SANCTITY

by Orania Papazoglou ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 29, 1986

Psychopathological goings-on among a new batch of young postulants at a New England convent--in a gothic soap-thriller that's initially involving, then increasingly predictable, implausible, and overwrought. As revealed in corny slivers of flash-forward, one of the recently arrived postulants at the Society of Mary (""the most traditional active Order of nuns still operating"" in the US) is going to wind up dead in bloody, creepy, seemingly suicidal circumstances. Which of three mixed-up young woman will it be? The least likely contender for a violent demise is Kat O'Brien, 24, Vassar '81, a beautiful feminist who is taunted by her anti-Catholic, alcoholic mother (""You like to suck cock just like the rest of us, sweetheart"") and haunted by memories of great sex with her still-devoted lover, rich and handsome David Marsh (""Could the sexual love of a man lead a woman to want to become a nun?""). Much more of a victim type is blond, neurotic, querulous virgin Annie Bliss--who sees the convent-life as an escape from poverty (""She had been waiting a lifetime for food that tasted like food""), from her pathetic, class-obsessed mother, from terrors about the bygone suicide of her father. And then there's blatantly psychotic Jane Galloway: a religious fanatic who plays the ""Sister Mary Perfect Postulant"" role--but who pops pills, tortures little animals, and sets out to drive fragile Annie Bliss bonkers. (The primary source of Jane's looniness? Violent incest with her father.) Papazoglou (Sweet, Savage Death) provides enough curious details about the novitiate experience--""no matter how many changes we've made since Vatican II, those first few weeks are like having your head in a vise""--to make the opening chapters here intriguing. Soon, however, the central plots begin to plod repetitiously: Kat resists mother/lover attempts to shake her sense of vocation; Annie, miserable as a nun, dreams of being rescued by her long-estranged brother; Jane's gothic cavortings escalate according to formula. And the homicidal/suicidal finale is largely ho-hum--with a labored touch of mystery and a ludicrous slice of instant happy-ending. Despite offbeat moments and engaging sketches of some older nuns, then, this fairly slick hybrid is ultimately only half-entertaining: too slow and slack for gripping psycho-suspense (Papazoglou should study Ruth Rendell), too shallow and luridly contrived for convincing drama in an updated Nun's Story mode.

Pub Date: May 29, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION