Burial Rites

2019 Popsugar Reading Challenge
23. A novel based on a true story

If I speak, it will be in bubbles of air. They will not be able to keep my words for themselves. They will see the whore, the madwoman, the murderess, the female dripping blood into the grass and laughing with her mouth choked with dirt. They will say ‘Agnes' and see the spider, the witch caught in the webbing of her own fateful weaving. They might see the lamb circled by ravens, bleating for a lost mother. But they will not see me. I will not be there.

“For every story we hear, there is another side that may be as equally, subjectively true.”

Set in the 1800s in Iceland, the book tells a story of a woman condemned to die for committing the murder of two males. While throughout history, she has been labelled as a cold blooded witch, who planned & murdered two people, the author tries to bring out the narrative of the story from the accused woman's point of view.

History is not infallible, and any narration that is built suffers from inevitable human bias. This being the basic premise, the author never claims to be representing the “correct” story, because when it comes to history, truth in itself is subjective. That being said, I believe the book does justice to the story or the version of it that it tries to bring forth. It evokes just the right amount of sympathy for the accused, while at the same time keeping it open to delibrate the “guilt” of the accused. It also makes you think about the “justice” or “fairness” of death penalty by bring out the thoughts of a person on a death sentence, waiting for execution.

At the end, I couldn't help but question historical representations, and narratives we've been hearing since childhood. While the most popular versions have been accepted as “true”, isn't there still an iota of doubt that history has been corrupted by the bias, prejudices, human selfishness, and prevailing ideologies of the time, and we can never truly know what is true?

Historical fiction taking place in 19th century Iceland, inspired by real events. It follows Agnes, a woman condemned for a double murder and sentenced to death. We see her life in the last few months before her execution, amongst the family that has been obliged to take her in and the priest tasked with absolving her. 

This book absolutely shattered me,. The writing was eerie and beautiful, perfectly showing the bleak atmosphere of the Icelandic setting and of the story. There was some real emotional moments during Agnes life amongst her guardians and the ending was especially haunting to read. The characters were all compelling in their complexity, and the gorgeous writing made the society they lived in come alive. 

An impressive debut novel, Burial Rites is easily a five star and favourite read.