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Article: Magdalena the Sinner.
- Article from:
- The Women's Review of Books
- Article date:
- January 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Old City Publishing, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Have you ever wanted to force a moral authority - a judge, a head of state, the Pope - to be quiet and really listen to your story from beginning to end? The title character of Lilian Faschinger's Magdalena the Sinner acts out a version of that fantasy. In contrast to the Biblical Mary Magdalene, who repented her sins and was cleansed of seven demons by Jesus, the Magdalena of this novel is an unrepentant modern-day adventuress who has murdered seven former lovers. When her efforts to confess and receive absolution are thwarted by priests who variously ignore her, fall asleep, or grope her through the grille of the confession booth, she resorts to draconian measures: she ...