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vanessa_willis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
charlotteekeogh's review against another edition
4.0
it was a very atmospheric book. it was very very well written with beautiful language choices. I loved reverend toti and his characterization and empathy for everyone and complete selflessness. this book was beautiful.
eskies's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is objectively a really good book, but is not really my type of book. It’s very well written - the writing transports you, and makes you feel like you’re in Iceland. However I found it quite slow and had to convince myself to keep reading it. Objectively very good, just not for me.
mairywo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kirrasbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was really beautifully written, it transported me to an isolated Iceland and I could really feel the setting - saying that the plot was incredibly slow. It was a historical fiction however so I can give this some leeway. The anticipation of waiting for the execution actually built up anxiety in me as a reader - I’d be interested to read more from Hannah Kent !
barnana's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
kyra_c_c's review against another edition
4.0
Extremely atmospheric - I could practically hear the howl of the wind outside. I thought the characters were mostly well-drawn and I found the details of Agnes' days at the farmstead very compelling. I enjoyed the central mystery - what really happened to Natan and Peter? - but I think the everyday details were my favourite bits.
jrmarr's review
4.0
This is a 4.5 star book for me. Absolutely wonderful tale and extremely well written. You just can't help but hope the outcome will be different, and the final few pages are just heartrending.
justchillin_cuganesan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
doriereads's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, this was incredibly bleak. Haunting is not a strong enough word to explain this story… set in the early nineteenth century, it tells the story of Agnes, an Icelandic woman found guilty of murder and sentenced to die. This was a slow and often disturbing book with stunningly poetic prose and vivid descriptions of the setting.
I know it will be a story I remember forever, one horrifyingly based on the real execution of Agnes Magnúsdóttir. Not really sure I’d recommend it though… a downer is an understatement. I docked one star because to me the first half especially felt unnecessarily drawn out, but that slower read might be just right for another reader though.
“You will be lost. There is no final home, there is no burial, there is only a constant scattering, a thwarted journey that takes you everywhere without offering you a way home, for there is no home, there is only this cold island and your dark self spread thinly upon it until you take up the wind’s howl and mimic its loneliness you are not going home you are gone silence will claim you, suck your life down into its black waters and churn out stars that might remember you, but if they do they will not say, they will not say, and if no one will say your name you are forgotten I am forgotten.”
I know it will be a story I remember forever, one horrifyingly based on the real execution of Agnes Magnúsdóttir. Not really sure I’d recommend it though… a downer is an understatement. I docked one star because to me the first half especially felt unnecessarily drawn out, but that slower read might be just right for another reader though.
“You will be lost. There is no final home, there is no burial, there is only a constant scattering, a thwarted journey that takes you everywhere without offering you a way home, for there is no home, there is only this cold island and your dark self spread thinly upon it until you take up the wind’s howl and mimic its loneliness you are not going home you are gone silence will claim you, suck your life down into its black waters and churn out stars that might remember you, but if they do they will not say, they will not say, and if no one will say your name you are forgotten I am forgotten.”