Review: Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
One of the best things about belonging to a reading group is being presented with the type of book you would not normally have chosen for yourself — and finding a gem. This was the case with Sarah Dunant's Sacred Hearts.
Reading over 450 pages about a novice nun in a 16th century Italian convent might seem like a dull prospect, but I found this book moving, unexpectedly interesting, and most surprisingly — exciting!
Closed worlds allow novelists to cut out extraneous influences — a device most often used by crime writers and the best social observers, such as Jane Austen. Here, Dunant uses the technique to put the characters under the microscope. Each expression, action, and even morsel of food is viewed, commented on and analysed by fellow nuns. Power struggles, both religiously and secularly motivated, are played out like a particularly slow game of chess.
The catalyst for the action, and central character, is 16 year-old Serafina, sent to the convent when her father discovers her love for a young man not of his choosing. She is by no means the first reluctant novice to enter the convent, and the nuns expect in time, like the others, she will come to accept her fate. However, Serafina has a particular gift that gives her some power — her beautiful singing voice, which she refuses to use for the benefit of the renowned choir.
Given the task of watching over the spirited novice by the powerful, politically astute abbess is Sister Zuana, the order's herbalist, whose craft was taught to her by her father. Zuana is more sympathetic to her young charge than she perhaps should be, having herself been reluctantly institutionalised many years earlier. The story is a battle of wits and the tension remains high as the reader desperately wills Serafina's escape bid to succeed, as her forlorn lover paces the walls beyond the convent.
Whilst reading, the book lover feels incarcerated within the confines of the convent just as the nuns are, such is the intensity with which Dunant tells her story. Convent life may be wrong for Serafina, but its merits are equally explored. The order houses those with no faith and those whose faith leads them to extraordinary physical sacrifice.
Despite the plethora of rules to be obeyed and lack of freedom, the holy women did enjoy benefits that their sisters beyond the walls could not. They were healthier and safer from plague and the perils of childbirth, self-governing, free to choose their food, and emancipated from raging fathers and abusive husbands.
As the story appears to reach its zenith with Serafina's escape attempt, we realise much remains of the book, and that events in the convent will take many more twists and turns before a resolution is reached. There is a lot of religion in this book, but even more it is about human nature, perseverance and the indomitable spirit of youth.
If you enjoy suspense, books set in a historical setting or full of psychological insights you will enjoy this book, and if you like all three you will love it — as I did.
- Sacred Hearts is published by Virago Press. (£7.99, ISBN 978-1-84408-330-5)
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