An historical mystery in the gothic thriller style, set in 1686 in Iceland by Jersey island author Caroline Lea.

In a time when winters were fierce and women were treated harshly, Rósa marries Jón Eiríksson, to secure food and provisions for her frail mother, Sigridúr, and family. Jón is a bonði (village chieftain) and Rósa must leave behind her family and childhood sweetheart Páll, and move to his village of Stykkishólmur. Jón is domineering and forces her to live a life of solitude and confinement, intimidating her with his physical bulk and Biblical threats about women needing to obey and be silent, to keep her apart from the other villagers. Rósa is afraid of her husband, and his threatening apprentice Pétur, who the villagers rumour is one of the huldufólk, the hidden creatures or elves from Icelandic tales. She hears the stories of the sudden mysterious death of Jón’s first wife, then she begins to hear noises in the locked attic above her: footsteps and breath sounds. What happened to Jón’s first wife and will she be the next victim?

This is an atmospheric, suspenseful story with the dramatic backdrop of an Icelandic winter with the intertwined superstitions of the old ways, the Icelandic myths and sagas and the newer dictates of religious piety. There are hints of witchcraft, runes and legends. The audio narration by Heiða Reed (of Poldark fame) and Smari Gunn was outstanding, with many Icelandic words woven throughout. Part way through the book the chapters began to alternate between Rósa and a first person narrative of Jón, giving some backstory. While I appreciate the insights into characters’ past sufferings and motivations it feels designed to gain the reader’s sympathy and excuse their later actions, which I couldn’t bring myself to do. A well written book, I will definitely look out for her other works. ( )

Read for our local book group, and I found it quite compulsive reading. Set in Iceland in 1686, the writing is atmospheric and meticulously done. The prologue gives a chilling hint of something to come, and there's a lot of tension in the story itself.

Rósa is a young woman who has embarked on marriage to a stranger, far away from her home, so that her mother can receive food and necessary medical supplies. She's strong-minded but knows she has to be submissive; however it's a strange marriage, and she becomes increasingly concerned at noises she hears in her croft and rumours that are whispered around her.

I didn't exactly like the story - it's quite harsh, in places, and I didn't have much empathy for any of the characters. But I read it in just two days, and am glad I did so, even though I'm unlikely to read it again.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-glass-woman-by-caroline-lea.htm... ( )

We're in 17th century Iceland, and can feel its chill, its landscape, its folk and religious history in the pages of this story. Young Rósa rather precipitately marries Jón, a leader in a distant village, to ensure her ailing widowed mother some security. Here she is deliberately isolated by her controlling husband, who is a widower. No spoiler alerts here, but tensions rise as her isolation increases, and as her childhood sweetheart appears on the scene. A cleverly written novel, in which Rósa's unease, and her increasing inability to keep a grasp on what is real, and what the product of a fevered and frightened imagination keeps the reader guessing. ( )

This was enjoyable fiction set in 1600s Iceland that follows the life of a young woman who is love with her childhood sweetheart, but marries a well-off stranger to provide for her mother. She moves away to his village and finds that her fears about this man and her situation were well-founded. Typical themes of burgeoning Christianity vs. the old folk tales, the powerlessness of women in those times, the dangers of gossip, etc. It was entertaining but nothing special. ( )

“Their words make grey clouds of sound in the cold air...”
― Caroline Lea, The Glass Woman

Clothed in wild Gothic beauty, drenched in vivid Prose, one can hear the howling sea, feel the Iceland cold and see the village people. More to follow.

So.as you may have guessed I liked this book!

As many have commented, it takes place in the 1600S in Iceland. And what atmosphere this book has.
The book's writing is gorgeous and sweeping and that, together with the vivid characterizations make this a book well worth reading.

It is a tough book to review without giving spoilers. I will say I disagree with many of the other reviewers. I've read several reviews that say the book was slow at first to get into but towards the middle it captures them. For me it was the opposite.

I was into this from page one. I felt the book did draw one in immediately and I was willing and eager to be drawn in. I quite liked Rosa and there were aspects of this book that were genuinely haunting and creepy. Like, for example. what was going on in the attic. This aspect was pure Gothic and I loved it.

So why a 3 and not a 4? Because as good as the book was I started losing interest as it went on. So the opposite of what the above mentioned comments from other reviewers happened to me.

SPOILERS:

As soon as it was established Anna was alive, I felt my interest wane a bit. The story then became a bit predictable and also a bit scattered, at least for me. And as much as I liked this, I felt, even in the beginning there was so much repetition to the plot, that I was not as into it as I would have liked.

That does not mean it isn't a good a story. Rarely have I read a book so rich in atmosphere and it is worth reading just for that. I also learned so much about Iceland. I am glad I read this.

I wasn't all that happy with the ending. I felt there were many unanswered questions and I'd have liked Jon to survive. One thing I felt from the beginning is that Jon did not kill Anna. I am glad I was right in that respect. I actually came to like him as a character.

My favorite parts of this book were the descriptions of the sea, the village and villagers and the incredible writing in general. But had this story taken place without all that incredible atmosphere I may not have finished it. I was into the atmosphere more then the story itself.

So 3.5 stars and highly recommended for Historical Fiction and Gothic fans. ( )