I loved Burial Rites, and am not averse to an immersive historical novel. And Devotion is truly immersive, and Kent’s writing is truly lyrical. However, I had difficulty with the plot, and the road she chose to travel with this story. I was also uncomfortable with the ‘devotion’ shown by Hanne towards her soulmate Thea. It felt more like obsession to me, together with possessiveness. And there was definitely a strong smell of ‘stalker’ in her behaviour.
I know a lot of readers loved this book, but for the above reasons it’s only three stars from me.

Unlike the majority, I read The Good People before I read Burial Rites. I have a rebellious streak, and when I’m bombarded by folk telling me I must read a book, I don’t!
So I’ve come to this book well after the majority. Burial Rites is a stunner! It’s hard to comprehend that this is Hannah Kent’s first novel. It’s structure, and language, are so sophisticated and polished. And yes, everyone was right, I loved it and should have read it ages ago!

So I’m no going to give a synopsis or analyse the structure - it’s all been said before. However, I am going to share some of my favourite similes and metaphors that Kent uses. Hannah Kent is a master of them both:

*Autumn fell upon the valley like a gasp.
*The light had arrived like a hunted thing, all wide-eyed and trembling.
*I feel drunk with summer and sunlight. I want to seize fistfuls of sky and eat them.
But soon winter will come like a freak wave upon the shore.
….my heart flutters like a bird held fast in the fist.
*My tongue feels so tired; it slumps in my mouth like a dead bird, all damp feathers; in between the stones of my teeth.
*The dark comes; it has settled down in these parts like a bruise in the flesh of the earth.
*Snow lay over the valley like linen, like a shroud waiting for the dead body of sky that slumped overhead.

See what I mean?
This novel will break your heart.

The Good People - I thought the title was referring to the inhabitants of the Irish village where this novel is set. It’s 1825, and the Good People are, in fact, the fairy folk. Life is harsh and unpredictable, death is no stranger. The Good People are held responsible for many of the misfortunes that befall the valley’s families. It is a time of superstition, fuelled by fear and grief and hunger and loss.
Hannah Kent has again been inspired by true events. Using the bare bones of a case of infanticide that occurred in 1826, she creates a story that I found quite harrowing. It picks up tempo and by the end I was racing to finish, desperate to know what happens to the women who are the main players.
This novel also made me so angry! Don’t get me started on the pompous priest, who tells the villagers that he will not stand for them believing in fairies, changelings and Nance Roche’s ‘knowledge’ on the one hand, and then in the next he’s spraying holy water all about, claiming it will ’take away the evil’. Who’s the hypocrite? GRRRRR.
So, as you can see, I was totally engrossed in this novel. Highly recommended for readers from Year 10+