Burial Rites

(by Hannah Kent)

Once the reader accepts the book as a claustrophobic minuity, s/he will find this wintery Icelandic saga is worth the solitary confinement; a lucid and authentic small tale of murder and retribution, with as much cause for optimism as in a Ken Loach film. Ken Loach should buy the film rights.

[Update note: Ms Kent’s second novel is due out.  No pressure, but….]