I think of this as more of an intellectual exercise. How do language, character, plot, and theme come together to form the book? Was one aspect emphasized over the others. A novel that focuses too much on language might feel impenetrable to some. A character-driven novel might lag, while too much emphasis on theme might come off heavy handed. A book that's too heavily plot driven might appear disposable. It's definitely a blanacing act.

Early on, I could see everything coming together for Hannah Kent's Burial Rites. The book was agented by Dan Lazar and picked up by Judy Clain at Little, Brown, both folks with strong track records of gauging that sweet spot of literary fiction with commercial viability, or is commercial books that are literary enough to warrant critical notice and the enthusiasm of tastemakers.

They sent author Hannah Kent (photo credit Nicholas Purcell) on an early meet-the-booksellers tour, a practice that has picked up steam in the last 10-15 years. When we go to these events, we are much likely to read the book, but this is only really going to work if we actually connect with the book. After those dinners, the quotes started coming in, and I talked to some of the booksellers, and there was genuine enthusiasm. It's the range of booksellers that makes a difference--different ages, men and women, different kinds of stores.

From Boswellian Anne McMahon:
"The harsh Icelandic setting is a perfect companion for the spare story of Agnes, a convicted murderess and the reluctant family that has enforced custody of her as she awaits execution. The story is wrenching, the writing is beautiful. There were sentences and phrases so perfect that they stopped me in my tracks. Not to be missed."
From Boswellian Jannis Mindel:
"Based on real life events, Agnes Magnusdottir stands accused of the brutal murder of her master Natan Ketilsson in Iceland in 1829. While awaiting her execution she is placed with Jon and Margret Jonsson and their daughters on their farm. At first the family is fearful but as they learn her story much of their fear falls away. Agnes has chosen a young priest, Thorvardur, as her spiritual advisor and like the Jonsson family, we learn about Agnes' life through her meetings with the priest. Hannah Kent has written a well-researched, fascinating, and multilayered story that perfectly reflects the icy climate of Iceland with stark writing and original source documents. This is first rate historical fiction at its best."

"In a small farming town in Iceland (then a province of Denmark), a young woman has been condemned to death for the murder of two men, one of whom was her master. Instead of imprisoning her, they put Agnes in the charge of a farming family, Jon and Margrét and their two daughters. And of course they assign a minister, Reverend Thorvador Jónsson (known as Tóti), to bring her to Jesus and accept her fate. But her story is a little more complicated, and as she tells her story to the reverend and the family, sympathies start to shift. Was the victim, Natal Ketilsson a victim or a monster? How do her accomplices, Fridrik and Sigga, figure into the crime? And how trustworthy is Agnes as a narrator anyway? Based on true life events, Burial Rites offers that heady combination of emotions that are stirred by crimes of passion, sophisticated enough to keep you guessing and argue out the moral complications, reminding me of the work of Anita Shreve, only with exotic accent marks on the names."

One should note that Geraldine Brooks has most definitely had an influence on Hannah Kent. She's thanked in the acknowledgements and offered this recommendation, which Little, Brown is using on the jacket: "An original new voice, with a deep and lovely grasp of language and story."

I should note that we are hosting Hannah Kent on Thursday, September 26, 7 pm, along with another fine historical writer, Kathleen Kent (no relation to their knowledge, just friends) Kathleen Kent (photo credit Remi David) made her mark with The Heretic's Daughter, followed up by The Traitor's Wife (also known as The Wolves of Andover). Her new novel is The Outcasts, and if Burial Rites is the anti-thriller thriller, then The Outcasts is the anti-western western. Because Hannah Kent is unknown, and because we have so many recs on the book, we are putting Burial Rites, as well as The Outcasts, on the Boswell's Best through the event.

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