Reading Skywards – Your Friendly Bookshelf

INFORMATION ABOUT THIS BOOK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 10, 2013
Format:  Hardcover, Paperback, audiobook, and ebook
Print length ‏ : ‎ 353 pages
Genre:  Icelandic Mystery Fiction

MY PERSONAL OPINION OF “BURIAL RITES” BY HANNAH KENT

I received a weekly book recommendation from Book Riot, and this book was on the list. The cover of the book caught my attention, and I have been looking for a book with “blue in the cover” as part of my yearly book challenge. I read the premise, and I liked it. Iceland, cold winter, last century… I am very fond of this type of landscape and background.
The book was available in Libby, so it was the perfect choice.

I loved this book!. Everything about it was a 5-star for me. The vivid description of the landmark (Iceland), the way the farms were described, the weather (cold, miserable, inconsiderate, wet, tiring), the characters (Agnes as the main character and Magret as the wife, especially), but also Toti, and other characters were well-rounded with their place in the story.

I loved reading, and I do my best to make it a habit and, most importantly, to do it as a hobby. But although I try my best, I do have a full-time job, mom of two teenagers, wife, etc, so my time is limited. Every book I read takes about one to two weeks; I finished this book in 5 days. It was consuming. I would wake up at 3:30 am just so that I could have an hour before waking up time. This book was amazing.

PREMISE OF THE BOOK AS FOUND IN AMAZON / GOODREADS:

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?

MY RATING:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bibliography:

• The Good People
• Devotion
• Always Home, Always Homesick