I started to read Burial Rites when it was first released, but didn't make it far as it seemed to move at a glacial pace. Several years on, I picked it up for a holiday and found it gripping from start to finish (the glacial pace now increasing the tension, rather than being dull). I read it quickly and thought about it constantly whenever I was forced to do anything other than read. 
 I found the most interesting aspects to be the depictions of 1800s Icelandic life. How it was deathly cold, stagnant, stark, frightening and a constant battle against the elements. The social elements of the time were extremely interesting. 
 I thought the author was successful at demonstrating the possible many facets of Agnes, as per her aim. I do wonder if it became too sympathetic a portrayal, as I understand most other portrayals are far more harsh towards her! Nonetheless, a gripping story of the nightmares of our collective past.