Books and Jams Readalong discussion

That's it! What are your final thoughts?

Oh my heart. This whole novel was so bleak and hopeless and yet for most of it I carried hope that things would get better for Agnes. I knew what the ending would be, but it still broke my heart.

I really loved how at the end Agnes had others with her. Toti who ignored his own illness to come be with her and be her strength. Margret who even before hearing the whole story treated Agnes with more dignity than most other people in her life. And when she pulled out her best clothes I finally broke down in tears. Even Lauga, who held tightly to her harsh words and distance, showed that she had a bit of a heart. I wonder who was the blond haired man who brought the flask at the end. Was that one of the other servants? I like to think it was her brother Joas showing up at the end. But I can't remember if she said that he had died.

I was so pleasantly surprised to like this book. I typically prefer plot-driven books, but I found this story so compelling and the writing so hauntingly beautiful.

Can't wait to hear what your final thoughts are!

I finished this book a few days ago, I could not put this down. I was so into the story that I didn't even cook dinner for my daughter, I made her ear frozen pizza. She's lucky I took the time away from the book to at least to that. ; -) I was in completed tears at the end of the book, I felt like I was watching Agnes walk to her death. Hannah Kent did an amazing job with details, the imagery was so vivid in my mind. I really appreciated how Hannah explained all the research she did for this story, it seems to me that she spent an excess amount of time to keep the story authentic. 5 star read for me.

Well, It finally let me in today.
This is my first book ever with a group. I agree fully with reviews above.
I personally loved the book, at times I felt like she was speaking to me. I wanted to be her friend, comfort her, tell her of Gods love. I cried and blubbered at the end and felt even more wounded that her head was on a stick.......how horrible. For one dollar, its the best I have spent but, it has been almost a week and I have to shake it off and move on to something else. I read my Bible, but haven't picked up anything else.

I loved it. But as you said Krista, it was very bleak and hopeless. A small part of me was ignoring the inevitable and was hoping it would work out all right, but we obviously knew what would happen in the end. In the last chapter, I could feel myself getting nervous and my heart was pounding! I could really feel Agnes' fear, which was written beautifully. The entire book was just haunting and raw. Definitely a 5-star read for me! Great pick.

This was a great book! I'm not used to reading historical fiction books, so it's really hard for me to keep excited about a story, but I'm getting used to it, it just takes me a little bit longer to read them. Totally agree with all you about this story. You can't help but feel bad for Agnes and just wish that things would turn out differently. Natan was definitely an awful person!!! The last chapter was so captivating!!! :)

Valerie wrote: "Well, It finally let me in today.
This is my first book ever with a group. I agree fully with reviews above.
I personally loved the book, at times I felt like she was speaking to me. I wanted to b..."


Valerie, so glad you were able to join in! I felt much the same at the end! I wanted to befriend her and love her and share Christ's love with her too! And cried as they all made their way to the execution. The head on the stick was horrifying as well! Oh man. I went to a comfort read next and picked up Anne of Avonlea - you can't help but smile on every page with that one!

jenthelibrarian wrote: "I loved it. But as you said Krista, it was very bleak and hopeless. A small part of me was ignoring the inevitable and was hoping it would work out all right, but we obviously knew what would happe..."

YES! My heart was pounding too...and it hurt for Agnes!

Stephanie wrote: "This was a great book! I'm not used to reading historical fiction books, so it's really hard for me to keep excited about a story, but I'm getting used to it, it just takes me a little bit longer t..."

Thanks for reading along with us, Stephanie! We will switch away from Historical Fiction for next month's pick. I'm glad you stuck it out and found some enjoyment in a book that was out of your comfort zone!!

Lisa=Books&Smiles wrote: "I finished this book a few days ago, I could not put this down. I was so into the story that I didn't even cook dinner for my daughter, I made her ear frozen pizza. She's lucky I took the time away..."

Lisa, I loved the information about all the research Hannah Kent did as well. Super interesting!

I had fun looking up some pictures of the area of Iceland talked about in this book. Take a look! I was particularly glad to see a badstofa, since that was kind of hard for me to really picture while reading.

http://www.picador.com/blog/august-20...

http://www.trippingoverbooks.com/2014...

What a heart breaking ending I was in tears. Even though I already knew how it was going to end I was still shocked by how it ended with there heads left on spikes and there bodies buried that was just horrible.
It just seemed Agnes's whole life was just unfortunate events. She just could never seem to catch a break. It was as if she was looking for that love that her mother denied her. I felt for her through out the entire book. I am so glad that Margret was there for her in the end almost like that mother figure she never had. I like how she told her that here mother still thought about her even if Agnes didn't think she did. That all mothers no matter what thought about there children. What a great book. One that will be with me for a long time. Thanks Krista for including me in you group I love doing these group reads. It really opens me up to book I wouldn't normally read. 5 Stars for me.