First Off:

If you struggle with the first page of Sacrilege by Barbara Avon, then this book isn’t for you. I’m not saying that in a bad way, but the tone and imagery presented in the first few pages mirrors the rest of Sacrilege. Avon does a great job at keeping the language consistent.

The Language:

While I’m not a huge fan of flowery language, it works well for the narration to fit the ex-priest. I’ve been to a few different religious services and the ones outside of the LDS community fit the complexities of language. One thing I struggled with was the words or slang that came across unnaturally. One example is the use of mastication instead of chewed, or another equivalent. It didn’t match the language used around it, but I took it as the implications of the usage. Other than that, and a few unknown slang usages that I needed to search, Avon did a great job at keeping her language the same throughout Sacrilege.

The Story:

Sacrilege is about an ex-priest coping with leaving the priesthood (some form of Christianity). Cris Corelli leaves town on a midnight train and ends up in a boarding house. Set in the 1980s, this story creates a suspension of disbelief through lack of technology. Through meeting the young and attractive keeper of the boarding house, Cris finds a place of peace and room to struggle through his jarring change of life. Through trauma and various coping methods, Cris Corelli finds his strange sense of peace by the end of Sacrilege.

What I appreciated from Sacrilege:

Sacrilege did a great job of making me think about how we cope with various traumas in our life. I related to Cris Corelli through that sense of giving up a part of your life you gave so much, too. I can’t properly relate how much of a challenge it was to leave the military after ten years of service, but I can understand why people stay in for twenty years or more. Once again, the language keeping its consistency can make or break a story. Avon help her story together with language that fit the story. An acute language might have hindered the story.

What I struggled with in Sacrilege:

I felt like the twists were dramatic and there wasn’t enough of a buildup to justify the actions taken. They weren’t unbelievable enough to make me put the book down, but I felt a push away from the story at those points. Also, you won’t be prepared for the ending. I liked that the ending was trying to address the dramatic ways we cope with pain and trauma, but I wish the ending was fleshed out a little more.

Overall:

Like I said in the opening, if you don’t like Sacrilege’s first few pages, this book isn’t for you. I think that if you’re looking for a book that gets you thinking, then Sacrilege by Barbara Avon is for you. If you’re looking for an easy read that doesn’t challenge your concepts or preconceived notions of the world, Sacrilege isn’t for you. I don’t see this as being one of my re-reads, but I think Sacrilege was good because it reminded me that writing can go beyond entertainment and enter the realm of though provoking literature.

Barbara Avon, thank you for reaching out to me to review Sacrilege. Thank you to my readers that have read and enjoyed this review. If you’re interested in reading Sacrilege, click here. If you’re a new reader and want to find some of my other reviews, then select the Book Reviews tab above. As always, stay fresh, my nugs!

Next Review: The Chrysillium Tree