A review by theladydoor
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
4.0
"Don't judge a book by its cover" I'm really not a fan of that phrase. If I followed it all the time, I wouldn't read half of the great books I read now. I picked up this ethereal and deeply affecting novel because the cover struck me as unbearably beautiful. There's just something about the script against the blurred portrait of a woman's profile, and the color scheme that reached out to me. And the decision paid off.
This novel is about the death of Agnes Magnusdottir, and the weeks leading up to it. She was the last woman to be executed in Iceland, but she was also so much more. The story revolves around Agnes yes, but it is also about the family who must care for her in the weeks before her execution. They start out as unsympathetic and churlish towards Agnes, whom they know to have killed two men. But as time goes by, they begin to learn her story and grow to care for the doomed woman.
As they do, so does the reader. Agnes begins telling the story of her pitiful, thankless life that begins with complete parental abandonment. As a poor girl in the isolated wilds of Iceland, Agnes must hire herself out as a workmaid, doing hard labor in harsh environments. Until she meets Natan, the man who she loves and then, is accused of killing.
Kent does a wonderful job of evoking the atmosphere of Iceland in the 1800's. Her language is beautiful and evocative, and I found myself saddened upon finishing the novel, and not just for Agnes.
This novel is about the death of Agnes Magnusdottir, and the weeks leading up to it. She was the last woman to be executed in Iceland, but she was also so much more. The story revolves around Agnes yes, but it is also about the family who must care for her in the weeks before her execution. They start out as unsympathetic and churlish towards Agnes, whom they know to have killed two men. But as time goes by, they begin to learn her story and grow to care for the doomed woman.
As they do, so does the reader. Agnes begins telling the story of her pitiful, thankless life that begins with complete parental abandonment. As a poor girl in the isolated wilds of Iceland, Agnes must hire herself out as a workmaid, doing hard labor in harsh environments. Until she meets Natan, the man who she loves and then, is accused of killing.
Kent does a wonderful job of evoking the atmosphere of Iceland in the 1800's. Her language is beautiful and evocative, and I found myself saddened upon finishing the novel, and not just for Agnes.