Based on the true story of the last woman to be executed in Iceland, Burial Rites is an unusual and original novel.
Agnes Magnúsdóttir has been found guilty of the murder of her employer, Natan Ketílsson, and another man when the novel begins. There is no doubt that Fridrik Sigurdsson committed the act, but Agnes and her fellow servant Sigrídur Gudmundsdóttir have also been found guilty on little more evidence than that they were present at the scene. The younger, prettier Sigrídur, who was Natan’s mistress and Fridrik’s fiancée, is being considered for a pardon, but Agnes is not.
Because Iceland does not apparently have facilities for housing criminals at the time, the District Commissioner Björn Blöndal decides to lodge Agnes until her execution at Kórnsa, the farm of the District Officer of Vatnsdalur, Jón Jónsson. Agnes has requested that the young Reverend Thorvardur Jónsson, newly ordained, supervise her spiritual welfare.
Jón Jónsson’s wife and daughter are horrified to learn they are to have a convicted murderess in their house. Reverend Jónsson, known as Tóti, is confused, feeling insufficiently experienced for the task and unaware that he has already met Agnes.
We first see Agnes on her way to Kórnsa. She has been kept in a storeroom, living in filth and seldom fed, since her conviction. When she arrives at the farm, she seems almost subhuman, grimy and greasy and so thirsty that she gulps down some dirty dishwater given her to wash in. Slowly, through her hard work and unobjectionable demeanor and their own basic decency, the family comes to believe Agnes may not be guilty of the crime.
Although the focus of this novel is the life on the farm and the evolving relationship between Agnes and the family of Jón Jónsson, we eventually learn the truth about the crime, as Agnes confides it to Tóti and the family.
Kent’s gift is for depicting the hard life of 19th century Iceland—the merciless fate of itinerant servants, the prevalence of gossip and superstition, the brutal conditions and physically demanding work. Kent also describes the mental landscape of Agnes, her memories, thoughts, and nighttime dreams, and less frequently those of Margrét, Jón Jónsson’s wife, and of Tóti.
This novel is evocatively written in beautiful, spare prose. It tells a heartbreaking and haunting story.
I read this last year — impressive. Nice review!
Thanks! Yes, I was glad to finally read it.
I just finished this a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it too. I agree that Kent did a wonderful job depicting life in 19th century Iceland. I felt like I was right there. I’ve since become fascinated with Iceland thanks to the book! Nice review.
I’ve got another one coming up for you then that I will review next week, Independent People by Halldor Laxness, Iceland’s only winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. For some reason I’ve been reading books about islands lately, two set in Iceland and two in New Zealand.
Ooh, I haven’t heard of that one! Can’t wait to see your review 🙂
That’s super interesting! Excited to see your review.
This looks sooo good! And seeing that all of you enjoyed it means I need to read it ASAP.
I haven’t read a lot of buzz about it, so it would be nice if more people read it. Very worthy of being read!
I read this a few months ago. It’s a beautiful book but bleak subject. Nice review!
Thanks!