Publisher: Alfred A Knopf, 1988
558p
At once harsh and beautiful...
Greenland, at the tip of the polar icecap - a land of glittering fjords, of blasting winds, of sun-warmed meadows and high dark mountains first colonised by the Vikings. Now, in the last decades of the 14th century, their hardy descendants have become a people much accustomed to holding their own opinions and doing as they please.
Fortunate will be these inhabitants of Europe's most farflung outpost for they will be spared the horrors of the Great Plague that decimates Europe - what they won't escape are the effects of the huge climatic changes of the late 14th century.......the onslaught of the Little Ice Age.
Greenland Summer Pasture |
The ships that came from Iceland and Norway to trade became less and less as the colder weather sent ice drifts further and further south.
Even more threatening to the Greenlanders were the skaelings (Inuits)as they too expanded their hunting territory.
Ice Drifts in Greenland Fjord |
At the heart of the tale is the family of Asgeir Gunnarson......his wilful and independent daughter Margret whose passion for a Norwegian sailor will drive her to adultery and exile. Her brother, Gunnar, thought by folk to be lazy and slow witted. Their children , their neighbours, the community ............the farmers, the priests, the lawmakers - the marriages, the feuds, the feasts and the mesmerizing tales told by the fireside.
And vivid descriptions of the very ordinary ......
"Then Asta went into the steading and carried out all of the skins of the two beds, and laid them on the hillside in the sun. Then she gathered some birch branches and lashed them together with a willow whip and began to beat the skins so that the fleas and lice rose out of them as well as dirt and dust."
Norse ruins of Hvalsey Church |
Colourful Reading Challenge.
I'm a big Smiley fan and your post reminded me that I started Greenlanders back in, oh, 1989 or so but I don't recall if I ever finished it. Now I need to track my copy down (it's in this house *somewhere*) and check. If not, I think I'll add it to my TBR.
ReplyDeleteSounds fascinating...I'm not familiar with Smiley, so I will have to look into this further. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteYour review makes me want to re-read this. I love what you said about vivid descriptions of the very ordinary!
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