The Greenlanders

Note: this is a personal and somewhat rambling review.The Greenlanders was one of the great reading experiences of my adult life, and I have to confess that "great" reading experiences have become few and far between the older and more jaded I get. I had heard of the book for several years prior, and I knew that at some point, the time would ripe. I find that certain books reward a structured, self conscious approach to being read, The Greenlanders being a case in point. I am not sure why, it certainly isn't rational (another example was Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose). Most books I pick up and start reading immediately, but for certain others, I feel the need to anticipate and postpone.In this instance, I purchased a used hardback through an Amazon partner. When it arrived it was pleasingly large and heavy with a clear plastic cover protecting the jacket. The cover artwork is excellent, and the bookseller had included an additional bonus of a postcard version of the cover (or perhaps this was included by the publisher - in any case it made a great bookmark!) I set the book aside for several weeks on my bedside table to let the idea of it grow in my mind, occasionally picking it up just to enjoy the heft, and eventually, the time was right and I dove in.When I did start to read it I was immediately captivated. It is not an easy read as some reviewers have pointed out. The prose style is that of an actual Norse or Scandinavian saga, the dialog can seem stilted, and the overall tone is stylized, spare, and stark. Smiley frequently reuses certain phrases - "there came a time" for example - reinforcing the sense that one is listening to an oral story. The characters can be difficult to keep track of. Simple events (harvests, meals) are described with the same dispassionate tone as murder. If you read quickly or skim at all, you can miss vital developments.Despite its challenges, The Greenlanders richly rewards a reader's efforts. After the first few pages, I had sunk into it's mood, my inner ear adapting to the pacing and style of the prose, surrendering to the almost Biblical voice. I have a similar reaction to Shakespeare or Melville - difficult at first, but then as I get accustomed to the rhythm, it is as though I enter a different world. So as to not spoil the plot, I will say only that the story is truly epic in scope, covering decades and taking the character(s) from youth to old age. By the time I was finished, after several late nights of reading, I felt as though I were emerging from a dream. Images from the book remain with me, still vivid in my brain a year later.I am generally a fan of Jane Smiley, although I must admit that I prefer her less popular books (Moo, Horse Heaven) to her blockbusters (Thousand Acres). The Greenlanders definitely falls among the former. Highly recommended.

I read this book when it was first published, and it stuck with me. Stuck enough for me to buy the book now to read again before giving it as a gift to someone who enjoys historical fiction. If your taste in reading tends toward thriller, fast-paced action, this may not be the book for you. If you appreciate period piece, historical fiction stories, this should suit you well. The style mimicks the old tale-telling of sagas down to details of everyday life and life-changing events. You will come away with an appreciation of the severity and tenuousness of life in that time and place. It wasn't a page-turner for me, but I had no inclination to give up on the story. I very much enjoyed the story, even through year after year of cold, little food, and isolation portrayed in the tale. I'm very glad to have read it and glad to have read it again.

“The Greenlanders” is a tour de force, utterly enjoyable from start to finish. I knew Jane Smiley’s work from “A Thousand Acres,” the book that won her the Pulitzer, and while I admired that book, I also found (on a second reading) its connection to “King Lear” to be a bit contrived. “The Greenlanders” will bring to mind that other saga of medieval Scandinavian life, Sigrid Undset’s trilogy “Kristin Lavransdatter,” but to my mind “The Greenlanders” is the better book.What’s remarkable is the way that Smiley depicts the precarious nature of life in 14th century Greenland. There is simply no predicting what will happen next. Although the novel follows the fortunes of one particular family, it does not focus on them; different family members move in and out of focus as their lives intertwine with others: lovers, enemies, “skraelings” (native) people), worldly visitors from the Norwegian homeland. Characters suddenly appear, and, just as suddenly, disappear. Death takes them; skraelings kill or abduct them; murderous feuds erupt into terrible violence; madness, famine, and wasting diseases grip the living.However, the book is not just about the fragility of life in a community that is in decline from its best and most prosperous days. It is also about the beauty to be found in a bleak landscape inhabited by a Christian people who wait patiently for the bishop from Norway who never comes. These people measure their wealth in sheep pastured, seals and reindeer hunted, cheeses stacked in the storehouse. So rich and varied are their lives that, even in the famine years, they never seem poor. Don’t miss this book.M. Feldman

Fascinating historical novel! I learned so much and went on to read other novels as well as diaries from the time period covered by this novel. Ms. Smiley continues to engage with each new novel and each new topic she approaches.

I read this book on the recommendation of Jonathan Franzen, I believe, made during a published interview. This story of the Greenland early settlers is told in a Smiley-conceived lingo that is replete with words that hopefully have a Scandinavian origin somewhere -- "seethed" for stewed or boiled, "sourmilk" for some kind of dairy product, all terms that sound contrived and a little precious (there is no glossary in the Kindle version). She does bring to life the harsh existence of these people and their matter-of-fact acceptance of the vagaries of their time on earth, with unexplained fatal illnesses, accidents, attacks by native Eskimos, harsh weather, famine -- all a part of their daily existence. Unlike other reviewers, I found it very difficult to identify with any of her characters, and although I read on and on simply to find out what would happen, towards the end of the novel, I found myself just wanting the book to end. This novel is truly an epic work, in every sense of the word, but I suspect it will prove more than a handful for Smiley's typical readers.