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aggressive_nostalgia 's review for:
Burial Rites
by Hannah Kent
4.5 stars.
Everyone knows how this story will end. It’s a matter of historical record for the readers; for the characters, it is irrevocable judgment. Everyone knows that Agnes is doomed, and how. No one is here to be surprised or in suspense. What is up for question throughout the novel is how willing one is to engage with the story – the waiting – the knowing. Some characters turn away, resigned or angry, wanting it to be done with and forgotten; some, like the reader, lean in, ready to open up to the bleakness, the grief, the powerlessness, the uncertainty of faith, the ambiguity of truth. This is not a book that aims to present new research or reinvent historical facts; it is a story about finding a willingness to humanize someone who was not humanized by her circumstances, her own choices, or history.
This novel is graphic (occasionally stomach-churning), stark, humorless, and unrelentingly bleak. It’s difficult to imagine the fortitude it must’ve taken to research, write, rewrite, and edit it for years on end. But I’m grateful that Ms. Kent did, because this end product is beautiful. Wringing. Every character is their own. The pacing is not slow, but meticulous. The style and tone are evocative and atmospheric, never crossing the line into merely spooky or ghastly. It is stunningly written in every respect.
Burial Rites is a demanding read. I can’t say for sure that I’m going to reread it – maybe ever, certainly not soon – and that’s the only reason I don’t give it five stars. I would recommend it cautiously (I know so many people who would loathe every minute of reading it). But for the right audience, it is worth every careful hour you give to it.
Everyone knows how this story will end. It’s a matter of historical record for the readers; for the characters, it is irrevocable judgment. Everyone knows that Agnes is doomed, and how. No one is here to be surprised or in suspense. What is up for question throughout the novel is how willing one is to engage with the story – the waiting – the knowing. Some characters turn away, resigned or angry, wanting it to be done with and forgotten; some, like the reader, lean in, ready to open up to the bleakness, the grief, the powerlessness, the uncertainty of faith, the ambiguity of truth. This is not a book that aims to present new research or reinvent historical facts; it is a story about finding a willingness to humanize someone who was not humanized by her circumstances, her own choices, or history.
This novel is graphic (occasionally stomach-churning), stark, humorless, and unrelentingly bleak. It’s difficult to imagine the fortitude it must’ve taken to research, write, rewrite, and edit it for years on end. But I’m grateful that Ms. Kent did, because this end product is beautiful. Wringing. Every character is their own. The pacing is not slow, but meticulous. The style and tone are evocative and atmospheric, never crossing the line into merely spooky or ghastly. It is stunningly written in every respect.
Burial Rites is a demanding read. I can’t say for sure that I’m going to reread it – maybe ever, certainly not soon – and that’s the only reason I don’t give it five stars. I would recommend it cautiously (I know so many people who would loathe every minute of reading it). But for the right audience, it is worth every careful hour you give to it.