Burial Rites

Burial Rites 

Burial Rites by Hannah Dent 322 pp.

Burial Rites is the story of Agnes Magnusson who was found guilty of murdering her employer in Iceland in the 1800s.  Because prison does not exist as a building in Iceland during this time period, she is sent to live with a family and has a spiritual advisor who is to come to visit her until the date of her execution.  Agnes is not interested in praying with the "minister in training" she has chosen, but when he offers to let her tell about herself and her crime, she takes him up on the offer.  When the minister become ill and cannot visit toward the end, she unburdens herself to the wife of the household she is staying in.  At first the family is cold toward her, but eventually everyone treats her as though she belongs.  I will not spoil the ending of this beautifully written and sad story.

This is a fictionalized version of a real event in Iceland.

The Darkness

The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson     318 pages   read galley-will be published October, 2018

In this atmospheric, foreboding-feeling book, Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavík police is being forced into early retirement at 64. She's not happy at all about this, considering she has devoted years to her work. She's also not wild about the idea of facing the loneliness of life without work. Before she leaves, she's given two weeks to solve a single cold case of her choice. Hulda chooses to investigate the case of the body of a young Russian woman who washed up on an Icelandic shore a year ago. The case had been given a quick investigation and declared a suicide; however, Hulda is sure there is more to this case. As she investigates, she discovers there is, in fact, much more to this case and no one seems to be telling her the whole story about this Russian woman. Even as her boss seems determined to stop her, Hulda is set on finding the killer --- but is her own life in danger?

I wasn't familiar with this author, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I did find this book to have a foreboding feeling running through the story, like a dark smudge that you can't rub away. It's not just the dead Russian woman; there's something dark to Hulda, as well, which you can tell is important. However, that truth isn't revealed until the very end. I liked that the story kept me guessing and I also found Hulda to be an intriguing character. I also very much liked the sense of unease I had on her behalf when she's interacting with one or two other characters. You do get a sense that Hulda is in danger, but you're not sure which direction it will come from.

I was surprised by the ending -- and that's all I can say without giving anything away. I found myself blinking, though, at the pages and feeling, well, a bit stunned. Not sure yet if I enjoyed that or not.  Interesting book and I'm curious to read Snowblind by this author and see how that series is.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, 300 pages

After finding the notes of a famed alchemist, an intrepid Professor and his skeptical nephew embark upon an expedition to discover a passage to the Earth's core. Together with their devoted guide Hans they journey down an extinct Icelandic volcano and discover an astonishing subterranean world.

To me this wasn't as good as some of Verne's previous books that I read. I felt that the slower pace at the beginning of the book made it a little harder to get into. The characters themselves weren't all that interesting as we really don't learn that much about them, that and the wordy over descriptiveness hinder the enjoyment of this book.

Burial Rites

Burial Rites, by Hannah Kent, 314 pages

This was a well-written, well-researched, beautiful book about a nineteenth-century execution in Iceland.  Agnes is sentenced to wait out her last months before being executed for murder, on a farm where the farmer's family comes to hear her side of the story and see that nothing is quite so black and white.  This is an excellent book for book clubs- there is alot to discuss and alot to learn about another country and another time.