Bloggin' 'bout Books: 04/07/10

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge

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Dark Family Saga Shines Light on Icelandic Culture

1:00 AM

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Maybe it's an heirloom from her Icelandic ancestors, maybe a coping mechanism handed down by her mother, or perhaps it's her own personality quirk - however it began, darkness and solitude seem to follow Freya like a plague. She spends her days shuffling along New York's dingy streets, moving from her sparse basement apartment to her job in a subtarranean darkroom. Occasionally, there's a boyfriend. More often, there's not. Although her family's mostly gone, she's not completely alone in the world - an invitation to attend her grandmother's 100th birthday, complete with an airline ticket, are a forceful reminder of that. The only problem with taking the trip is that it means facing the past. Something Freya tries not to do. Ever.

The Tricking of Freya, a debut novel by Christina Sunley, begins with Freya's journey back to the formative land of her youth. It's a physical trip, true, but mostly an emotional one as she revisits memories of her long-suffering mother, her doting grandma Sigga and, especially, her unpredictable aunt, Birdie. Journeying to visit them means literally stepping into the past, walking on land settled by Freya's Icelandic ancestors. Sigga's home in Winnipeg becomes the schoolhouse where Freya learns all her mother has not taught her - how to make ponnukokur, how to form difficult Icelandic words into coherent sentences, and how to recite her famous grandfather's poetry from memory. Each summer, Freya returns to this ethereal world so far removed from her usual existence that it seems to be made of magic. Guided by the passionate Birdie, who becomes Freya's bright, colorful tutor in all things traditionally Icelandic, she spends her months in Canada just trying to keep up with her vivacious aunt. It's only too late - far too late - that she recognizes Birdie's mania for what it really is. Freya realizes only belatedly that outing the secrets her family fights to keep hidden might be the only way to bring herself out of her own personal darkness.

I'm pretty big on family sagas, especially those with fun, multi-cultural characters a la Adriana Trigiani, Maeve Binchy, etc. I thought Sunley might provide an Icelandic equivalent. Not so much. The Tricking of Freya tells a denser, darker, more literary story. Some characters (Sigga, Stefan) imbue the Icelandic angle with warmth, but mostly it comes off as a cold, dark, isolating heritage. Complex and beautiful, to be sure - just in an icy, otherworldly sort of way. Although the novel's well-crafted, it struggles to be as readable as a Trigiani or Binchy book. I'm not saying it's not worth the attempt, only that it requires a fair amount of slogging.

What makes the book unique, of course, is the light Sunley shows on a culture that has been left unexplored in recent fiction. The author's obviously proud of her homeland and heritage, and that comes through strongly in the novel. While I enjoyed my glimpse at Iceland, Sunley doesn't convince me to stay for a closer look. I shied away from the frosty tone of the book, longing for more richness, more warmth, more satisfaction from the story. The Tricking of Freya is an impressive debut, just not what I expected and not really the kind of family saga I usually enjoy. I'm of hearty stock (English and Welsh), but maybe not quite enough for an extended stay in Iceland.

(Readalikes: Hmm ... I can't think of any. Can you?)

Grade: B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language and sexual content

To the FTC, with love: I received this book from the generous folks at Picador. Thanks!

Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)

1. Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (Jan)
2. She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke (Jan)
3. My Salty Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Jan)
4. The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Jan)
5. The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro (Jan)
6. Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes (Jan)
7. Murder at Chateau sur Mer by Alyssa Maxwell (Jan)
8. Away by Megan E. Freeman (Jan)
9. Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh [audio] (Jan)
10. A Golden Grave by Erin Lindsey* (Jan)
11. All Over the Map by Lanie Jacobs (Jan)
12. Stranded by Nikki Shannon Smith (Jan)
13. Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany [audio] (Jan)
14. The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright (Jan)
15. How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn (Jan)
16. A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Jan)
17. The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos, RN* (Jan)
18. Red River Road by Anna Downes [audio] (Jan)
19. Janitors School of Garbage by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
20. Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce (Feb)
21. Janitors School of Garbage: Trials of the Trash by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
22. The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse [audio] (Feb)
23. A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry (Feb)
24. The Crash by Freida McFadden (Feb)

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Dark Family Saga Shines Light on Icelandic Culture

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