Burial Rites: Library Edition

Kent, Hannah

ISBN 10: 1478927283 ISBN 13: 9781478927280

Publisher: Hachette Audio, 2013

Synopsis

Inspired by a true story, Hannah Kent's Burial Rites was shortlisted for The Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, The Guardian First Book Award and The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards.

In northern Iceland, 1829, Agnes Magnúsdóttir is condemned to death for her part in the brutal murder of her lover.

Agnes is sent to wait out her final months on the farm of district officer Jón Jónsson, his wife and their two daughters. Horrified to have a convicted murderer in their midst, the family avoid contact with Agnes. Only Tóti, the young assistant priest appointed Agnes’s spiritual guardian, is compelled to try to understand her. As the year progresses and the hardships of rural life force the household to work side by side, Agnes’s story begins to emerge and with it the family’s terrible realization that all is not as they had assumed.

Based on actual events, Burial Rites is an astonishing and moving novel about the truths we claim to know and the ways in which we interpret what we’re told. In beautiful, cut-glass prose, Hannah Kent portrays Iceland’s formidable landscape, in which every day is a battle for survival, and asks, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

Burial Rites is perfect for fans of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood and The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan.

About this title

Review:

'A story of swirling sagas, poetry, bitterness, claustrophobia . . . through the long countdown towards Agnes's fate, it is Kent's heart-racing imagery that lingers . . . even the bleakness of Agnes's end, its gut-churning fear, holds an exhilaration that borders on the sublime.' Sunday Telegraph

‘A remarkable achievement . . . Burial Rites will stand comparison with Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace and Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang.’ (Sunday Times)

'This is a golden age both of historical fiction and of crime writing. A rare novel that combines both, this is one of the most gripping, intriguing and unique books I’ve read this year. Set in the harsh landscape of Iceland in the 19th century, it is a novel that bristles with beautiful description, that lays bare the harshness of women’s lives of the period and considers the nature of justice.' Kate Mosse

‘Gorgeous and haunting, Burial Rites will touch your heart.’ Charlotte Rogan, author of The Lifeboat

'So gripping I wanted to rush through the pages, but so beautifully written I wanted to linger over every sentence. Hannah Kent's debut novel is outstanding.' Madeline Miller, Orange Prize-winning author of The Song of Achilles

'The debut that everyone's talking about' Guardian

‘All this research has paid off in spades: the end result is a novel so steeped in period detail that the extracts lifted from original sources sit eloquently alongside the fictionalised account, the transition between the two being effortlessly smooth . . . Burial Rites is a debut of rare sophistication and beauty – a simple but moving story, meticulously researched and hauntingly told.’ Observer

'Startlingly vivid . . . This is a tormented tale of love and betrayal and divided loyalties recounted with heartfelt honesty . . . An exceptional debut.' Sunday Express

‘Hannah's rendering of Agnes Magnúsdóttir is as vivid and authentic as Mailer's Gary Gilmore, but done with greater economy and aplomb. She has resurrected her heroine with grace and skill; her writing style is innately lyrical and her descriptions are clear and beautifully constructed. Her dialogue is entirely believable, a thing not easily done. Some writers never get it right; Hannah has done it with seeming effortlessness in her first novel. Burial Rites is an amazing book. I was completely engrossed all the way through, and heartbroken at its end.’ Donal Ryan, Man Booker longlisted author of The Spinning Heart

‘Haunting . . . startlingly vivid, a poetic reimagining of a world where “autumn fell upon the valley like a gasp” . . . Kent skilfully ratchets up the sense of antagonism towards Agnes but also builds a recognisable picture of ordinary family life confronting extraordinary events . . . This is a tormented tale of love and betrayal and divided loyalties recounted with heartfelt honesty . . . An exceptional debut.’ Eithne Farry, Sunday Express

Book Description:

Inspired by a true story, Burial Rites follows the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hachette Audio
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1478927283
• ISBN 13: 9781478927280
• Binding: Preloaded Digital Audio Player