Absolution

Absolution is Icelandic author, Olaf Olafsson's, first novel. It is a true pleasure to discover a wonderful author and to know that he has written other books that I can look forward to reading.

The novel moves from Iceland to WW2 Denmark to contemporary Manhattan. Peter Peterson is a wealthy old son of a bitch. He's estranged from family and friends and relies on a young Cambodian woman, likewise estranged from others, to care for him as his health wanes. At the end of his life he is forced to confront events of fifty years ago that have coloured his life ever since. He has dragged the guilt of that "little crime" around with him like a ball and chain. It eats away at him, As death approaches he writes his memoirs in an attempt to rationalize his actions. He is despicable but Olafsson's sparse style is so engaging that we share Peter's agony of unrequited love that drives the story.