Sacred Hearts - Sarah Dunant

Sacred Hearts - Sarah Dunant (2009)

I have enjoyed Sarah Dunants previous outings, so when I spied this one on the Borders bookshelves I rushed home and placed a library reserve on it. When the book arrived, less than a week later it still felt crisp and untouched, much like the nuns in the story.

I never really knew that families gave up their daughters with a dowry to the church at such young ages, and that they were sooo very isolated in 1570, at the time of the story. My great aunty Mary was a none, and she joined at 40ish, and was quite independant and liked all the good things in life. Not locked away, she had quite a few trips and adventures.

So basically, the convent is all shook up, when a young 16 year old novice is forced into the convent by her family. A doomed love affair with her music teacher, has left Serefina full of rage and anger.

Finding a friend in Suora Zuana, who runs the dispencery, young Serefina seeks a way to leave her prison.

I did enjoy the beginning of the novel, but felt it dragged a bit in the middle. I am sure that their lives were monotnous and dreary for the most part, but I began to resent the time it was taking me to finish the book and found myself skipping parts. The ending got better and I would have wanted to know some more of what happened. 2/5