become, we understand that the events of twenty years past, in a School in Iceland have changed her.

A terrific read.

A House of Ghosts by W. C. Ryan

A House of Ghosts by W. C. Ryan is a novel that navigates the separate genres horror, gothic haunted house, mystery, spy thriller and historical romance while creating a tale of its own.

Summary –

“…He picked up the luggage and stood there for a moment. If C had told her nothing, then there might have been a reason for that. On the other hand…

‘I can see you thinking, Mr. Donovan.’

He placed the suitcases back down.

‘Did he show you some plans? They were on his desk.’

‘For the aerial torpedo? Yes.’

‘You have some knowledge of such matters.’

‘I worked in procurement for the War Office for nine months. I wouldn’t say my knowledge is extensive.’

‘Better than mine, I expect. I may need it. The other matter is your with…’ He paused, not quite certain how to continue. ‘That is, I understand you’re able to see things other people can’t.’

Her face had turned quite pale and he had a moment’s regret.

‘The ghost thing?’ he continued…”

 

It is the winter of 1917 and across Europe the First World War is at it’s most brutal apex. In England, families are seeking answers to the fates of their loved ones. Men dead or missing in battle.

Lord Highmount has arranged a gathering at his estate at Blackwater Abbey, secluded on an island off the Devon Coast. Family and friends will conduct a seance in hopes of contacting their lost loved ones. But there is far more than speaking with the dead happening on the island. For there are secrets and spies and murder to be had. As the storm rages outside, the inhabitants of Blackwater Abbey are cut off from the rest of the world and then the dead begin to gather and the living are being picked off, one by one.

Review –

A House of Ghosts is a tale that suffers from the lethargy of trying to blend far too many genres into one tale. Horror, spy, historical fiction, romance, Gothic and so on and so on. It touches on all of them briefly but just does not do any of them very well.

The setting is cut out of an Agatha Christie novel with a touch of Vincent Price suspense tossed in. The characters are pretty mundane. The aristocratic English, the outsider Irishman, the have and have nots. The entitled rogue fiance and the foreigners who are the spiritualists. These characters are pretty much the same characters we have seen for some time.

If the novel had been written as a ghost story and left out all the spy thriller stuff, it probably would have been good. If it had been written as a WW1, James Bond kind of tale it probably would have been pretty good. But the blending of the two actually muted the strengths of both genres and they seem to co-exist in this novel in a state of quiet desperation.

What I found most disturbing about this tale were the ghosts. They seemed to be relegated to bystanders. Spirits that exist but only seem interested in watching what was happening around them. They could have been cats or dogs for all the input into the story they had. Which seems strange considering the title of the novel.

Overall A House of Ghosts was not bad but not particularly good. If this is a beginning of a series I may give the second tale a chance in hopes that it takes serious leaps forward in story and characters.