Burial Rites made me really glad I wasn’t a woman in northern Iceland in 1892. Unfortunately for Agnes Mognusdottir, she is. It is perpetually freezing and miserable in northern Iceland in 1892 and Agnes is condemned to be executed for her part in the murder of two men. The book details her final days, unwanted, living amongst strangers, waiting her for her execution.
The writing in this book is intense and evocative, quite beautiful. Hannah Kent certainly knows how to turn a phrase. It’s not a particularly pleasant book to read but the writing is good enough to make it worth reading slowly, and savouring.
