Holy Communion by Mykola Dementiuk

Reviewed by Dorien Grey


Those who read purely for pleasure, who look upon books as similar to opening a window on a pleasant Spring day, will not be likely to read Mykola Dementiuk’s starkly overcast “Holy Communion” (Synergy Press, 2009). Those, however, who see books as a way to explore all aspects of human nature and the human soul may find exactly what they are looking for within the pages of this far-from-the-mainstream tale. It follows one nameless seven-year-old boy—there is not a single proper name in the entire book—in the seven days leading up to his first communion. The dark and underlying irony of the book is that this emotionally and physically battered young soul should have no need for communion: he’s already lived his entire short life in purgatory. To read it is rather like peeling an onion; removing one layer reveals another.

It may never be made into a musical, but it does sing a complex song to those willing to hear it.

http://www.holycommunionanovel.com/