Burial Rites

 “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.” 

When you already know how a story ends and yet, you find yourself agonizing over the fate of its protagonists willing for History to change direction, it says a lot about the writer's talent to make you so interested in the novel that you deny reality. This is what happens with Hannah Kent's Burial Rites.

The haunting, almost harrowing, landscape of Iceland becomes a character as significant as Agnes, Tóti, Natan and Margret. Each character springs out of the pages and right into your soul. Agnes' voice is full of dignity and beauty, even when she momentarily gives in to despair. Margret is strength and determination, Tóti is compassion and Natan is love as a destructive force.

Burial Rites is one of the best books in the Gothic Crime fiction genre, a genre that is rejuvenated by authors like Hannah Kent and Cecilia Ekbäck.

“I remain quiet. I am determined to close myself to the world, to tighten my heart and hold what has not yet been stolen from me. I cannot let myself slip away. I will hold what I am inside, and keep my hands tight around all the things I have seen and heard, and felt.” 

Slow burn for sure. I'm not usually one for historical fiction but my book club picked this one and I just couldn't put it down. Even knowing how it ends, it's a good kind of painful getting there.

⭐️ 3.5/5⭐️

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was very well written and an emotional experience I was brought to companionate tears several times. Many of the events are horrifying, graphic and depressing. I explained to my husband I felt very sad after reading this book. He responded that I should expect that from a book titled Burial Rites.

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.

Burial Rites stond al sinds 2016 in mijn boekenkast te wachten. Het leek me echt een boek waarvoor de juiste stemming nodig was en ook het juiste weer buiten. Het leek me geen boek voor putteke zomer, maar eerder eentje voor druilerige, miezerige herfstdagen.
En dit gevoel bleek 100% correct. Het is een heel somber, atmosferisch en treurig boek. Het is echt mooi geschreven, heel beeldend en meeslepend, vol sfeer, poëtisch en vloeiend en kabbelend. Maar naast mooie beschrijvingen gebeurd er eigenlijk weinig in het boek, je moet het echt hebben van de karakterschets van Agnes, waardoor het toch wel wat langdradig werd.
Tijdens het lezen trok ik de parallel ook een beetje met Alias Grace van Margaret Atwood, waarbij ik die laatste toch net iets boeiender vond.
Wel verrassend, ik leerde pas op het einde dat ook deze Burial Rites gebaseerd is op waargebeurde feiten!

I liked it, but it didn't feel special. It was a story that you wanted to get to the end of and evocative of the time, but lyricism and poeticism in the writing was rare.
It was dark, and murky, and there was little lightness, hope, or deeper meaning to the story, for me.
I appreciate its historical accuracy and the research this story was built on. I'm probably more interested in historical fiction from other parts of the world.
Mostly read it because it's by an Australian woman writer.

This was an enjoyable and fast paced read. This book made me really intrigued about the real Agnes and about Icelandic culture and sagas. I enjoyed this book and it's exploration of historical fiction but also the subjective nature of truth. I invested in the characters and I found Agnes's character multi layered and intriguing. Even unlikeable characters were presented with a depth that I really enjoyed. I will certainly read Hannah Kent's other book and Hannah Kent can certainly write. I would recommend this book to any fans of historical fiction or those who enjoy reading about Icelandic culture and it's bitter landscape!

While I found this slow going in the beginning, I quickly became engrossed and devoured the last half of the book. A powerful and poignant read.

Breathtaking glimpse of what it means to be a condemned woman - or really, any woman - in a brutal setting.

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.

I think this was an OK book. It took a while for me to be into the story, but once I was into the story it was smooth sailing.

I knew that Agnes was going to be executed but there were points in the novel where I was hoping and praying that she would either escape herself or someone would help her get away. This was a story that eventually swayed you to Agnes' side because of how she was being treated by the people who she was forced to be with. I even began to love the connection that she was making with the family she was staying with, it made it seem so real for her to be connecting with the family.

I have one question that is still lingering, the woman who ‘adopted' Agnes, was she the same lady that was the mother's caretaker when she was a little girl? This was never clear and my book club couldn't make up their minds about it either.

I saw this one on the library shelf while I was grabbing something else, and I was not too keen to read it but I started it and could not put it down. I can't remember the last time I read something so atmospheric. And the voice! I loved Kent's voice. I felt for Agnes and read on even though I knew what was coming. Very few writers nail writing multiple layered characters, and I always forgive them for it because it's damned near impossible and then here is Kent creating personalities and moral quandaries so well that even characters with only a paragraph or two come alive and jump off the page. Not once does the story leave Agnes and follow someone else down a rabbit hole- the story is Agnes's and remains with her all the way through.

I loved it, which is weird considering it's subject matter, but I did.

In Iceland, Agnes is to be executed with Sigga and Fridrik for the murders of Natan and Petur in 1829.
She is to be moved to a farm owned by the District comissionner Jon, his wife Magret and their daughters Steina and Lauga. They are not happy with this decision since the murders were brutal and are afraid for thier lives.

The Reverend Toti is asked to be her spiritual guidance until her execution. Little bit little she tells her story growing up abandonned by her mother and never really having a real home or a family and her meeting with Natan, her employer and the love if her life.

Did she really murder him? Was she the leader who planned the murder? There is always two sides to a story. Rumors and half-truths flow around people's mouths, who is telling the thruh?

Steina is sure of her innoncence and the reverend is not sure of her being this cruel. The rest of the family especiall Lauga believes she is guilty but her telling her story might change some people's mind.

Such a beautiful book. The atmosphere of this book is dark but written in such a way that you just want to continue to read. As I was reading this book, I wanted to root for Agnes and that her execution wouls be overturned. There is no happy ending in this book.

The research that was done for this book, the clothing, the climate, the way of living was superb. You can see in a time when rumours start and they don't stop it damages one's life and sometimes there is no redemption

This first time histprical novel from Hannah Kent is in my opinion a 5 well deserved stars.

I really enjoyed this book. The story is based around true events from 1829 where a woman, Agnes Magnúsdóttir is due to be executed for murder. Agnes is sent to stay with a family in rural Iceland until the time comes, a family who did not volunteer for this duty. The story is told both in the form of present day events from a number of characters, as well as memories of the past retold.

It's a haunting story, more so knowing that it is based on true events and characters. The story is centred around Agnes and an under qualified priest who is charged with absolving her sin.

It's not for anyone who is looking for a light, happy humourous read. It is the opposite to all these things.

You should read it.

Agnes is condemned to death in Iceland. Until she is to be put to death by the state, she is assigned to live with a family in a remote part of the country and she is given a pastor to provoke feelings of remorse. The family and the pastor, though initially reluctant to even speak to this condemned murderess, gradually come to know Agnes and to hear the story of her difficult life.

I'd seen much press about this book, and I'm glad to share that the story lives up to the press. It is based on a true story and you can see that the author invested in much research about this woman and the family and the country before writing this book.

You will, I think, find yourself growing more and more compassionate for the plight of people with difficult lives as you read this story. And that is a good thing.

Book club pick. not my usual read. I enjoyed it. especially the description of the desolation.