November Book of the month: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. Read author Q&A

[RachelMumsnet]

To draw Mumsnet Book Club to a close in 2014 we decided to throw our final selection over to you. We scoured the discussion boards looking for something that has sparked a lot of discussion this year and the book that caught our eye was Hannah Kent's debut novel, Burial Rites. Also shortlisted for the 2014 Baileys' Prize and currently longlisted for the 2014 Guardian First Book Award, this has certainly been one of the debuts of the year.

Burial Rites is based on the last case of capital punishment in Iceland in 1829. It follows the final days of Agnes Magnúsdóttir who was charged with the brutal murder of her former master and sent to an isolated farm to await execution. Described as ‘haunting’ and ‘bleakly beautiful’ this is a moving and gripping tale of love and betrayal, set against Iceland's stark landscape.

You can find out more on our book of the month page, where you can also apply for one of 50 free copies.

If you’re not lucky enough to bag one of the free books, you can always get your paperback or Kindle version here.

Hannah Kent will be answering your questions about the book in early December. So once you've had chance to read, do post your questions for Hannah on this thread before end of 9 December and we'll post up her answers the following week.

@Babelange

My questions for Hannah are: (1.) how was your book received in Iceland? Has it been translated to Icelandic and is the book as poetic in translation as it is in English? (2.) What's are you working on next?

When I was writing Burial Rites I was very anxious to ensure that I was doing everything in my power not to offend potential Icelandic readers. I wanted to make sure that my research was thorough, that what facts were known were honoured, and that an Icelander would recognise his homeland in my work, not merely an outsider’s approximation of it. Still, I expected that some Icelanders would take issue with it.
Burial Rites was released in Iceland in English in 2013, but in September this year I was fortunate enough to be in the country when the Icelandic edition (Náðarstund) came out. I cannot adequately express my gratitude to the many Icelandic readers who came to its launch, and those have taken the time to contact me and told me what they thought. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and even those who do not agree with my interpretation of the historical events have been supportive. Many tell me that Jón St. Kristjánsson, my translator, has done an extraordinary job, and I know I owe a great deal to his sensitive and beautiful work. I have been fortunate that Icelanders, with their great love and understanding of literature, have understood that Burial Rites is my dark love letter to their country. They have been extremely gracious.

@kate234

I am reading this book now. I can't wait to get to bed to see how the main character is doing. I'm transported back in time in and in such detail I feel I could be there. How did Hannah Kent write this without having ever lived this life?

Thank you, kate234. I hope you enjoy the rest of it! The answer to your question is quite simple, really: research. I spent a lot of time reading everything I could get my hands on about the murder and trial, but even more time reading sources that I hoped would give me an insight into how people lived their daily lives. These sources were as varied as scholarly publications about sheep-rearing in nordic countries, statistical accounts of the prevalence of smallpox, memoirs, fiction by writers such as Halldor Laxness, the Sagas, song lyrics, parish records, maps, diaries by foreign travellers, and recipes for moss porridge. I also spent time researching at the Icelandic National Archives, visiting museums, and driving to all the places necessary to the book, many of which are working farms to this day. It was time-consuming, laborious and utterly fascinating.

@Sleepytea

Thanks for sending me a copy of this book. I had read some of the earlier comments so I was not expecting too much from this book. Too my surprise I really enjoyed the story. I think it was well-written although I also hoped that Agnes could be spared. My question to the author is 'How did you feel about killing Agnes and did you have any thoughts about sparing her life?'

So pleased to hear that you enjoyed the story, Sleepytea. I never considered the possibility of saving Agnes because I was writing a book based on true events and I thought that to change anything on the basis of imaginative whim was to disrespect Agnes’s life and death. I also felt that her death was what made her story poignant and resonant. This is not to say, however, that writing these scenes was easy. It was a very emotional and difficult process, even more so than I had expected.

@clopper

Still reading the book and enjoying it. My question is how much research did it take/ was it hard to write about a place so different in landscape and climate from your own homeland? What are your next project/s? Will they be of the same vein or something radically different?

Thank you clopper! As I mentioned in reply to kate234’s question, this book required a great deal of research – both that which related directly to the true events I was basing Burial Rites on, and that which was more general and gave me access to this time and place. I spent two to three years on research alone. Having lived in Iceland as a 17 year old, I also had some first-hand experience of the (modern) culture and traditions, and the landscape and weather. I doubt I could have written this book without that direct experience.

In regards to your second question, my next project is also historical, and loosely based on a true story. It is set in Ireland and is largely about superstition, but also about motherhood. I’m very interested in the stories and experiences of women who lived in the past, but due to poverty, class, or cultural circumstances, had little opportunity to tell their stories themselves. I’m interested in silences and ambiguities. These interests are present in my next book.

@clevernickname

Loved the bleakness of the landscape and the visceral descriptions of the smelly, filthy interiors, vile food and even the sex felt somehow genuine - although I've never been to Iceland (and even at it's worst, my kitchen does not harbour moss).

Good call, babelange on the Crucible comparison! We obvs have similar taste - what else do you recommend?

Question for Hannah Kent: did you feel constrained by historical reality? Did you feel a tension between needing to stick to known facts versus wanting to fictionalise the facts in order to make Agnes human and to tell a rattling good story? You did the latter superbly, by the way.

Thanks for a great read and thanks to Mumsnet for the free copy! This was one of the best books I've read in ages. I've been recommending it to loads of people.

Thank you clevernickname! Very pleased to hear that your kitchen does not harbour moss. Yes, I did feel constrained by historical reality, but in a positive way. When I decided to write this book, many years ago, I was aware of the dangerous potential for exploitation. Agnes was a woman who was consistently misrepresented in her own lifetime, often by people who were self-serving. I didn’t want to do her the same disservice after her death simply to make a good story out of her tragedy. I believed that in order to make this project an act of emendation – to give her a voice, even if it was a fictional one – I needed to honour what facts were known. I told myself that I had to use research as the guiding light. If a fact could be corroborated, it had to be adhered to. If an account was flawed, biased, or contradictory, I had to use my more general research into that time and place to choose the most likely scenario. It was only in the absence of any information that I felt slightly freer to invent. What happened, interestingly, was that Agnes was made more human through this research-heavy approach. Had I never decided to try and find out the facts and merely fictionalised, I would never have learnt about her early life, her poetry, or what her family was like. It was the right approach, for this story.

Thanks Hannah - really interesting to read your answers and we very much look forward to reading your next novel.

Here's a final couple of questions from us....

What's on your reading pile at the moment?

@RachelMumsnet

Thanks Hannah - really interesting to read your answers and we very much look forward to reading your next novel.

Here's a final couple of questions from us....

What's on your reading pile at the moment?

So many books! I’ve saved up a pile of titles for my Christmas holiday reading, which is teetering on my bedside table as I write. I’m very keen to read Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, Paul Kingsnorth’s The Wake, Helen Oyeymi’s Boy, Snow, Bird, Euphoria by Lily King, and – in the spirit of getting to the books I’m rather ashamed of not having read yet – David Copperfield. There are so many… I could go on forever.

And what's the best book you've given as a gift recently?

@RachelMumsnet

And what's the best book you've given as a gift recently?

I gave my sister a copy of Jeanette Winterson’s The Daylight Gate, and I plan on making a present of Ceridwen Dovey’s Only the Animals to quite a few people this Christmas. It’s extraordinary.

And finally... the best book you've received as a gift?

@RachelMumsnet

And finally... the best book you've received as a gift?

My dear, book-loving aunt gave me a first edition of W.H. Auden’s Some Poems for my 21st birthday. I treasure it.

I know I've missed the discussion, but I've just started the audiobook of this. I'm only near the beginning, and for the first couple of chapters, i wondered if I would be able to keep track, what with the Icelandic names - listening to them, not seeing them in print - but already I think I'm hooked.

It's beautifully read by Morven Christie. When she transferred to the voice of Agnes, I actually got a shiver down my spine. Cracking start, can't wait to listen to more.