(5 / 5)
I had a vivid dream a week or so ago. I was at the top of a giant tower. For some reason I had been there all day and I desperately wanted to go home as I was incredibly tired. I crowded into the lift with a handful of other people, none of whom I knew, and we began to make our descent to the ground floor. I remember the dream vividly. Suddenly the elevator jolted and we began to plummet to the ground. As the force of the fall flung me to the roof of the small enclosure, I KNEW I only had mere seconds to live. I immediately thought of my husband and my son, and the reality that I would never see my son grow up came into my mind. I knew I only had seconds left. We were falling, falling down, like on some tremendous rollercoaster. I made peace at that moment, quickly reflected on my life and I pictured my smiling son’s face in my mind and knew that this would be my last moment on earth. We hit bottom. I awoke with a start, sweat pouring down my face, and I could hear my son laughing in the other room with his dad. I cant even begin to describe the relief that poured into me then. The dream had been so real.
I only write about my experience last week because when I began to listen to the audio version of Burial Rites it reminded me of my dream. The darkness that Agnes endures, was like my seconds in the elevator, but drawn out so, so much longer. What an incredible book. The dark haunting atmosphere of this book will no doubt stay with me for a long time to come, and I imagine will always remind me of that brief instant in a dream elevator where my life was ending.
Loosely based on a true story, Burial Rites is the story of Agnes, the last person in Iceland to be put to death for murder. She is sent to a farmhouse to serve the remainder of her sentence before her execution, much to the family’s discontent. There, she receives spiritual guidance from Toti, a priest in training. Slowly she begins to open up to Toti, and the family about her history, her life, and what happened that fateful night that she was accused of killing two men in cold blood. Slowly the truth begins to unravel, and the family begins to realise that Agnes might not be the cold hearted murderess that everyone thinks she is.
I don’t even know how to describe this novel. I saw it in my local library audio book section and remembered seeing it on GoodReads and thinking that for a historical fiction book (not my forte), that it sounded good. It had great reviews and was written by an Australian author and was soon to be made into a movie. So I thought “Why not?”. Surprisingly it was read by Morven Christie, who had narrated my favourite character in “Code Name Verity” which I read recently, so it didn’t take me long to get used to her hauntingly beautiful voice.
It is set in Iceland which is another reason this book appealed to me. It is on my bucket list and I was interested in what it was like back then in the 1800’s, in such a cold, desolate, yet beautiful place. And I’m not going to lie. It’s pretty depressing. The way of life is hard and dangerous, as it was in most places back then. Children died in infancy, women in childbirth and the cold bred nasty infections for everyone. The way Kent describes everyday life in such exquisite, depressing detail is so profound. I am new to audio books, and can’t remember ever before being captured by beautiful prose like I was while listening to this book. My favourite moment of the book, even though it was in a depressing part of the book, was when Agnus was young and her foster father took her out into the cold to watch the northern lights. Their description sent shivers down my spine. I could see them in my minds eye so clearly.
Even before I listened to the authors notes I knew the research that went into this novel was obviously a HUGE undertaking. Thoroughly impressive! Kent’s love for the country is obvious, and it made me want to go and visit Iceland even more!
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely!!!! I HIGHLY recommend the audio version. Just don’t listen to it if you are in the mood for a feel good book! But my gosh! – Its marvellous!
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