Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author Jane Smiley’s The Greenlanders is an enthralling novel in the epic tradition of the old Norse sagas.Set in the fourteenth century in Europe’s most farflung outpost, a land of glittering fjords, blasting winds, sun-warmed meadows, and high, dark mountains, The Greenlanders is the story of one family–proud landowner Asgeir Gunnarsson; his daughter Margret, whose willful independence leads her into passionate adultery and exile; and his son Gunnar, whose quest for knowledge is at the compelling center of this unforgettable book. Jane Smiley takes us into this world of farmers, priests, and lawspeakers, of hunts and feasts and long-standing feuds, and by an act of literary magic, makes a remote time, place, and people not only real but dear to us.
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At the edge of the polar icecap is medieval Europe's most farflung outpost, a Viking colony settled for generations but now struggling for survival. Here, far from the civilised world, in a land of glittering fjords, of blasting winds, of sun-warmed meadows and high dark mountains, live a people much accustomed to holding their own opinions and doing as they please. They are, however, haunted by a rising apprehension: with every year that passes the winters seem unaccountably more cruel; the fur-clad eskimos from the North more demonic; there are increasing outbursts of lawlessness and witchcraft. Has Europe, in the grip of the plague, forgotten the Greenlanders? If so, will they be able to survive in their isolation?
In this powerful and hypnotic novel Jane Smiley draws us into a fourteenth-century Norse community – into the lives of its farmers, priests and lawspeakers, into the hunts, the feasts and the long-standing feuds, the flowerings of love and the explosions of sudden violence – to reveal a world which is at once harsh and beautiful, bleak yet vibrant with life.
"This extraordinary novel is full of life and bristling with action."
COSMOPOLITAN
"A magnificent novel, Jane Smiley has brought to her immaculately researched material a deep sympathy with her characters, a sparkling imagination and a faultless narrative skill. She has truly written a saga, which is biblical in its rhythm, beauty and simplicity of language and yet which has all the excitement of a modern adventure novel."
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'The Age of Grief, Ordinary Love' and 'A Thousand Acres' (which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) are also available in Flamingo.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.About the Author
Jane Smiley was born in LA, grew up in St Louis and studied at Vassar and Iowa. She won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Award in 1992 for ‘A Thousand Acres’.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Not many people now know that, during the Medieval Warm Period, Viking explorers discovered an island with a belt of verdant green girdling sparklingly white glaciers. Two colonies were planted on this "green-land", and soon were exporting dairy products and other things to Europe. But, as the Little Ice Age began to grip the Earth, life became harder and harder, until a European lifestyle became untenable in the new, harsher Greenland.
This is the story of the family of Asgeir Gunnarsson, a wealthy Greenlander farmer. As the world around them grows colder and darker, they go on about their lives: living and farming, competing and fighting, loving and singing. And each year, the winter comes earlier and life gets a little harder.
I found this book quite by chance one day, and was intrigued by it. It is a healthy read at 558 pages, but well worth it! Jane Smiley paints a fascinating picture of life in Viking Greenland, one that seems so true to the history books, and one in which the character seem so alive. Indeed, by the time you finish the book, you will feel like the characters in it are alive and right around the corner somewhere.
This is a great book, one that will appeal to anyone interested in the Vikings, and one that will appeal to anyone who loves good fiction. I highly recommend this book!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Paula Carter
Format:Paperback
I read 'Moo' and sought out more Jane Smiley writing. This was so different in style and tone it could have been by a different writer, and like other contributors here I found it hard work to read. However, as I became more involved with her characters and their community, I was gripped.
Smiley's spare writing in this book reflects the cruelty of the environment that houses her characters, and the transient relationships we have with the people beautifully draw our attention to the fragility of our own existence and that of our societies.
I read this book some years ago but it has resonated with me since and is one of a very few books I find myself thinking of and mentioning to friends.
Smiley's spare writing in this book reflects the cruelty of the environment that houses her characters, and the transient relationships we have with the people beautifully draw our attention to the fragility of our own existence and that of our societies.
I read this book some years ago but it has resonated with me since and is one of a very few books I find myself thinking of and mentioning to friends.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I was given this book by accident -- I was not a fan of ice, cold, old Norse, or any of it. I simply had nothing else to read. What I found between the pages was a story that has since inspired me to seek out every piece of known information on Greenland. Smiley's literary style in this book is to tell a fictional story as hard cold fact -- non-persuasive, non-judgemental. The depictions produce unforgettable mental visuals, making you feel more like a spectator than a reader.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exerts a slow but intense grip
I have to admit that my last re-reading of this book was some time ago - high time I read it again. Other reviewers have done a great job of describing the main focus of the book,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Louise the book worm
5.0 out of 5 stars
unusual and gripping
very unusual and a bit archaic(intentionally) style makes this novel stand out.I am all into this kind of stuff(cold and unforgiving landscapes,tough people,hard life,...). Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2010 by bumblebee
3.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent historic view of Greenland - without a compelling story.
Jane Smiley definitely has a talent for detail - exactly the kind of detail I was looking for. How did sheep and cows survive the winter? Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2006 by Louise Amkaer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Preparation for a historical tour of Norse Greenland
Our view of this book is a bit different than the other reviewers. We read this book as part of our preparation for a week touring in the old Norse Eastern Settlement, in Southern... Read more
Published on 14 April 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
An oddity worth reading
Who writes novels about Greenlanders in the 13th century? Nobody, except Jane Smiley
--and she pulls it off. Read more
--and she pulls it off. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling tale, one I have read and re-read.
The story begins at the peak of the Greenlander's prosperity and the reader joins it for the downhill slide. Read more
Published on 15 Dec 1997
4.0 out of 5 stars
Characters we care about in a vast story
I am used to reading modern literature which tends to get inside the mind of the character and move at a very slow pace. Read more
Published on 10 Dec 1997
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-crafted historical tale -- true to its origins!
Interesting how perceptions & ratings vary re: the same material. Contrary to the review appearing below mine, I found this book to be a fine historical piece (though I only... Read more
Published on 8 Aug 1997
3.0 out of 5 stars
A bit too frozen, read Vollman's Ice Shirt instead
Usually I fly right through Jane Smiley's books, but this one lacks a vibrant touch. Maybe it is the dark frozen setting, maybe it is the characters who are all Lief the son of... Read more
Published on 18 Jun 1997
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