Carolyn - Thought it was an odd idea for a family to house a criminal all while sleeping in what seemed to be the same room. Loved when Margret met Agnes for the first time and began to take care of her as a human being. Liked the quotes, "Nothing is simple," - Margret to nosy neighbor Roslyn; "Blind is a man without a book"; and, "Her poetry made lamps out of people." Wondered if Agnes would have been better off at Stora-Borg, and if Agnes killed Natan out of mercy. Carolyn thought the author did good job making you feel like you were there and described it as a dirty, cold, dark, and claustrophobic life. She found the execution rules interesting. She wonders how much of this was true, but knows the author did her research. She found it all very interesting and was bawling at the end.
Becky - Thought it started slowly and jumped around at first which was confusing, but it eventually drew her in. She initially didn't like the characters but warmed up to Margret and her daughters and thought the author did a great job describing their resistance to Agnes. She enjoyed hearing Agnes's story through Toti. As the tension built she wondered if Agnes would make it. The administrative letters about purchasing the executioner's axe gave it an effectively real and creepy tone. Agnes was too clever and unable to make herself sympathetic, or someone to be pitied. Natan's description of killing the fox kits foreshadowed her killing of Natan. She was very moved when the execution date was finally set. Liked that Toti was there to comfort Agnes. Great pick.
Michelle - Read that the author, "tethered fact and fiction together as opposed to drawing a line between the two." Found it very poetic with lots of metaphors and particularly liked the references to ravens and the stone in her mouth. She knew Agnes was going to die, but didn't get depressed because she had hope the family would do something to save her. I'm not sure if Michelle was referring to Agnes or herself here. Michelle thought the gist of the book was that people's perceptions of us don't match reality, particularly in that era. Agnes had to explain that she wasn't what they thought she was. Agnes told her story, but it wasn't near to what people believed of her. Michelle read this in just two days and cried at the end. Loved it and would recommend.
Miles - Thought this was a great selection and found it different from what we've read before. The setting and tone were a perfect combination of the difficulties of living day to day and the impending execution. It was done so masterfully that he didn't realize it was based on fact at first. His critique was that despite a perfect setting and plot, it never really went anywhere much after that, likely because the author didn't want to depart too much from the facts. He kept waiting for Toti to make his move on Agnes, but he was there just to have Agnes tell her story. The daughters never really fleshed out as characters and their father Jon wasn't really present at all. Miles wanted things to unfold a bit faster and thought Agnes wasn't the most logical narrator. The whole story was built upon hearsay, but it was a masterful job of telling the story.
Pat - Despite the horrible things that happen and the impending sense of doom that hung over the book like the smoke of a dung fire it never felt morbid, but easily could have. I thought she did a great job capturing the predicaments of all the characters, with the exception of the dad. It seems that if you were a smart, independent woman way back when, your chances of being labeled a witch were pretty high. Hard to believe the writer was only 25. Wow!
Sandy - Kept waiting for a twist at the end, but when Agnes's final moments came she realized, "Nope, that's it". Wishes that she hadn't read the liner notes at the beginning, because she knew all along that Agnes was going to die. She kept thinking Agnes would snap. Sandy felt like she was there. Margret's hacking up blood ....OMG, enough! Luaga's bitching, OMG! They should hang her first. People believed the worst in others back then because there was nothing else to do. Gossip was all they had as a diversion and it was at a different level than now. It made their day to have someone like Agnes living nearby to talk about.
Maggie - Mind blown by how young the author is and yet it was so incredibly well-written. It was so poetic, for example: The weight of his fingers on mine, like a bird landing on a branch. It was the drop of the match. I did not see that we were surrounded by tinder until I felt it burst into flames. The descriptions were wonderful, and the characters well-rounded. What seemed like depressing subject matter: murder, execution, became very uplifting given that the family took care of Agnes. She was surprised that Margret came around to Agnes, and found her to be a sympathetic character despite being a 'murderess'. She loved hearing the story in both first and third person.
Leticia - Loved the isolation and description of where Natan lived. She didn't know it was a true story or that Agnes would be executed. Got the feeling that Agnes wanted to live to the very end. Leticia thought that Agnes had a terrible existence outside of her relationship with her stepmother. Agnes was a great storyteller. Thought that Toti was definitely in love with Agnes. Wondered what happened to Daniel, he just dropped of the face of the earth. Liked the relationship between Margret and Agnes and was moved by their realization that they were both of dying toward the end. She found the giving of clothes to Agnes to wear to her execution very touching.
K'Lynn - I really enjoyed Burial Rites, but it was very different from what I expected. I was worried that it would be painfully literary to the point of potentially being quite boring; I was also expecting it to be heavy on the unreliable narrator theme, I was wrong on both counts. It is clear from the very beginning that the author wants the reader to sympathize with Agnes, and while the dramatic tension largely likes in finding out how the murders happened (since this is all based on a true story, we obviously know Agnes will be executed), there is no suggestion that the character is being in any way dishonest. Additionally, there is something quite conventional - almost soapy, in the best possible way - about the way this story is told. It's easy to follow and always compelling, even though it's often very bleak. It is clear, however, that Kent's historical research must have been exhaustive and the details of this lonely, desolate landscape seem incredibly authentic.
The next book is: Orphan Train by Christina Kline
Books Read:
The Four Agreements
Reconstructing Amelia
The Bat
The Cuckoo's Calling
The Woman who Lost her Soul
Brown House
10 Little Indians
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