Scan barcode
A review by theogb451
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
3.0
Good but not amazing
Somehow this didn't quite click for me. I think it improves a lot as it goes on, both the prose and the characters, who begin the story feeling more stereotype than anything.
If we're being accurate I'd call this a 3.5 but I think what let it down for me was how unsurprising this tale was Characters all do exactly as you expect from them, they match every cliché you have in your head of closed-minded 19th C religious conservatives.
Meanwhile Agnes's sad tale hits every beat you expect and dread. This novel is not without emotional heart for sure. By the end I was drained from what happened but equally I didn't feel I learnt much outside of a sense of how bleak Icelandic living seemed for people generally.
The nature of a fictional narrative laid on some bare facts also left me a bit unsure about what I could take from it as historical fact. I used to enjoy books like this a lot more so I'm unsure why I'm not as into it now, which is a shame.
Somehow this didn't quite click for me. I think it improves a lot as it goes on, both the prose and the characters, who begin the story feeling more stereotype than anything.
If we're being accurate I'd call this a 3.5 but I think what let it down for me was how unsurprising this tale was Characters all do exactly as you expect from them, they match every cliché you have in your head of closed-minded 19th C religious conservatives.
Meanwhile Agnes's sad tale hits every beat you expect and dread. This novel is not without emotional heart for sure. By the end I was drained from what happened but equally I didn't feel I learnt much outside of a sense of how bleak Icelandic living seemed for people generally.
The nature of a fictional narrative laid on some bare facts also left me a bit unsure about what I could take from it as historical fact. I used to enjoy books like this a lot more so I'm unsure why I'm not as into it now, which is a shame.