Burial customs
Through her descriptions of Northern Iceland, where every day is a struggle for survival, Hannah Kent poses a crucial question: how can a woman endure when her life depends on the stories of others?
In northern Iceland in 1829, Agnes Magnúsdóttir is sentenced to death for the brutal murder of two men. She is forced to spend the time until her execution on Jón Jónsson’s farm with his family—his wife and their two daughters. The family, terrified at being forced to live with a convicted murderer, avoids speaking to her.
Only Tóti, who has been appointed her spiritual advisor, has contact with her, trying to save her soul. As time passes and winter approaches, the work on their farm brings everyone closer together. Agnes’s story unfolds, whilst the question of her actual or alleged guilt also emerges.
Based on a true story, Burial Rites is a deeply moving novel about personal freedom: how we see ourselves, how others see us, and how far each of us will go for love.
Through her descriptions of Northern Iceland, where every day is a struggle for survival, Hannah Kent poses a crucial question: how can a woman endure when her life depends on the stories of others?
The novel has won the following awards: ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year 2014, ABA Nielsen Bookdata Bookseller’s Choice Award 2014, FAW Christina Stead Award 2013, 2014 Indie Awards Debut Fiction of the Year, Victorian Premier’s Literary Award People’s Choice Award 2014
It was shortlisted for: The Stella Prize 2014, The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2014, The Victorian Premier’s Prize for Fiction 2014, The ALS Gold Medal 2014, Guardian First Book Award 2013, Nib Waverley Award for Literature 2013.
- Pages: 420
- ISBN: 978-960-572-038-4
- Publication: 2014
- Categories: Literature, Books, Foreign Literature
Life is a sarcophagus. Literally. It is simply the place that changes, the era that changes, tells us Hannah Kent from Australia, the new great talent of English-language literature.
– Maria Houkli, protagon.grExceptional. Writing of the highest quality. A work imbued with hidden love. And as such, priceless. ‘Mother, I am the unfortunate one, the dark thrush…’ Alexandros Papadiamantis had addressed his mother in moments of anguish. Ágnes Magnúsdóttir, the dark thrush of a world—our world—that leaves no room for escape. Or flight. P.S. It would be an oversight on my part not to mention the translation by Maria Angelidou. The very finest.
– Eleni Sarantiti, diastixo.grHannah Kent wins her bet, as she quickly makes the reader care less about the facts—that is, who was responsible for the murders—and more about understanding this dramatic heroine.
– Konstantinos Bougas, Kathimerini"...The narrative keeps the reader’s interest alive, prompting thoughts and reflection, but above all evoking emotions and sympathy for the heroine, who cannot be characterised and judged solely by her actions, but also by her intentions and motives – just as is the case with everyone’s lives."
– Eleni Kouneni, CuetoenterA story of renegotiating reality, re-evaluating our prejudices, and re-examining the philosophical concept of guilt and the motives behind a crime. A work that is deadly in its development, combining the thrilling romanticism of ‘Gothic’ literature with the revisionist tendency of the feminist novel that traces the ‘voice’ of the marginalised woman of the provinces in the early nineteenth century.
– Nikos Xenios, bookpress.gr"...A well-written story set in distant, frozen Iceland. ‘Burial Customs’ deals with the country’s last case of capital punishment. A book that moves and, at the same time, challenges the reader. Kent’s literary debut sets the bar high and raises expectations among the public who adored the book...”
– Artcoremagazine.grHannah Kent
Hannah Kent was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1985. Her first novel, Burial Rites (Ikaros, 2014), became an international bestseller, was translated into 28 languages and won the following awards: ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year 2014, ABA Nielsen Bookdata Bookseller’s Choice Award 2014, 2014 Indie Awards Debut Fiction of the Year, Victorian Premier’s Literary Award People’s Choice Award 2014 and FAW Christina Stead Award 2013.
Her second novel, The Good People (Ikaros, 2017), has been translated into 10 languages and was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, the Indie Book Award for Fiction and the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year.
Her third novel, Worship (Ikaros, 2022), has just been published in English and has been longlisted for the 2022 Indie Book Award for Fiction.
Hannah Kent is co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Australian literary magazine Kill Your Darlings.
