Published by Little, Brown and Company, 2013
Burial Rites tells the haunting story of accused murdered,
Agnes, in early 19th century Iceland. The Icelandic justice system is still trying
to find its footing and doesn’t truly have prison systems like larger
countries, so Agnes is sent to live with a family (Margret, her daughters, and
their father). Naturally, the family is
outraged, terrified, and apprehensive about having a murderess live with them
until she is executed.
As time wears on, layers of Agnes’s story are unraveled
piece by piece, both to the reader and to the family, as Agnes “confesses” to a
young priest nicknamed Toti. As with
many great novels, despite the overwhelming factual evidence, one cannot help
but consider the emotional weight inherent in Agnes’s story. She is not a hero, not an anti-hero—Agnes is
a prime example of a wronged woman, in many ways, who made choices in life that
may not have been the best. Even so,
Kent seems to say, does she deserve the finality of an execution?
Some readers have been confused with the shifting
points-of-view, but it is not difficult to discern between them. The ending does seem a bit too rushed, but
perhaps that is because the event itself is rushed and the narrative reflects
that. Kent’s language is gorgeous; she
treats Iceland itself as almost another character, breathing and shifting with
each day.
I could not wait until the end of the day when I could read
this book; that hasn’t happened in quite some time. It also made me very curious about Iceland
itself.
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