I have spent the last few days in
Iceland. Australian author Hannah Kent
transported me there with her deliciously descriptive debut novel, Burial Rites (2013). So engrossing was this book that I could hear
the wind rattle the windows in my claustrophobic turf croft and feel the chill
in my bones as the snow piled high outside my door.
Kent tells the story of Agnes Magnusdottir,
a woman in her thirties who was sentenced to death for her role in the violent
murder of two men on a remote farm in Northern Iceland. As there was no prison
to hold her, Agnes was sent to a farm in Kornsa to live with a Christian family
while special equipment was being created for her execution. Assistant Reverend
Toti is appointed to administer to her spiritual needs and prepare her for her
death.
Told from alternating perspectives as the
seasons pass, Agnes’ childhood and the events leading up to the murders
gradually unfold. The whole community is impacted by the arrival of Agnes,
especially the family with whom she is billeted. The relationship between
Margret and Agnes is particularly interesting, commencing with fear and disdain
and evolving into empathy and even admiration.
Reminiscent of Margaret Atwood’s brilliant Alias Grace (1996), this historical
fiction is based on real events and Kent has done tremendous research to embed
this fictional account with such rich detail. Readers are left to contemplate
broad issues of justice, guilt/innocence, capital punishment, poverty, family, faith, freedom and love.
I did not anticipate how much of
page-turner this novel would be, and once I started I could not stop. I highly
recommend this novel and cannot wait to see what Kent writes next.