I was compelled to get through this book but I can’t say I particularly enjoyed it. 
Much of the landscape and the plot is bleak, foreboding and inescapable so there is a dull misery and inevitability to the course of the story. There are no surprising twists and when Agnes finally tells her tale, it is much as the reader would anticipate.
This book therefore has very little in terms of plot development and is all about reflecting on the thoughts and actions of the characters.
There are a diverse range of complex characters which adds interest and the reader does become particularly sympathetic to Agnes. She is a well rounded character, illiciting a feeling of sympathy but also dread when she makes decisions and takes action to do things that are as damaging to herself as the actions and decisions of others.

I am unsure about why Tóti’s story includes some level of desire and romantic feeling for Agnes as this element didn’t have legs and didn’t develop into anything. Is this perhaps a spiritual aside- the difficulty for those that give their life to God to walk the line between feeling a higher spiritual purpose whilst experiencing carnal desires.

I am also unsure why Margrét laid out her clothes near to the end of the book. Obviously Lauga relinquishing her brooch was relevant to her realising all was not as it first seemed, but I don’t understand the relevance of Margrét’s actions.

I also don’t understand why Tóti suffered a long and debilitating illness- Agnes could have told her story through Tóti as easily as she did through Margrét so I’m unsure why the author chose to cut Tóti from the narrative for several months. 

I did not like the historical letters included. I found them dull and two dimensional and did not really add anything to the story. I understand it was important to the author to include them to nail the narrative to the true story but I felt they were unnecessary.

A dark and mostly depressing read- well written but uneventful and unsurprising. 

the ending was really good, and the writing was raw and very well done, really helped with the atmosphere. i did get a bit bored in the middle though, but i still think it’s worth a read as it’s a really interesting story and not much is really known about it outside of iceland

Five stars for Ms. Hannah Kent. I listened to this book as an audiobook a couple years ago and it still sticks with me. It is beautifully written, making the world within the book extremely rich. Agnes is a character with no good choices, and yet, I left this story loving her none the less. One of the best books I have read in the thriller genre. Please read content warnings.