Alisa's review
Last Rituals: An Icelandic Novel of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft, and Modern Murder
by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
I agree with your comments about picking up interesting tid bits from novels authentically written and set in a foreign culture. That is one of the reasons I like Alan Furst (I just posted a Have Read" of one of his). Authentically is the operative word here; there are a lot of historical novels set in foreign settings that don't fill the bill, tid-bitwise. -- Paul
Alisa's review
Last Rituals: An Icelandic Novel of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft, and Modern Murder by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Alisa's review
rating:
It passed all of yesterday when my head was hurting, and D was too sick to talk to me. They mystery was standard, and not overly accomplished. The best thing about reading foreign mystery novels is the by-the-way things you pick up by accident. What people call their dogs, or what kind of food they think is a romantic night out. Or how this book always tells what language a conversation is held in: English, German, or Icelandic. I don't know exactly what that means, but I'm sure it does signify. It represents a different world, and a different relationship to the rest of it. Its a sideways glance into something more meaningful than all the witch burnings, secret symbols, and spells written in raven's blood.
I agree with your comments about picking up interesting tid bits from novels authentically written and set in a foreign culture. That is one of the reasons I like Alan Furst (I just posted a Have Read" of one of his). Authentically is the operative word here; there are a lot of historical novels set in foreign settings that don't fill the bill, tid-bitwise. -- Paul