BURIAL RITES was the July 2016 pick in my online book club, The Reading Cove, and it was a book I'd been eagerly looking forward to. A fictional story about the last person to be publicly beheaded in 1820s Iceland is pure plot-rich fertile ground, right?
But what a disappointment! (I have to agree with another PBS reviewer, Barbara, who said this book just plods along. I couldn't have described it better myself.)
While well written and decidedly poetic through Agnes' POV, I found the narrative itself very poorly focused, not to mention terribly dry, bland and flavorless. It never took on three dimensions and failed to engage me emotionally. And considering the highly dramatic true story it's based on, it felt like a missed opportunity to really connect the reader to Agnes Magnúsdóttir. To make her beheading result in a much greater sense of loss for the reader. As it stands, while you do spend most of the book with her, slowly (ever so slowly) learning the circumstances that led up to the murders, her character manages to remain flat, remote and uninteresting throughout.
The same can be said for the other characters, including the victims! But most notably it can be said for the priest Agnes requests to counsel her as she awaits execution, Reverend Tóti, who is the second main POV in the book. His role was a bitterly wasted opportunity to inject dimension and life into what is otherwise a snoozy narrative. There was a hint at the topic of progression in religious practice and ideology, but Tóti is written as too young and inexperienced to be effective (as a priest or otherwise) in this situation so the potential fizzles. He only manages to make it abundantly clear that the priesthood is not at all where he belongs in life. Both his POV and his light-weight relationship with Agnes proved utterly useless to the story. Useless.
Also, the POV shifts happen at section breaks vs. chapter breaks, and as I read, I really felt like Agnes' POV should've had its own chapters whenever the narrative shifted to her. This simple adjustment might've given her more distinction and dimension within the story.
So overall, I feel BURIAL RITES misses the mark. Big time. I did appreciate the author's effort at sophistication but her coarse storytelling lacks vitality and imagination. Nevertheless, I'll still look forward to the Jennifer Lawrence movie adaptation with fingers crossed it's made more compelling and executes the promise of the title and premise far better than this novel does.
Would I recommend it? No, not really. I think you'd be better off spending your time Googling Agnes Magnúsdóttir and reading up the history yourself. 2.5 stars.
But what a disappointment! (I have to agree with another PBS reviewer, Barbara, who said this book just plods along. I couldn't have described it better myself.)
While well written and decidedly poetic through Agnes' POV, I found the narrative itself very poorly focused, not to mention terribly dry, bland and flavorless. It never took on three dimensions and failed to engage me emotionally. And considering the highly dramatic true story it's based on, it felt like a missed opportunity to really connect the reader to Agnes Magnúsdóttir. To make her beheading result in a much greater sense of loss for the reader. As it stands, while you do spend most of the book with her, slowly (ever so slowly) learning the circumstances that led up to the murders, her character manages to remain flat, remote and uninteresting throughout.
The same can be said for the other characters, including the victims! But most notably it can be said for the priest Agnes requests to counsel her as she awaits execution, Reverend Tóti, who is the second main POV in the book. His role was a bitterly wasted opportunity to inject dimension and life into what is otherwise a snoozy narrative. There was a hint at the topic of progression in religious practice and ideology, but Tóti is written as too young and inexperienced to be effective (as a priest or otherwise) in this situation so the potential fizzles. He only manages to make it abundantly clear that the priesthood is not at all where he belongs in life. Both his POV and his light-weight relationship with Agnes proved utterly useless to the story. Useless.
Also, the POV shifts happen at section breaks vs. chapter breaks, and as I read, I really felt like Agnes' POV should've had its own chapters whenever the narrative shifted to her. This simple adjustment might've given her more distinction and dimension within the story.
So overall, I feel BURIAL RITES misses the mark. Big time. I did appreciate the author's effort at sophistication but her coarse storytelling lacks vitality and imagination. Nevertheless, I'll still look forward to the Jennifer Lawrence movie adaptation with fingers crossed it's made more compelling and executes the promise of the title and premise far better than this novel does.
Would I recommend it? No, not really. I think you'd be better off spending your time Googling Agnes Magnúsdóttir and reading up the history yourself. 2.5 stars.
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