Soon to be a major motion picture starring Jennifer Lawrence 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 … to an isolated farm to await execution.
Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Toti, 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?more
I highly recommend Burial Rites to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, suspense, and an atmospheric read. Burial Rites is a novel inspired by the true story of a woman who was set to be executed in Iceland in 1829.
Agnes has been accused of murder, and the custom was for a local family to take in the accused as s/he awaited execution. The novel …
This had me hooked from the very beginning. So creative…the plot, the setting, the characters. Can’t wait to read another one from Hannah Kent!
Have you ever known the ending to a story but while reading it you keep hoping it will have a different outcome? That happened to me with this book. It is based on the true story of the last executions in Iceland in the 1820s. It tells the story of a woman, who along with two others, are sentenced to die for their roles in a double murder and …
Not a feel-good novel, but had me totally gripped. I wanted to read something set in Iceland while staying there, and was really pleased with this choice. It’s based on a true story and, without giving too much away, shows how fragile a woman’s existence was and how few choices workers really had. Running away in the middle of an Icelandic winter …
This book is a stunning debut novel. Here’s hoping Hannah Kent has other tales to tell. Her language is lyrical and the character of Agnes is complex and poignant. In a way, there is a cruelty in how Kent draws the reader into Agnes’ soul when one knows the inevitable heartbreak that lies in store for her. The other characters’ gradual affection …
Despair, abandonment, isolation, poverty, bleakness, freezing cold weather describe this book. There are moments of humanity and caring but for the most part the life of Agnes and the people she encountered are filled with hardships. Life in Iceland in the early 1800’s would be difficult but add to that a woman accused of murder and sentenced to …
Wow. I don’t have much to add. Kent writes so well that I felt I was there in Iceland, the bleak setting and miserable lives of the characters broke my heart. This is a wonderful, fact-based HF novel. No mushy romance or superfluous subplots – only a tragic story, superbly told. Very impressive and recommended.
Based on a true story, this is an incredible tale of people thrown together due to tragic circumstances. A convicted murderess, a family forced to hold her until the prisoner’s inevitable hanging & harsh landscapes all make for a gripping read. The prose is haunting, allowing the reader to dig deep into the soul of its characters & the story …
Kept me extremely interested
To say this is atmospheric is an understatement – all the landscape, the weather, the passion of nineteenth-century Iceland is there.
“On a clear day it’s beautiful, and on others, it’s as miserable as grave-digging in the rain.”
“Burial Rites” is a dramatic book about the last unfortunate people who were publicly beheaded, in Iceland, in the early 19th century. It is scary to think that was the last century; really puts things into perspective for you.
“Burial Rites” reaks of …
Hannah uniquely portrays the last days and backstory of the last woman to be executed by corporal punishment in Iceland. It is a real, raw, and haunting story based on facts. The way the story slips from first to third person intrigued me. A very well-written novel.
Based on the true history of the last person to be executed in Iceland (1828), Burial Rites is the fictionalized story of Agnes Magnusdottir and the farming family who unwillingly sheltered her in her final days. Hannah Kent’s narrative style is haunting, evocative, and bleakly beautiful. Even at the darkest and ugliest points in the story, the …
A thoroughly researched portrayal of the last execution in Iceland. Kent’s words gnaw like the bitter wind through to my bones. The abject poverty, the grisly warts of humanity almost primitive, don’t go unseen. I smell fish and smoking oil, my hands ache with the cold as I follow the trail of her prose. She shapes her words like whalebone, sharp …
This book is outside my own writing genre of Sci-fi/Fantasy, but my book group had it on the list so I begrudgingly set off with reading it. OMG. It is so damn good. The author lived in Iceland and it shows. She captures the coldness and stark, lonely beauty of the place so well. Rug up tight and warm if you read this, it will send a chill into …
This book is being made into a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence…anything she is is is superb.
This is a story of a woman who is sentenced to death in the early 1800s in Iceland. She is accused of murder. She is taken out of jail to live with a family in a remote part of the country until her execution date is set. The family is not happy about having to house a murderess, and so they do their best to avoid Agnes when she first arrives. …
Unforgettable.
No need for spoiler alerts. We know how this one ends before it begins: In Iceland in 1830, a woman is executed for murder.
It takes real skill to build suspense toward a known outcome, and something akin to sorcery to make that outcome almost surprising. Hannah Kent manages this, and so much more.
Her depiction of life in rural Iceland 200 …
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent was my book club’s September book. We had a great hour-long discussion.
I immensely enjoyed the book. Set in 1829-1830 in Iceland, I felt transported to a distant land where nothing was familiar. Windows held fishskin panes and women gathered moss to boil, the names were unpronounceable and exotic, the landscape gray …