Burial Rites
Ratings60
Average rating4
Set against Iceland's stark landscape, this story evokes a dramatic existence in a distant tme and place. Here the author brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only To ti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard. But will their new knowledge be enough to save Agnes? -- Provided by publisher.
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Breathtaking glimpse of what it means to be a condemned woman - or really, any woman - in a brutal setting.
Beautifully written, harrowing, and full of a sad awareness of the fragility of life, this left me with a real sense of what it would be like to live in 19th century Iceland — and extremely glad that I don't have to.
Very little things are truly hauntingly beautiful, and this one of them.
I took longer than I would have liked with this book because of “life” events (moving houses, misplacing my eReader, finding said eReader broken, getting it fixed), and the book had a slow start, but sucked me in very quickly. I think I would have finished it in four days if not for my own delays.
Believable characters that develop and grow, and by the time you get attached to them, it's time to say goodbye. Please have a strong stomach when reading this, you'll need it for all the gruesome events that the author has rightfully given sufficient detail to.
For those who worry about the Icelandic names, they are semi-important but you'll be able to piece everything that you've left out easily by the end of the novel. If this is on your to-read list, give it a shot. I would encourage you to read this sooner rather than later, it's a really wonderful read.
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