Get Your Free Audiobook
-
Burial Rites
- Narrated by: Morven Christie
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
Non-member price: $46.09
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Good People
- By: Hannah Kent
- Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inspired by a true story. In 1825, in a remote Irish valley lying between the mountains and Flesk River of Killarney, three women are brought together by strange and troubling events. Nora Leahy, a widow, has lost her daughter and her husband in the same year and is now burdened with the care of her grandson, Michael. The boy cannot walk or speak, and Nora has kept him hidden from neighbours, who might see in his deformity evidence of supernatural interference.
-
-
The Good People. A charming and fascinating story
- By Jennifer R. on 31-01-2017
-
The Survivors
- By: Jane Harper
- Narrated by: Steve Shanahan
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home. Kieran's parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn. When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl and questions that have never washed away....
-
-
Another Jane Harper Memorable Story
- By Florence Sheather on 16-11-2020
-
All Our Shimmering Skies
- By: Trent Dalton
- Narrated by: Ruby Rees
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Darwin, 1942, and as Japanese bombs rain down, motherless Molly Hook, the gravedigger's daughter, is looking to the skies and running for her life. Inside a duffel bag she carries a stone heart, alongside a map to lead her to Longcoat Bob, the deep-country sorcerer who she believes put a curse on her family. By her side are the most unlikely travelling companions: Greta, a razor-tongued actress, and Yukio, a fallen Japanese fighter pilot. The treasure lies before them, but close behind them trails the dark. And above them, always, are the shimmering skies.
-
-
Got to Chapter 20, Couldn’t finish
- By Anonymous User on 08-10-2020
-
The Girl in the Letter
- By: Emily Gunnis
- Narrated by: Jane McDowell
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A heartbreaking letter. A girl locked away. A mystery to be solved. 1956. When Ivy Jenkins falls pregnant she is sent in disgrace to St Margaret's, a dark, brooding house for unmarried mothers. Her baby is adopted against her will. Ivy will never leave. Present day. Samantha Harper is a journalist desperate for a break. When she stumbles on a letter from the past, the contents shock and move her. The letter is from a young mother, begging to be rescued from St Margaret's. Before it is too late.
-
-
Fantastically True
- By DebManning on 03-02-2019
-
Where the Crawdads Sing
- By: Delia Owens
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, rumors of the 'Marsh Girl' have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life - until the unthinkable happens.
-
-
Wonderful core story, but ultimately disappointing
- By Melle on 06-02-2020
-
Honeybee
- By: Craig Silvey
- Narrated by: Harvey Zielinski
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Late in the night, 14-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below. At the other end of the same bridge, an old man, Vic, smokes his last cigarette. The two see each other across the void. A fateful connection is made, and an unlikely friendship blooms. Slowly, we learn what led Sam and Vic to the bridge that night. Bonded by their suffering, each privately commits to the impossible task of saving the other.
-
-
Simply glorious
- By Jane h. on 03-10-2020
-
The Good People
- By: Hannah Kent
- Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inspired by a true story. In 1825, in a remote Irish valley lying between the mountains and Flesk River of Killarney, three women are brought together by strange and troubling events. Nora Leahy, a widow, has lost her daughter and her husband in the same year and is now burdened with the care of her grandson, Michael. The boy cannot walk or speak, and Nora has kept him hidden from neighbours, who might see in his deformity evidence of supernatural interference.
-
-
The Good People. A charming and fascinating story
- By Jennifer R. on 31-01-2017
-
The Survivors
- By: Jane Harper
- Narrated by: Steve Shanahan
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home. Kieran's parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn. When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl and questions that have never washed away....
-
-
Another Jane Harper Memorable Story
- By Florence Sheather on 16-11-2020
-
All Our Shimmering Skies
- By: Trent Dalton
- Narrated by: Ruby Rees
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Darwin, 1942, and as Japanese bombs rain down, motherless Molly Hook, the gravedigger's daughter, is looking to the skies and running for her life. Inside a duffel bag she carries a stone heart, alongside a map to lead her to Longcoat Bob, the deep-country sorcerer who she believes put a curse on her family. By her side are the most unlikely travelling companions: Greta, a razor-tongued actress, and Yukio, a fallen Japanese fighter pilot. The treasure lies before them, but close behind them trails the dark. And above them, always, are the shimmering skies.
-
-
Got to Chapter 20, Couldn’t finish
- By Anonymous User on 08-10-2020
-
The Girl in the Letter
- By: Emily Gunnis
- Narrated by: Jane McDowell
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A heartbreaking letter. A girl locked away. A mystery to be solved. 1956. When Ivy Jenkins falls pregnant she is sent in disgrace to St Margaret's, a dark, brooding house for unmarried mothers. Her baby is adopted against her will. Ivy will never leave. Present day. Samantha Harper is a journalist desperate for a break. When she stumbles on a letter from the past, the contents shock and move her. The letter is from a young mother, begging to be rescued from St Margaret's. Before it is too late.
-
-
Fantastically True
- By DebManning on 03-02-2019
-
Where the Crawdads Sing
- By: Delia Owens
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, rumors of the 'Marsh Girl' have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life - until the unthinkable happens.
-
-
Wonderful core story, but ultimately disappointing
- By Melle on 06-02-2020
-
Honeybee
- By: Craig Silvey
- Narrated by: Harvey Zielinski
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Late in the night, 14-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below. At the other end of the same bridge, an old man, Vic, smokes his last cigarette. The two see each other across the void. A fateful connection is made, and an unlikely friendship blooms. Slowly, we learn what led Sam and Vic to the bridge that night. Bonded by their suffering, each privately commits to the impossible task of saving the other.
-
-
Simply glorious
- By Jane h. on 03-10-2020
-
The Dictionary of Lost Words
- By: Pip Williams
- Narrated by: Imogen Sage
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day, she sees a slip containing the word bondmaid flutter to the floor unclaimed. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men.
-
-
An Engrossing Story, A Thinkpiece on Words
- By KerryJ on 08-06-2020
-
A Gentleman in Moscow
- By: Amor Towles
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Soon to be a major TV series starring Kenneth Branagh. On 21 June 1922, Count Alexander Rostov - recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt - is escorted out of the Kremlin, across Red Square and through the elegant revolving doors of the Hotel Metropol. Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely. But instead of his usual suite, he must now live in an attic room while Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval. Can a life without luxury be the richest of all?
-
-
Spectacular
- By Tim Goodman on 14-12-2018
-
Bloodtree River
- By: Sarah Barrie
- Narrated by: Kate Hosking
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Indiana O’Meara is no stranger to the forces of evil. Now a policewoman, Indy is always fighting to redeem herself and defeat the dark. So when girls begin to go missing at a remote cattle station in Tasmania, she agrees to go undercover to investigate chief suspect Logan Atherton, the owner of Calico Mountain Lodge. But her early encounter with Logan reveals a man full of contradictions. His deep empathy for horses and those he cares for is obvious but he is also taciturn to the point of rudeness, and there is a strange atmosphere at the lodge. It doesn’t add up.
-
-
Good Aussie story
- By DebManning on 28-12-2018
-
The Beekeeper of Aleppo
- A Moving Testament to the Human Spirit
- By: Christy Lefteri
- Narrated by: Art Malik
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nuri is a beekeeper, his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo - until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. But what Afra has seen is so terrible she has gone blind, and so they must embark on a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece towards an uncertain future in Britain.
-
-
A Beautiful Story
- By Jo-Anne Page on 31-07-2019
-
Bruny
- By: Heather Rose
- Narrated by: Zoe Carides
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Bruny bridge is bombed, UN troubleshooter Astrid Coleman agrees to return home to help her brother before an upcoming election. But this is no simple task. Her brother and sister are on either side of politics, the community is full of conspiracy theories, her mother is fading and her father is quoting Shakespeare. Only on Bruny does the world seem sane. Until Astrid discovers how far the government is willing to go.
-
-
Good delivery but story disappointing
- By Anonymous User on 08-06-2020
-
Boy Swallows Universe
- By: Trent Dalton
- Narrated by: Stig Wemyss
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brisbane, 1983: A lost father, a mute brother, a mum in jail, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious crim for a babysitter. It's not as if Eli's life isn't complicated enough already. He's just trying to follow his heart, learning what it takes to be a good man, but life just keeps throwing obstacles in the way - not least of which is Tytus Broz, legendary Brisbane drug dealer. But Eli's life is about to get a whole lot more serious. He's about to fall in love. And, oh yeah, he has to break into Boggo Road Gaol on Christmas Day, to save his mum.
-
-
Hard to press stop!
- By Fiona_S on 08-10-2018
-
A Room Made of Leaves
- By: Kate Grenville
- Narrated by: Valerie Bader
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What if Elizabeth Macarthur – wife of the notorious John Macarthur, wool baron in early Sydney – had written a shockingly frank secret memoir? In her introduction Kate Grenville tells, tongue firmly in cheek, of discovering a long-hidden box containing that memoir. What follows is a playful dance of possibilities between the real and the invented. Grenville's Elizabeth Macarthur is a passionate woman managing her complicated life-marriage to a ruthless bully, the impulses of her own heart and the search for power in a society that gave her none - with spirit, cunning and sly wit.
-
-
Not what I was expecting
- By Julie Orton on 03-08-2020
-
The Dutch House
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Tom Hanks
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A masterpiece from the Orange Prize-winning, New York Times number one best-selling author of Commonwealth and Bel Canto: a story of love, family, sacrifice and the power of place. Lose yourself in the story of a lifetime – the unforgettable Sunday Times best seller. A story of two siblings, their childhood home and a past that they can’t let go. Like swallows, like salmon, we were the helpless captives of our migratory patterns.
-
-
Great witty narration
- By christiana O on 27-09-2019
-
A Man Called Ove
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: Joan Walker
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He isn't as young as he used to be. He drives a Saab. He points at people he doesn't like the look of. He is described by those around his as 'the neighbour from hell'.Every morning he makes his inspection rounds of the local streets. He moves bicycles and checks the contents of recycling bins, even though it's been years since he was fired as Chairman of the Residents' Association in a vicious 'coup d'état'.
-
-
Best book i've read in a long time!
- By Anne on 11-01-2015
-
Cilka's Journey
- The Sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz
- By: Heather Morris
- Narrated by: Louise Brealey
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cilka was only 16 years old when she was taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, in 1942. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, noticed her long beautiful hair, and forced her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka did what she had to in order to survive Auschwitz. And yet after Russian soldiers liberated Auschwitz in 1945, Cilka was charged as a collaborator and sentenced to serve a 15-year sentence for 'sleeping with the enemy'. Once again, she found herself on a brutal train journey, crammed into a carriage with many desperate women and children.
-
-
A Bit Repetitive
- By Joey on 03-02-2020
-
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter
- By: Hazel Gaynor
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1838: when a terrible storm blows up off the Northumberland coast, Grace Darling, the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, knows there is little chance of survival for the passengers on the small ship battling the waves. But her actions set in motion an incredible feat of bravery that echoes down the century. 1938: when 19-year-old Matilda Emmerson sails from across the Atlantic to New England, she faces an uncertain future. Sent away in disgrace, she must stay with her reclusive relative, Harriet Flaherty, a lighthouse keeper on Rhode Island.
-
-
love, love, love this story.
- By Anonymous User on 06-05-2019
-
With Our Blessing
- An Inspector Tom Reynolds Mystery, Book 1
- By: Jo Spain
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1975. A baby, minutes old, is forcibly taken from its devastated mother. In 2010, the body of an elderly woman is found in a Dublin public park in the depths of winter. Detective Inspector Tom Reynolds is working the case. He's convinced the murder is linked to historical events that took place in the notorious Magdalene Laundries. Reynolds and his team follow the trail to an isolated convent in the Irish countryside. But once inside, it becomes disturbingly clear that the killer is amongst them....
-
-
Brilliant
- By Amanda on 08-02-2018
Publisher's Summary
Shortlisted for the 2014 Indie Awards
In northern Iceland, 1829, Agnes Magnúsdóttir is condemned to death for her part in the brutal murder of two men. Agnes is sent to wait out the months leading up to her execution on the farm of district officer Jón Jónsson, his wife, and their two daughters. Horrified to have a convicted murderess in their midst, the family avoid contact with Agnes. Only Tóti, the young assistant priest appointed her spiritual guardian, will listen to Agnes’s side of the story. As the year progresses and the hardships of rural life force everyone to work side by side, the family’s attitude to Agnes starts to change - until one winter night, she begins her whispered confession to them, and they realise that all is not as they had assumed.
Based on a true story, Burial Rites is an astonishing and moving book about the truths we claim to know and the ways in which we interpret what we’re told. In beautiful, cut-glass prose, Hannah Kent portrays Iceland’s formidable landscape, in which every day is a battle for survival.
Critic Reviews
More from the same
What listeners say about Burial Rites
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Zakgirl
- 13-02-2016
Well researched and very believable
The ending was no surprise as a documentary was what sparked my interest in this novel and they gave away the ending. Even so, the book was not ruined by this. In fact it made it more intriguing. Well written and researched. Very believable characters and plot. Even though this fiction was drawn from factual accounts of the time it was definitely not presented in a lecturing academic way - a most challenging read that takes you to the time and place in which it was set in a very real way. Cudos to the Author.
Audio/narration was exceptional too.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Linda Marea
- 07-02-2018
I hadn’t expected this
I was told by a friend who’s a professional reviewer that this was one of her favourite books. But I was disarmed by everything from the moment I started listening. This is not a happy book. The content holds you too close to the story - the true story - of yet another woman who’s destiny is controlled and predestined by a culture of cruelty. The writing is so exquisite and the performance of the narrator so utterly perfect that I found myself all too often not breathing. The intimacy of Burial Rites is hypnotic and addictive and I pushed life’s needs and chores to one side to keep the connection for as long as possible. I believe this is one of the most powerful and beautiful books I’ve ever read.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Justine
- 03-05-2015
Fantastic book!
A great narration and well presented story of Agnes. Recommend highly. I found the Iceland history fascinating
Thanks heaps
audible !!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Madi
- 21-04-2015
Beautifully read
So beautifully read. Mesmerising, lilting voice. Sad to reach the end . Highly recommend this version.
Language would be hard to master
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ej
- 07-03-2014
Absorbing .fascinating and superbly narrated.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I have recommended it to my book club and to many friends. I was entirely absorbed by the. Story and could feel the icy wilderness creeping into my bones and the sadness and cruelty touching my heart. Brilliantly narrated. One of my best books ever
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Amanda
- 08-04-2015
Cold comfort
This is a wonderful book and engaging storytelling although it was numbingly cold at times and almost unbearably grim. But I warmed to the characters and the desolate landscape. A very impressive first novel which is beautifully narrated.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah
- 31-12-2014
Highly recommended!!
Really recommend this book! One of the best I have read in the last year! A very gripping story that kept you guessing right till the last few chapters, and the rest of the way through was saw some beautiful relationships form as well as being filled to the brim with such detailed and fitting metaphors and descriptive language (defiantly recommend listening to this book as opposed to reading it, you get so much more out of it!!). Morven Christie is excellent at narrating it.
Kent has done a marvellous job in writing this book - a debut to be most proud of!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 🦋 Percyville 🦋
- 02-03-2018
"Well researched, written & narrated"
Hannah's research into the history showed how tough life was in Iceland in the 1830's. Fact & fiction intertwining with this audiobook is a brilliant read.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 31-01-2018
Simply STUNNING, I can’t stop thinking about it!
I actually find it hard to describe how much I loved this audiobook. The story is captivating and it was easy to feel emotion towards each of the characters, especially the main character Agnes. The descriptions and metaphors paint the most vivid of pictures which are eerily beautiful in what is an extremely harsh landscape and era. The narration was exceptional, I’ve not heard anything this good before! I can’t stop thinking about it!!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Zack
- 27-09-2016
Academic and bland.
Relentlessly boring, burdened by endless imagery and the absence of narrative depth. I understand the complexity in carving out this story, I just did not enjoy the anamorphic narration, relentless descriptions of emotion and the overt dealings with misogyny and misguided religion. Others will love it. I did not.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sharon
- 18-07-2013
Icelandic Drama
What did you love best about Burial Rites?
The story was unfolded in a most intriguing manner.
What did you like best about this story?
The descriptions of the characters, the cold icelandic weather and the living environs that the characters performed their day to day tasks in.
Which character – as performed by Morven Christie – was your favorite?
Agnes
Who was the most memorable character of Burial Rites and why?
Agnes was revealed as an intelligent and compassionate lady who was convicted of a crime that she was sentenced to die for, but the unraveling of the story reveal the unfortunate circumstances and a questionable application of justice.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kerrie
- 13-06-2013
A fascinating journey
I selected this book as it had got so much press and the reviews were gushing to say the least. The reviews don't exaggerate - It is an amazingly well written story about a place that I have never even thought about. Hannah Kent has a very bright future, her novel is incredibly engrossing. Morven Christie's narration is pretty close to perfect - she knows how to pause for dramatic effect and how not to rush, which is integral to this story.There were times when the narration was so evocative that I started shivering, empathizing with the cold conditions in the novel. The pronunciation of the Icelandic names was a joy to listen to and added immensely to my enjoyment. If you like novel's that take you to new and different locations (seriously who would have known anything about 19th century Iceland??) then this truly is a delight.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- karen
- 03-07-2013
Brilliant . I couldn't stop listening.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Very well written. The story moves at a slow pace but is enthralling. The narration creates part of the scene with a very believable Icelandic element and a calming voice that builds a strong sympathy with the characters emotion.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Olivia
- 18-01-2017
Worth the hype?
Burial Rights is set in an interesting historical context (and i do appreciate Kent's research) but i am just not sure whether the plot lived up to the hype.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Christine
- 10-07-2015
Captivating
Great book. Had us hooked from the start. Detailed characters. Not usually into historical novels but really enjoyed the setting for this one. Great listen!!!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kathryn
- 27-05-2015
The narrater's Icelandic pronunciation was real.
A rich tapestry of characters interwoven through a time and place of poverty and disadvantage took readers on a journey with a tragic end with some triumph.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Angi
- 16-09-2014
A haunting portrayal of Icelandic life in 1800's
Would you try another book from Hannah Kent and/or Morven Christie?
Possibly,but I found the pace of this book too slow. I think if she wrote a novel set in a different place and time it might tempt me. Her style is beautifully poetic.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Edit out some if the detail of everyday life, not the descriptions of place which were excellent and haunting.
Which character – as performed by Morven Christie – was your favorite?
The protagonist.
Do you think Burial Rites needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
Perhaps she could write a book about the men that were murdered.
Any additional comments?
This was an excellent book to listen to, there are a lot of Icelandic names and I think I would have given up reading it if I'd tried to pronounce them myself. The reader made a great job of it. There is no doubt that the author is very skilled at creating an evocative and haunting story,however I did find it a bit 'grim' for my taste.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Bee
- 26-06-2014
A story you won't easily forget
Where does Burial Rites rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Superbly written tale based on a true story
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
Even if you know what the end will be, the journey to get there was nerve wracking
Which scene was your favorite?
Agnes relating her version of the story to Margaret
Who was the most memorable character of Burial Rites and why?
Agnes and Toti
Any additional comments?
Well worth the time and more than worth the credit.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Susannah
- 18-03-2014
Favourite audio book so far...I mean it this time!
What made the experience of listening to Burial Rites the most enjoyable?
Everything.....I love the narration, the story, the dialogue, the description of feelings, scenes ...it is the best book I have listened to for a long time.
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
Yes...and even though the reader knows the outcome before commencing the book, you cannot but help hoping for a miracle.
What does Morven Christie bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Her voice made the story for me...the way she brings Agnes into the room with you, the use of the Icelandic accent, she is very very good.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Cry. Over and over again at the end.
Any additional comments?
Don't hesitate, just listen to it!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Cynthea Wellings
- 09-03-2014
Exceptional Novel
I was not expecting the sheer quality of this book - in content and performance. There seemed to be an uncanny convergence between the narrator and the text which truly brought the book to life. The setting in Iceland, the history and the unusual plot overlaying the extraordinary manner in which the presenter tells the story, twisting her tongue around the Icelandic names is breathtaking.
This is definitely a classic book putting Hannah Kent in the BIG LEAGUE of modern day writers. I give this one 5 stars!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anthony
- 30-06-2013
Engaging, spirited, beautiful
Wonderfully written and beautifully narrated story based on characters and events in Iceland in the 18th Century. It revolves around a young woman (Agnes) sentenced to death for her supposed involvement, with two co-accused (one fo whom is subsequently released), in arson and the murder of two others. Prior to her death by hanging, Agnes is accommodated by the family of a district official, and counselled by a trainee priest. Through different voices and perspectives we learn of Agnes' life and passions, her relationships with the co-accused and victims, as well as with the family (divided in its response to her) and priest (naive but rises to the occasion). It is compulsive reading/listening, offering great insights into the social structures and norms of life in Iceland at the time - including attitudes to women and to those from lower social classes. The author, a young Australian, first learned of this story while spending time in Iceland, and followed up with much deeper research based on documents and interviews. A fine story, finely written, and finely read.
1 person found this helpful
16 Best Audiobooks by Aboriginal Authors
Across genres, there’s no shortage of brilliant titles from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers of Australia.



25 Best Celebrity Audiobooks
It’s always a pleasant surprise to pick up a familiar story and find an unexpected famous friend in the narrator’s booth.



Best Audiobooks of 2020
We've crunched the numbers, heard from our listeners and gotten expert opinions to round up the best listens of 2020.


