Burial Rites My Rating: 1.0
Agnes is charged with the brutal murder of her former master and sent to await execution on an isolated farm. Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her.
As Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.
I’m so glad I read The Good People first because if I had started with Burial Rites, I doubt I would have picked up another book by this author. What a disappointment.
I listened to the audiobook, and the whispery, breathy narration didn't help, but the bigger issue was the story itself. I never connected with a single character, and the novel felt like it had almost no plot. It was a long, drawn-out story where very little happened.
The writing itself is undeniably beautiful, but beautiful prose isn't enough for me. I need characters I care about and at least some sense of momentum. I think we were meant to feel sympathy for Agnes and the priest, but I never became invested in either of them.
I should have DNF'd this one, but I kept waiting for it to get better. It never did. Lesson learned.
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