I was moved by this text, but it still left me wanting. I am fascinated by the power the Catholic church has--and how it continues to rule even though there have been incident after incident making us question their role as the quintessential guiding force of Christianity.

I published a full review of this novel in The New York Journal of Book at publication time. I'm noting it here to clear it from NetGalley. I do appreciate having received an ARC to use for review purposes, and, as noted in the review, admired the book greatly.

An excellent book that kept you guessing all the time. A fascinating read. That had a strong plot and good character development.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Now here is a book I loved, a book that drew me in from the very first page and held my attention and affection completely for the duration. Completely demolishing the myth of soulless business executives, Olaf Olafson (who served or still does as an Executive VP of Time Warner) has created a book with so much soul, it practically spills out of its pages. Maybe it’s the Iceland shining through, the is indeed something distinctly Nordic about this book, despite the author’s obvious Americanization, the narrative has a crisp quality and stark beauty, a singular economy and precision of language very specific to Scandinavian fiction. It’s a fjord of a story. Although not entirely set in Iceland, the narrative splits between the continent, where the protagonist is from and the small distant island that is inextricably linked to the most significant events of her life. It’s been a small and quiet life for her, decades and decades dedicated to church, what started as an interest in theology to improve understanding of her thoughts and desires and led to being a nun. The first life defining event occurred while still in school where she met an Icelandic girl that has haunted her thoughts ever since. Then, decades later, being sent to investigate claims of abuse at a Catholic school in Iceland constitutes the second major event. And now for the third and final act, a couple more decades later, she returns to Iceland at a request of the child who witnessed a death all those years ago. It is through these interconnected events that Sister Johanna will come to know and define her faith, her love, her own self. Such a terrific story, a quiet story of a personal journey albeit with one major startlingly loud note in between, something of a plot twist presumably allowing for referring to this as a literary thriller. That isn’t what it was for me. For me, it was a terrific mediation on the nature of love and faith, featuring a fascinating complex character. I’m not at all an emotional person, but this novel got to me, engaged me on a level few stories do. There was a certain transportive quality to it. The sort of thing you look for always and seldom find with books. Profoundly affective tale of love, redemption, faith, justice and finding meaning in life. Yes, that’s pretty generic, kind of reductive, the book is so much more and deserves so much more, but that’s all the words I’m finding right now, because sometimes a good book can stun you into ineloquence and you just want to go…this is terrific, I love it, over and over again. Suffice it to say this was one of the finest works of literature I’ve read in a long time. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

This is not the book that I was expecting when I first starting reading it. There were parts that confused me since it kept switching back and forth in time. I really enjoyed the writing of this book but also felt as if it was extremely slow. I just think there could have been more to the story.

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.

This is a book that swings back and forth between the main characters younger years and golden years as well as between Paris and Iceland. This is a very dark story. This nun is tasked with investigating allegations of abuse. It was a great plot and story but I personally never felt connected to it. This was the problem for me and made the read seem to drag. If you are into dark mysteries however then this is a great choice for you.

So I gave this book a second chance and I still couldn't get into it. Some books are just not for everyone and this one is not for me.

I couldn't get into this dark and dreary book. I have a lot of friends that enjoyed it enough that I may return to it in the future and give it another try!

From Goodreads review: There are questions below about this book, and one is: A lesbian nun investigates Catholic Church child abuse, written in the first person by a male author, set in Iceland and France, does it work?

My answer is: sort of. The part that worked for me was the storyline about Sister Johanna's past and her present day life. Her struggle with her sexuality when she was younger and her decision to become a nun were very good and hearing about her great love for her roommate in Paris were the best parts of this book. There is a second question or actually I think 2 questions below concerning the timeline in the book and the storyline about the investigation of the priest in Iceland. This is where it was very convoluted for me. Never are there the times stated so I found it quite difficult to place the time when Johanna was first in Iceland or was it 20 years later? This is not fleshed out well At All in my opinion.

This is a novel of longing and memory, beautifully written. Sister Joanna’s story is told from various time frames, as a young student in France, a nun asked to investigate possible abuse at a church school in Iceland, a return trip at the request of a former student, and as an aging sister living a comfortable, simple life back in France.

While I tend to avoid overtly religious novels, I specifically chose this one because I do enjoy the torture that is Scandanavian novels and I was curious about what the mystery of the nun’s past could be. I was not disappointed, and the story only confirmed my antipathy towards the Catholic Church. As dark as this one is, I would highly recommend it to others and can see it spurring some fascinating discussions.

Very well written / translated, this Icelandic mystery is slow moving and leaves you not knowing much until the end. You're left wondering when these stories are taking place, how everything fits together, and even what the mystery is. It's fantastic though, and I definitely recommend it. The landscape almost serves as its own character, its so beautifully written.

I finished Olaf Olafsson’s atmospheric new novel “The Sacrament” well over a week ago and can’t stop thinking about it. In beautiful but spare prose, Olafsson tells the story of French nun Sister Johanna, whose investigation of a claim of sexual abuse at a Catholic school in Iceland ends when the accused perpetrator, Father August Frans, falls to his death from the church’s bell tower—a fall witnessed by one of the school’s young pupils. Decades later, Sister Johanna is living in semi-retirement in a convent in the Loire Valley when she is summoned back to Iceland: the child has now grown up and wants to unburden himself of his memories, plunging Sister Johanna into her own difficult memories of her earlier investigation—and of Halla, the Icelandic woman whom she has never forgotten. Moving back and forth between Paris, the Loire Valley and Iceland and toggling between three timelines, “The Sacrament” is a haunting meditation on sin, forgiveness and, ultimately, grace.

I loved everything about this book; my only regret is that I read it during the busy Christmas season when I never had time to really sink into it like I wanted. Do yourself a favor and pick this book up when you have the time to really immerse yourself in it—but do pick it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review. It was the first Olaf Olafsson book I’ve read but it certainly won’t be the last.

The Sacrament is a well written book about a tough subject.
It’s a slow burning mystery, and it flips between Iceland and France. The story follows Sister Johanna as she returns to Iceland to investigate allegations reported in an anonymous letter of sexual abuse at the Catholic school. This in an amazing story, beautifully written with perfect descriptions of the scenery, and the character's actions and thoughts. I would love to read more from the author. Fabulous book. I would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of this book.
#TheSacrament #NetGalley

Harrowing and compelling. This book packs a punch! I love any story that highlights the fallibility of human memory. Really glad I read it! Thanks, NetGalley!

The Sacrament is the story of Sister Johanna. In the late 1980s, Sister Johanna was sent to Iceland to investigate a letter alleging sexual misconduct at the church school.. 2 decades later Sister Johanna is called back to Iceland with another letter stating that she was not told all back then.

The story is told at different stages of Johanna's life. Three times are interspersed throughout the novel. We learn about Johanna when she was Pauline studying at the Sorbonne and learning Icelandic from her roommate Halla. Then there is the original investigation, where we learn what has gone on in Iceland. Finally, we go with Johanna on a trip from her convent to Paris and then finally back to Iceland.

This is a story of personal growth and manipulation as well as the path to find and tell the truth through major obstacles. I found this novel engrossing and could not put it down.

This book was so disappointing. The plot blurb sounded amazing! I couldn't wait to read this!

The book was boring. It was so hard to follow. The characters were not likable or easy to identify with at all. I always try to find something good about books I don't like, but it's just not possible with this one.

Maybe this book isn't for me.

I really enjoyed this Icelandic mystery. I thought this was going to be a Nordic noir kind of book, but it really didn't have that feel to me. There aren't any grisly murders or oppressive winters, and although the subject of child abuse comes up, it's not described and not done in any sort of gratuitous way. It's handled very well, and I'm really happy about that because I did not want to read anything like that. I like a good Nordic noir, but I wasn't disappointed with what this turned out to be.

This is more of a slow-burning mystery, and it flips between France and Iceland. I loved Sister Johanna, especially the relationship she has with her dog, and I thought the story itself was pretty fascinating. The book juggles three time frames, so it was a bit confusing at times, but it wasn't enough to make me dislike the book or get so lost that I didn't know what was going on.

Very well written, and I'd definitely read more from this author in the future.


A super big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!! :)