My Thoughts of Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Hi All,

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent would have to be in my top 50 list which is strange as I’m  not normally drawn to historical novels. Not only that, it’s a debut novel written by a young Australian author! The plot drew me right in, mainly because I’ve always been interested and desperately aggrieved by what I feel are wrongful convictions or unfair treatment – this would explain my all time favourite movies, The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption.

Based on a true story, Hannah was compelled to write Burial Rites after visiting the site of Iceland’s last execution which took place over 200 years ago. At the time, the author was a 17 year old exchange student living with her host family for a year. It was another ten years before she wrote the book and, while it is fiction, Hannah’s research of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the young woman who was beheaded for her uncertain role in a double murder, is exemplary.

As mentioned, the novel is entirely speculative and not a history book, however, from the moment the author heard about the story, she felt she had a strong sense of who Agnes might be which was not the cold blooded murderess the history books and legends would have you believe.

I enjoyed Hannah’s prose and the way she almost invented words in order to describe a sound or action. The characters were strong and interesting and the descriptive scenes of Iceland’s landscape were awe-inspiring. I did struggle in parts with the pace, however, this is something I often find issue with so it’s most likely due to my inherent lack of patience!

I’ve pasted the book blurb below. You can visit Hannah’s site for more information about the book and the author, including the video book trailer (love these – I’m thinking of doing one for Gracie’s Girls). I would love to see Burial Rites adapted for film.

Purchase the book here and support a great Aussie author!

Happy reading all, take care, Viv x

BURIAL RITES BY HANNAN KENT

In northern Iceland, 1829, Agnes Magnúsdóttir is condemned to death for her part in the brutal murder of two men. Agnes is sent to wait out the time leading to her execution on the farm of District Officer Jón Jónsson, his wife and their two daughters. Horrified to have a convicted murderess in their midst, the family avoids speaking with Agnes.

Only Tóti, the young assistant reverend appointed as Agnes’s spiritual guardian, is compelled to try to understand her, as he attempts to salvage her soul.

As the summer months fall away to winter and the hardships of rural life force the household to work side by side, Agnes’s ill-fated tale of longing and betrayal begins to emerge. And as the days to her execution draw closer, the question burns: did she or didn’t she?

Based on a true story, Burial Rites is a deeply moving novel about personal freedom: who we are seen to be versus who we believe ourselves to be, and the ways in which we will risk everything for love.

In beautiful, cut-glass prose, Hannah Kent portrays Iceland’s formidable landscape, where every day is a battle for survival, and asks, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?