Burial Rites

A Novel

By: Hannah Kent

Narrated by: Morven Christie

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

A brilliant literary debut, inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.

Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.

Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.

Riveting and rich with lyricism, Burial Rites evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

©2013 Hannah Kent (P)2013 Little, Brown and Company

Breathless.

Few novels have left me speechless. This book did that x10! This is an extraordinary story. The author took great pains to delivery this tale, and you can “feel” the world the characters live in. Profound, and deeply poetic, this is one on this best works of literature I have ever read. Thank you Hannah Kent, you took my breath away.

Note: if you can listen to the audio, do it. You will not regret it. It’s a beautiful novel text or verbal, but the audio gives you the extra enjoyment by way of place, time and language.

Phenomenal performance

If I could give Morven Christie 50 stars for this performance I would. She’s incredible. The story is haunting and gorgeous

Entertaining and captivating

I enjoyed the narration immediately and soon after I was involved with the story. Well written and kept me wondering.

Beautifully written and performed

About the last thing I needed this week was to live inside a story of tragedy and sadness so I thought about passing on this book. And yet the description and reviews captured my attention and I decided to give it a try, and I am forever changed. Agnes is a character who will abide with me; her wish for love and belonging, her cleverness, her desire to rise above her station - all these things have condemned other women throughout history, and have even affected me personally in negative ways, though with much less dire consequences. Hannah Kent’s book reminds us that the stories powerful men and narrow minded people tell are often absurdly inaccurate. The miseries of the bleak landscape were painted so well that this book will come to mind whenever I experience the dreadful cold of winter, or whenever I see ravens or sheep...highly recommend!

fantastic book!

I just got back from a tour of Iceland. Our tour guide suggested this book as we were touring the national museum. I was able to vividly paint pictures in my mind of the weather, fields, terrain, houses. Additionally the docent and the guide somewhat told us this story, which just made this book even more interesting!
I loved it and I loved the narrator…

Chilling. Quiet. Amazing.

in the middle of an isolated Iceland farm, the true story of Agnes' crime is told...along with her last year of life before her execution.

agnes is one of the most riveting and upsetting characters i've read in a long time. her voice (in intermittent chapters) is so true and sad and doomed. as she shifts from prisoner, to farmhand, to a member of the family -- i grew to love Agnes so much as a person. as i read, i knew where she was headed -- but of course i was hoping the entire time her fate would change.

really well written book, smart in how it portrays relationships and the changes in perceptions and opinions (both in agnes' past and in her present)...brilliant in it's quiet stark sentences. i loved it.

ps...the fact that this is a true story makes it even more chilling and sad.

Haunting and Highly Recommended

A haunting novel inspired by the story of the last women to be executed in Iceland. That frontier, rugged quality of Iceland is explored in detail and the characters develop in complex ways. The narrator captures the dark, eerie tone of a Icelandic winter. This book kept me up listening late at night because it was so compelling that I didn't want to stop listening. I also got tears in my eyes from the power of the words that told the story of Agnes, last woman to be executed in Iceland. A listen that is both beautiful and painful at the same time. A true gem. Hope to hear more from this narrator. She is a talent as is Hannah Kent.

Stunning!

I have never been so moved by a book as this. The story is a difficult one indeed… The narrator is brilliant and her accent/pronunciation is impeccable. I can’t get this one out of my head.

Tragically Beautiful!

Where does Burial Rites rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I loved this story they way it was told and how it was performed. I took me 3-4 hours in before I appreciated her tone.

What about Morven Christie’s performance did you like?

Her pronunciations of the names and places and everything made the story easier to imagine.

beautiful andheartbreaking, my favourite narrator!

I picked this audiobook up because it's read by the same person who read Code Name Verity, and she just might be my favourite narrator. The 2 books couldn't be more different, and she did an amazing job on both. I really think it helped me enjoy the book because of the Icelandic places and names, I felt like it was almost like I was watching a movie.. with my ears. Which is how I want all books to be, like a movie in my head.

As for the actual book: it took me a hot minute to get into it. I am so conflicted about it, I don't know how to convey my feelings. It was beautiful and moving, heartbreaking and intriguing. In other parts it was a bit boring. It is fictional, but based off real events. It's heartbreaking, but beautiful. That makes no sense, but there you go.

I wish this narrator did more books, I adore her voice!