55.
Title: [Burial Rites]
Author: Hannah Kent
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: June 20, 2016
Rating: *****

Hannah Kent's Burial Rites tells the story of an Icelandic farm family charged with the temporary holding of a condemned murderess, and the difficult and intimate human relationships that are formed when people are forced by circumstance and necessity to occupy the same small spaces for the sake of survival. Agnes, having been tried and convicted of the murder of her lover Natan, is placed with a family in the community in which she was first born, living and working with them more as a hired servant than a condemned criminal for the circumstances of her imprisonment. At first fearful and repulsed by both their charge of keeping and Agnes' proximity to their wholesome, god-fearing family, the members of the household each form individual and nuanced relationships with the young woman, illustrating their own humanity as Agnes' is revealed, and the texture of the human spirit.

The novel as an object is a work of poetry, carefully weaving a tale that draws the reader in, teasing with developing stories, and sharing a realistic space and time clearly informed by careful and extensive research; the novel has a quiet patience that allows relationships to unfold and develop and for an intimacy and depth of character to come forth naturally, echoing the real relationship and community building of such households and villages. . Far from the courts and intrigue that so often inspires the genre of historical fiction, Burial Rites tells the story of ordinary people living ordinary lives, and the extraordinary circumstances that punctuate their existence, and yet fails to change it permanently.  Kent's work is thoughtful and beautiful, and Burial Rites is a book that deserves extensive attention.