Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent is based on the true story of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman to be put to death in Iceland. The facts of the real life case are murky, involving a lot of young people switching sexual partners in a jealous haze in remote parts of Iceland. There's lots in here involving differences in power, gender, and social status. There's also a lot of bleakness - in setting and in tone. There's no joy, no happiness, and very little satisfaction except for the day to day business of living.  The vivid descriptions of the forbidding Icelandic shore leave you feeling nothing less than despair and hopelessness.  The writing is haunting and gloomy.

Described as a "speculative biography," Kent tries to undo Magnusdottir's reputation as an evil witch that has followed her since her death. This novel reimagines the situation that led to the murder for which Magnusdottir was eventually executed to be a much more sympathetic telling in which she technically did kill one of the men she was accused of killing, but as a mercy killing.  However, you don't get that payoff until the very end of the novel. In the meantime, you are in Magnusdottir's head, thinking her thoughts and feeling her feelings.

As a work of historical fiction, it's seamless. The author weaves in bits of backstory and true facts about Iceland without that forced feeling that sometimes happens when authors have done too much research and really want you to know exactly how many eyelets (or are they grommets?) would be found on footwear in the Victorian period. As a work of prose, it's delicious. You feel like you're there - hearing the coughing of a dying woman, watching Magnusdottir sway with the rhythm of cutting the hay, and smelling the smoke in the kitchen as they render sheep. 

I didn't know this was based on a true story when I sat down to read it, but I couldn't help but Google the trial when I was finished. Kent made me want to learn more.  She did it deftly and beautifully and I guess I couldn't ask for anything more from a novel. A beautiful novel.  If you get a chance to read this one, you should definitely do so.