The Rising
Sun, Grove St, Bath. December 4th 2014
Alert
for non-club readers: some plot spoilers ahead.
Six of the
BBBC gathered at the Rising Sun to pick over the entrails of Hannah Kent's
book (not to mention several packets of Norman's finest snacky
comestibles).
Broadly
speaking we liked the book a lot. In briefest summary it's an engaging,
well written book that, while perhaps coming up just short of the divide
between 'good' and 'great', is nonetheless a tremendous achievement
for a first novel.
First
impressions weren't so great – the advertised subject matter and title
would have put some off. But persistence was rewarded: the characters were
strongly drawn and Agnes in particular generated empathy. The female
characters were perhaps more clearly drawn than the males (lots of strong,
silent agricultural types, or old priests with a fondness for
drink), although to be fair the principal cast list was predominantly
female anyway. It was commented that Lauga was a disappointment – she was
introduced as a strong and complex character but then rather faded out of
the narrative. The character of Margaret was interesting as her gradual
thawing towards Agnes could be said to mirror the way that subsequent
history (if 'subsequent history' is a thing) has also read her story.
Hannah
Kent's ability to evoke the time and place of the narrative was widely
praised. Her time in Iceland had not only borne extensive research but
also enabled her to write convincingly and attractively about
the landscape and the weather. Those of us who have visited Iceland can
see why she felt compelled to undertake this project. From fish skin
for windows, straw from the roof and earth from the walls, the general
'cosiness' of a winter in the badstofa was brought bluntly and yet
mesmerisingly to life.
Icelandic
culture underpinned the plotting, with poetry and sagas the principal
means of recording and passing on history. The use of symbolism – stones
in the mouth, ravens, fire, ice, water, blood – added to the strong
sense of place that runs throughout the book. Emily Bronte was
mentioned as a parallel for the way Kent strove to imbue every aspect
of the plot with life and meaning.
The book
was also helped by its structure, using several interweaving narratives to
layer up a rich composition. Despite this it was by nature a 'quiet' book,
and the ending rather divided the group. For some, it was extremely
thought-provoking: would you have convicted her? How would you spend your
last day if you knew you were going to die? How advanced
was Icelandic/Danish society to have managed to make this, in March 1830,
the last public execution in Iceland? For others, it was something of an
anti-climax: the depth of the research early on, and the amount of information
that had been drip-fed into the narrative by the time we approached the
end, meant that there really wasn't anything new to learn apart from
Agnes' personal response to the situation and the story.
Talking of
research, did the fact that it was based on a true story detract from the
way in which we were able to immerse ourselves in the book? Does the
presence of reality hinder us from willingly suspending our disbelief
to the extent that we might if it was 100 percent fabrication? Not all
agreed with this, and some would indeed have liked more of the back story.
There was discussion too about the sudden disappearance of the young
priest Toti from the story in the final third (until the very end) just
when Agnes would have had need of him most. The device of a fever striking
him down seemed rather an obvious way to exaggerate the sense of abandonment
and isolation that Agnes needed to paint as her story reached its climax.
And
finally, those of the group using the paperback edition commented on how
useful the map was, while the purchasers of the Kindle edition
commented: "Map? There was a map?". We also all agreed
without exception that the 'notes for book club readers at the back' were
superfluous crap.
Overall
widely liked – average score 7.29 out of 10, putting it in second place
behind The Goldfinch (last 12 books only).
