Magdalena the Sinner: Novel, A [Hardcover]

Lilian Faschinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 1997

A seductress disguised in a nun's habit kidnaps a priest and confesses to murdering her eccentric lovers when they no longer satisfied her, in a controversial, erotic novel that encompasses feminism, Catholicism, and sexual politics. National ad/promo."

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A nervy motorcyclist kidnaps a Catholic priest, ties him to a tree, and insists that he hear an elaborate confession. Yet another story of a strong-headed lad led astray? Absolutely not, since the motorcyclist in question is a tough but beautiful strawberry blonde named Magdalena with quite a story to tell. The sinner, as the priest calls her in his mind as he narrates the story, has led a chillingly amoral life whose many deeds include seducing a priest in the organ loft, doing away with an inconvenient lover she has met in an Italian abbey, and dressing as a nun while pickpocketing. Occasionally, cliche sneaks in?the priest's attitude toward women, for instance, is annoyingly predictable?but this gripping, sensuous story arrives at a startling climax, and both priest and reader are won over to Magdalena's side. Much discussed on the international scene, this book should attract many readers from both the literary and the thriller the crowd.
-?Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Faschinger prides herself on being outrageous. What recommends the novel, though, is less its porno-Gothic radical-femme trappings than its dry humor and deadpan characterizations, all ably translated from the German by Edna McCown. -- The New York Times Book Review, Bill Christophersen

Through her antiheroine's wacky but seductively witty voice, Austrian writer Faschinger edgily satirizes notions of sin, piety, and sexual politics. -- Entertainment Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1st edition (September 5, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060186534
• ISBN-13: 978-0060186531
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,373,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing surprise of a novel., March 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Magdalena the Sinner: Novel, A (Hardcover)

Instantly pulled in from just the first paragraph, here is a novel told in the voice of a heroine who is at once sensitive and insightful and then callously indifferent. Magdalena the Sinner reveals so many different dialogues on religion, sex, relationships and insanity through a sharp narrator. The main character sometimes appears surprisingly absent from her own life, yet her decisions, as sick as they become, seem strangely justified. I loved her strong voice, her candor, and her immediate ability to express the very same thoughts that I didn't know I even had. I wish I had written the book myself. She absolutely fascinated me - read the entire book nearly in one late night sitting.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great to read. It is fun and will make you laugh, March 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Magdalena the Sinner: Novel, A (Hardcover)

Author: Lilian Faschinger Title: Magdalena the Sinner: A novel.

Superb title for entertaining one's self. Easygoing kind of reading, while on the meantime the reader meditates concerning some life, love, sexual, moral, religious issues, and taboos, that Lilian Faschinger puts in words of Magdalena, her principal character. Never bothersome, written as monologue with admirable prose and vocabulary. The main character Magdalena, a red hair, nomad woman, relates her uneven, varied and full of "ups and downs" life, intermitting some metaphysical reflections of her unique audience: An original person, wearing an original outfit and with a biased background.

Regretfully, I read a translated version, since the beauty of prose, the profound description of places, personalities, circumstances, superstitions and ideologies is outstanding. It must be indeed superior in its original language. Read it. It is great fun and will make you laugh a lot.