A review by karenluvstoread
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

4.5

This book is an historical fiction novel based on true events/people. Some of the content was hard for me to read and I had to only read so much of the book at a time. Yet the writing kept me reading, as did the way the author told the story. It was moving and gut-wrenching, beautiful yet tragic. (Make sure to check trigger warnings for this one.) It also had amazing descriptive writing providing the story with so much atmosphere. Here's an example of the descriptive writing:

“A morning mist lingered in the valley, obscuring Toti’s view of the mountains as he rode through the ghostly wreaths that hovered over the grass.” (p. 88)

I thought the book was brilliantly structured. The author revealed the events leading up to the murders little by little. Different perspectives of the situation are shown through various characters, from source documents shared throughout the book, and through the main character herself. 

I also really liked how the slow reveal of the story was paired with a slow evolution of the relationship between the main character and the family that housed her. 

Somber, heavy, haunting, and at times intense, this is a tragic story beautifully written. I would definitely read more from this author!