The World's Literature in Europe discussion

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

The beginning of this book is told from a few points of view. There are the family who will hold Agnes until her execution, the designated spiritual advisor whom she asked for, the general community, and Agnes's viewpoint. It's a relief for reader and for Agnes when she leaves the dark, solitary room to travel in the fresh air to the holding farm.

As women, both Agnes and Margrét grow into greater humanity as the story progresses. Agnes had been physically mistreated; but Margrét had been emotionally disengaged from Jón. Both women are in circumstances, neither would voluntarily choose for herself--murderess, caretaker of a murderess.

In Margrét's home, Agnes becomes more humanized. The reader might even question whether Agnes is the rightful murderess. Margrét also brings Agnes down from the mythic to the everyday

"This woman is not a saga woman. She's a landless workmaid raised on a porridge of moss and poverty.

Though, being a servant might be accorded slightly better treatment than being a murderess. That is, the servant's being desirable for labor.

Apart from the literary value of the book, Hannah has also given an accurate portrait of the social and economic history of that era. Landless labourers were indentured, and were more or less legally forced to stay with their employers for a year until 'Moving Days', round about May. This system persisted until well into the late 19th century, years after the slaves in America were freed. Sure, an indentured labourer had more freedom than a slave, but there was the same scope for abuse. They even had to get permission from an employer and the church to marry, and that was often withheld.

Carolyn wrote: "Apart from the literary value of the book, Hannah has also given an accurate portrait of the social and economic history of that era..."

Her researching and writing Burial Rites are mentioned in

http://www.theguardian.com/books/aust...

and

http://youtu.be/8wjCoxA5wzY

I haven't started this book yet. I look forward to reading it later this month.

Carolyn wrote: "Apart from the literary value of the book, Hannah has also given an accurate portrait of the social and economic history of that era. Landless labourers were indentured, and were more or less lega..."

Thanks for that bit of info. I read Burial Rites last year and thought it was one of the best books that I had read in 2013. The words that kept popping into my head to describe the atmosphere were frigid and forlorn. I felt Kent really captured the essence of the laborers.

Maggie wrote: "I haven't started this book yet. I look forward to reading it later this month."

G-dy
T- C-l
S-n
In other words, great news!

Jayme wrote: "...I felt Kent really captured the essence of the laborers."

Every hand on the farm was necessary, sort of equal in work, because the changing weather could affect the crops.

The book is successful in showing the character traits of Björn Blöndal--cold, proud man whose purpose is doing God's will on earth, particularly as he perceives more misdeeds. One of those is Natan's murder; the crime must have happened as Blöndal reasons the motives and events. Unfortunately for Agnes, he's the head D.C of the Danish king. Also, Blöndal notes his healthier living conditions--the light-emitting glass windows, the dry wood interior, and the spaciousness wherein are children and nursemaids. By contrast, the farm of Agnes's custody is damp with crumbling turf walls and with murky windows of dried skin, is heard Margrét's cough, and is full of constant labor.

Asma, thank you for the links to the programs on Kent's writing. I enjoyed them. I also enjoyed one on Murakami which was included on the side bar of the second link - an extra surprise for my day.

Maggie wrote: "Asma, thank you for the links to the programs on Kent's writing. I enjoyed them..."

You're welcome, Maggie. The strange part of the story is that no one knows the extent of Agnes's real guilt or innocence. Some of the book reviews describe the subsistence farming, the kinship ties and mutual assistance, the political-religious laws, and the women's lack of say about childbearing. The environment and the society can be unforgiving. That harshness is ameliorated by the humanism of Tóti's listening to Agnes's life story, of Margrét's change of heart towards Agnes, and of Agnes's interior viewpoint.

Started this last night, and really enjoying it so far. Will add more discussion once I am further through. I am already gripped by the story; any historical story, fact or fiction about Iceland, has my vote.

Andrew wrote: "Started this last night, and really enjoying it so far..."

The past lives again in the present with Agnes's stories about her remembered life. She tells its tragic, bittersweet story like a saga person would entertain the surrounding family in the small space. Alternately she participates in the present-time story of farm activities during her custody. The reader also gets a sense of silent, behind-the-scenes stories at the District Commissioner's and among Margrét and Jón's neighbors. As if those settings aren't sufficient, Tóti and his father have a sub-story as also have the quibbling sisters Steina and Lauga.

The book is incredible. So rarely have I read a novel for which I have been able to smell, hear, feel each scene, such is the power of Kent's writing.

Anyone who has been to North Iceland knows it is a harsh unforgiving place even today in winter, so 190 years ago it must have been so so grim. It is this grimness which Kent has portrayed beautifully.

I think only the coldest hearts could fail to feel sorrow for Agnes, who cuts a tragic figure, undeserving of her fate. This is a novel which will stay with me for some time.

Andrew wrote: "...I think only the coldest hearts could fail to feel sorrow for Agnes, who cuts a tragic figure, undeserving of her fate. This is a novel which will stay with me for some time."

Andrew, this "photo essay" pictorially emphasizes the historicity of the land and events; while Kent's fictional story speculates about the human characters who lived through the ordeals of nature and 19th-c life.

Stunning photos, thanks for sharing this link.

Andrew wrote: "Stunning photos, thanks for sharing this link."

You're welcome. I hadn't known that the remnants of Natan's seaside cabin were still visible. The events of the story happened almost two hundred years ago.

Don wrote: "I'm still buried in the sagas which I can't seem to finish but have managed to get up to chapter 6 in this."

Not to worry, Don. The The Sagas of Icelanders is a Big Read, especially when there are other current book discussions. Imo, the challenge is exhilarating, especially as the reading and discussion is always open.

Don wrote: "...As Agnes thinks of escaping, one can sympathize with how going out alone into that landscape would indeed be a death sentence...."

You're right, Don. The photo essay in message 15 depicts the inhumane landscape, affirming Kent's description of survival in winter and her characters' fear of being outside in a blizzard. Then, there's the grayness and the long darkness, some farms having slim resistance to freezing weather and slender resources of food.

On one of our road trips in Iceland, we encountered an unforecast blizzard (in October). Even in a car it was a little scary how quickly it appeared and engulfed everything. Now imagine it in Agnes' day, without a trunk full of food & warm clothes...

Andrew wrote: "On one of our road trips in Iceland, we encountered an unforecast blizzard (in October). Even in a car it was a little scary how quickly it appeared and engulfed everything..."

I'm glad that you and the others prepared well! The publisher's reading guide, especially question #9 and theme Icelandic Culture, can include a discussion of Icelandic setting. There are more topics besides! Usually, I read through guides; though some questions might inspire comments. I finished this novel, liking the poetic language, the moving ending, the slice of early nineteenth-century life, and the psychological changes in the characters.

Asma wrote: "Andrew wrote: "...I think only the coldest hearts could fail to feel sorrow for Agnes, who cuts a tragic figure, undeserving of her fate. This is a novel which will stay with me for some time."

An..."

Thanks for sharing the photos, Asma. I find the starkness beautiful. Another country to put on my bucket list.

Jayme wrote: "..."Andrew wrote: "...I think only the coldest hearts could fail to feel sorrow for Agnes, who cuts a tragic figure, undeserving of her fate..."

Thanks for sharing the photos, Asma. I find the starkness beautiful. ..."

You're welcome, Jayme. The snow is crystalline in the landscape photos, sometimes with the reminder of a solitary person between the sea and land. The author Hannah Kent spent two years of research with texts needing translation from Icelandic. Her "speculation" about the events and about Agnes's and others' roles in them raises insights into the contemporary, the legendary, and the unrecorded versions.

Don wrote: "Another fight over a whale carcass. How many of those have we read about this year?"

In the one between Natan and Fridrik, the reader accepts Natan's version of Fridrik's aggressiveness on Natan's part of the whale, until the Icelanders agree with Fridrik's version of the fight. There's also an instance when Agnes changes her story about the wielder of the knife and the fire's cause on the fateful night. The characters stressed from possible starvation and from horrific events might interpret scenes from what they generally fear rather than what is actually true in the event. With the whale, those mammals did not beach everyday. Lucky was the farm on whose shore the whale did beach.

Don wrote: "...Agnes's final telling of the story to Margret ends with her remembering the whale fat that Natan had bought at Hindisvik. I wonder if there is any significance in that both events are ambiguous and involve whale products..."

Back in early nineteenth century Iceland, there was no commercial whale hunting in Iceland; Icelanders were farmers, the whale products coming from stranded marine mammals on the shore. The whale oil might have been even imported as from the Faroe Islands or gathered fortuitously when an unlucky whale beached. Someone's having whale oil might have gathered notice from others. Natan would have been the type of character who used all sorts of herbs and natural substances for healing potions.

Agnes's spreading Natan's whale oil over the floor boards to ignite a house fire then her running to call out the neighbors didn't any make sense unless she'd planned out the scenario before hand. I saw Agnes's final revelation to Margrét as more of a raving. Natan and Agnes came across the page as unreliable narrators. As I recall, Agnes would assess her story's effect upon the listener. Perhaps, the closest truth about Agnes is in her introspective recollections. It is plausible that one would tell the truth in the final hours of life and that a woman like Margrét with life experience could bear the unpleasant details rather than a likable, callow assistant reverend like Tóti could not sustain. Perhaps, Agnes did do what she told Margrét but whether she meant to hurt or relieve Natan or whether she acted rationally is unclear.

I really enjoyed this book, but I didn't find it an easy book to pick up. Once I had I would read with fascination, but I was always nervous that when I picked it up again Agness would be on her last day and I'd be reading the horrors of her demise. I should have trusted Kent more, since the book was written in a chronological manner of Hannah's last six months.

I agree with Asma that Agnes was a somewhat untrustworthy narrator. I don't believe she necessarily lied, but she often excised events from her story to Toti, which the reader would then get later when she was thinking by herself. I thought it was an effective way for the author to get us the information and allow Agnes to tell the story putting herself in the best light possible. Don't we all want to be seen in the best light, especially by those who will be carrying our story out into the world after our death?

I disagree, however, about the whale oil. I think it was both the obvious answer of how to destroy the evidence and the most likely to hand in a desperate situation.

I loved that Kent left us able to decide for ourselves what we finally thought of Agnes. She was a sympathetic character in the way her life unfolded, but in the U.S. today she would have at the very least spent many years in prison for her part in it. She did not start the murders, but she finished one. Was she putting him out of his misery or getting back at him?

Maggie wrote: "I really enjoyed this book, but I didn't find it an easy book to pick up. Once I had I would read with fascination, but I was always nervous that when I picked it up again Agnes would be on her l..."

Why did she get rid of the evidence surrounding Natan's murder? Instead of fire setting, she might have fled to the neighbors after satisfying her curiosity about Fridrik's perfidy in Natan's house, before the fire, when she'd first come upon Fridrik's botched mayhem. A possible reason is her character throughout the story. Her actions made her out as a problem-solver on Natan's farm and in the district officer's family. She came up with solutions to vexing, sometimes life-threatening problems, having experience with herbal remedies and having a good intellect. Some of those problems were caused by Fridrik. And, she would right things. Maybe that's why she didn't run away from the still-living Natan. She seems to have taken on an impossible task that evening.

Asma, you're right, she might have handled it better, but I can think of two reasons why Agnes didn't go to the neighbor. As I remember it the nearest neighbor was Frederik's mother - hardly someone to run to in this situation and there weren't many others in the area. The other is that this is deep winter in Iceland, a snow storm is on them or about to hit. The neighbor is not next door as we think of it, but a good distance away, maybe even several miles. She had virtually nothing to wear in that weather. That, of course, begs the questions of what they all did after the fire -- they had to go somewhere and to Frederik's mother is the easy answer.

I thought Kent did a great job of showing how superstitious people of the time were. After the deaths, everyone would have remembered that Natan had talked of the death waves and he had probably talked to others about the dreams he'd been having about Agnes. The fact that he threw Agnes out of the house would have been common knowledge in the area. All of that would have made its way to Blondel's ears when he investigated. He wouldn't need modern forensics to figure out that both men had taken vicious blows to the head. He had made up his mind before the trial about what had happened. I'm sure his questioning and insinuations would have swayed the other members of the tribunal. Not justice, perhaps, but it was what they had.

Maggie wrote: "...questioning and insinuations would have swayed the other members of the tribunal. Not justice, perhaps, but it was what they had."

I'm surmising that Agnes's social role and the widespread gossip wouldn't be in her favor, either. She would have needed influential supporters even though it's the more modern nineteenth century instead of the medieval althing. Where would she have found them, as she'd worked at a series of farms and had subsequently stayed with a hardscrabble, put-upon District Officer's family? If it were earlier times, Natan's and Pétur's kinsmen would have avenged them rather than the governing body's doing so. And further change was coming, hers apparently being the last execution and the last displayed, decapitated head. Generally speaking, what kind of justice would she experience in today's Iceland? I agree, Maggie, it is the justice of the times.

Asma wrote: "Andrew wrote: "...I think only the coldest hearts could fail to feel sorrow for Agnes, who cuts a tragic figure, undeserving of her fate. This is a novel which will stay with me for some time."

An..."
Read this book much too late to contribute to the conversation... but this photo essay is so great I just wanted to thank you Asma for sharing it!

Okay I am much too late to join this conversation but I really loved the passage in the novel wherein Agnes discusses with the reverend why she thinks Blondal considered her guilty:
"I'll tell you something, Reverend Tóti. All my life people have thought I was too clever. Too clever by half, they'd say. And you know what, Reverend? That's why they don't pity me. Because they think I'm too smart, too knowing to get caught up in this by accident. But Sigga is dumb and pretty and young, and that is why they don't want to see her die. (...) they see I've got a head on my shoulders, and believe a thinking woman cannot be trusted. Believe there's no room for innocence." (from page 126 of the Little & Brown 2013 publication)

I really liked how Kent created all kinds of room for ambiguity as to Agnes' innocence or guilt, particularly at the end of the novel. I think I have gone back and forth on it numerous times, and still can't really suss it out to my satisfaction. She is a tragic figure, though, no matter what her intent was.

Lucinda wrote: "Read this book much too late to contribute to the conversation... but this photo essay is so great I just wanted to thank you Asma for sharing it! "

Your welcome, Lucinda. This controversial, memorable story has deserved this good read. For me, it was tragic, bittersweet, and wholesome all at the same time.

Lucinda wrote: "Okay I am much too late to join this conversation but I really loved the passage in the novel wherein Agnes discusses with the reverend why she thinks Blondal considered her guilty:
"I'll tell y..."

Even though women's contributions to farm life were paramount, their intelligence sometimes went unnoticed. As you mention, Lucinda, Agnes's character was highly intelligent, combining higher order thinking with experience to be a problem solver in the affairs of farm life.

Going over Hannah Kent's book club replies, I couldn't but compare her Agnes with Flanagan's Gina Davies. (Aka as the Doll, she's a principal character in his The Unknown Terrorist.) The former story works from historical fiction, portraying what the real Agnes might have been like; the latter depicts a contemporary possibility with fictional characters, portraying something of an identity theft. Both have female protagonists who experience smirches to their characters and who are driven to their deaths.

Asma Fedosia wrote: "Going over Hannah Kent's book club replies, I couldn't but compare her Agnes with Flanagan's Gina Davies. (Aka as the Doll, she's a principal character in his The Unknown Terrorist.) The former sto..."

That is very interesting Asma. You certainly have a great memory. Gina reminded me of the Pope, actually, who recently denounced people who "worship money." I really had no idea of who he might be referring to but then Gina and her "enjoyment" of cash kind of struck me. I suppose she is meant to be the embodiment of a "material girl" as Madonna once sang. Still can't find it in my heart to denounce her though. The Unknown Terrorist strongly reminded me of another book though, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, which had many of the same themes and a similar plot, and, at least imho, was a much better book.

Don wrote: "...The Unknown Terrorist strongly reminded me of...The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, which had many of the same themes and a similar plot..."

I have been wondering how to bring Böll's novel into the conversation of the Flanagan thread. Reviews acknowledge Flanagan's gratitude to Blum's plot, i.e., "...an innocent housekeeper whose life is ruined by an invasive tabloid reporter and a police investigation when the man with whom she has just fallen in love turns out to be wanted by the police..." [Wikipedia, TLHoKB]. I'll have to give it a read. Thanks for the compliment.

Present or future gain was considered when the householder acceded to house Agnes. Kent's rural older Iceland, spanning about a year, and Flanagan's four-day, urban, media-driven, materialistic Sydney depict the seemingly universal human nature of suspicion and distance about the unknown. When Agnes's foster family and its neighbors directly get to know her capabilities and character, their experiences change their minds about her. Just so, Sally Wilder says in Flanagan's novel when her home is being torn apart, if you knew Gina, you would see her innocence. Facing their tormentors, both Agnes and Gina in intense, anxious moments commit the unspeakable act.