Burial Rites

A Novel

By: Hannah Kent

Narrated by: Morven Christie

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

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 Tv=ti, 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?

Hauntingly beautiful and tragic tale

Several weeks ago, I was lucky enough to come across the perfect book at the perfect time, and it has happened again with Burial Rites. The bleak, gray, and icy grip of winter here has provided the perfect backdrop for Hannah Kent's incredibly well-written debut novel. She tells the tragic story of maidservant Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last person executed in Iceland in 1830 after she and two others were convicted of killing Natan Ketilsson and neighbor Pétur Jónsson. Because there were no prisons in Iceland, Agnes is sent to live and work with District Officer Jón Jónsson, his wife, and two daughters on their farm. We come to know Agnes and her story through her talks with her spiritual advisor, young reverend Tóti, who is meant to prepare Agnes for her punishment so she can meet her end with contrition.

Kent has researched her topics well, and writes about the details of water-collecting, knitting socks, making blood sausage, shearing, lambing, and slaughter that make life on the farm difficult on a good day. She never hits the reader over the head with these illustrative details, but they are presented simply as an integral part of the story.

The narrator, Morven Christie, is superb, in her pronunciation of Icelandic names, timbre, and emotion. I was tempted to give Burial Rites four stars, but Christie's narration makes it a five-star listen. This is a book that will stay with me for quite a while.

Beyond Dickensian

Not finished with this book but I wanted to warn those who might be depressed to avoid the story. It's beautifully written and an intriguing story but oh so bleak! that might be the goal here but it becomes heavier with each listen. Better to read Amy Tan's latest novel The Valley of Amazement"..heavy content done lightly.

Historical Drama

First, the book moves slowly. Agnes' story is d r a g g e d out. I get that the author is weaving the story and developing how the other characters, initially hostile to the condemned because of what they've "heard", ultimately become attached to Agnes during her ordeal. It did keep my attention most of the time. Am not sure if the author is trying to provide a commentary about captial punishment and what those so accused have to endure. Any innocent person, which you figure out about Agnes very early on, who is accused of a crime, and in this case, murder, and is sentenced to death, is an atrocity. So we go through the story with Agnes, an innocent, wrongly accused and preparing to die. But the argument still remains: should captial punishment be completely abolished? I think Kent is trying to tell us that Iceland abolished capital punishment a couple of hundred years ago, so why is still in effect in other places? Of course, no one will write about a book about a criminal on death row who perpetrated unspeakable atrocities against, say, children. Which many of us would agree that captial punishment in that case, is justifiable.
I wonder if she is also driving home the point about the tragedies women have endured merely because of their gender. The fact that women were once nothing more than chattle reminds us the "good old days" were not often "good" for women. I do think that if you are someone who has dealt with depression and are suseptible to it, this book may not be for you.

A brooding, slow burn

Seasoned, patient readers with a taste for melancholic Nordic tales will likely enjoy this one.

Incredible!

This is definitely in my top 10 all time favorite reads. The audio performance was phenomenal and brought the story to life in ways that I could not have achieved just reading it. I will definitely be picking up anything else that comes from Hannah Kent.