The Greenlanders [Paperback]

Jane Smiley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2005

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this vast, intricately patterned novel, Smiley accurately captures the voice of the medieval sagas. Understated, scattered with dreams and warnings, darkened by the brooding sense of unavoidable disasters to come, it is the tale of a Scandinavian settlement that lasted perhaps 500 years. With a meticulous attention to detail, the novel brings daily activities to lifefrom cheese making to hunting walruswhile examining the passions of a people under stress. The action centers on the family of Gunnar Asgeirsson. Gunnar's sister Margret is married off to Olaf, but he fails to consummate the marriage, and Margret begins a clandestine affair with a Norwegian sailor, Skuli Gudmundsson, who has stayed on in Greenland as a household retainer. Violence and tragedy ensue, and as Margret's unhappiness increases, her character hardens, and she offers her labor as an itinerant servingwoman. Although Margret is not always onstage, the novel spans the years of her long life. A foil to Margret, but no luckier, is Gunnar's wife, Birgitta, who is gifted with second sight. It is she who sums up the overriding sense of futility: "We have come to the ending of the world, for in Greenland the world must end as it goes on, that is with hunger and storms and freezing." Like the original Norse sagas, The Greenlanders roves restlessly from one folk group to another. Many of their destinies interlock, and certain exterior forces prey upon them all: the harsh climate; the marauding "skraelings," aboriginal Eskimos regarded as demons; outbreaks of bubonic plague and famine. Compulsive feuding, a witchcraft craze and a willingness to heed the apocalyptic prophecies of the madman Larus help to tear the society apart. As in her previous fiction (Duplicate Keys, The Age of Grief), this novel reveals Smiley's skill in delineating the behavior of individuals confined within a group. Her depiction of an isolated medieval folk battling for survival has a modern relevance. 50,000 first printing; Literary Guild alternate.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Of proven skill when writing short stories and conventional novels, Smiley here attempts a family saga set among the Norse peoples of 14th-century Greenland. Centered on the fortunes of farmer Asgeir Gunnarsson and his children and grandchildren, the narrative pictures a bleak, declining society. Founded by Erik the Red, the Greenland colonies flourished for centuries; then trade shipments were cut off by the Black Death in Europe, the climate grew colder, and native peoples became increasingly hostile. Vivid, even stunning descriptions of the land and customs of these "lost settlements" are the book's strong points. Characterizations are less successful; many personalities remain wooden throughout the lengthy action. Nevertheless, the exotic subject matter will appeal to historical novel fans.Starr E. Smith, Georgetown Univ. Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (September 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400095468
• ISBN-13: 978-1400095469
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, characters and setting!, December 15, 2003

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Greenlanders (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!

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Preparation for a historical tour of Norse Greenland, April 13, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Green River, Wyoming) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greenlanders (Paperback)

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 Greenland. It provided us with an excellent background for what we were to experience: walking the ruins of Erik the Red's Brattahlid farm, exploring the ruins of the Dyrnaes church farm, standing in the surprisingly intact nave of the Hvalsey church, listening to the account of the recent wedding there of an Icelandic descendent of the last known Norse couple (a Greenlander and an Icelander) to be married in that church and a native Greenlander. It really made the history come alive in this strange land that has to be experienced. Yes, the "Eskimos" (more accurately the Inuit) "won". Their descendents were our hosts. They accept and are proud of their country's Norse heritage as well as their own! This book is fiction-but is true to the recorded history from that time. Read the book for the history and then go and experience it for yourself.

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Richly Detailed and Chilling. Amazing Novel., August 28, 2003

By 

Barbara "bnkf" (Union City, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greenlanders (Paperback)

I picked this book up at the store because of the attractive cover art. I had no idea that this story was written in the style of a Norse saga and it took a little getting used to. However, I was immediately drawn into the lives of Gunnar, his sister Margret, and their families as well as the details of daily life. Margret, whose emotional and physical needs are not met by her husband Olaf, dares to have a secret red dress that foreshadows events to come. She enters into an adulterous affair with a sailor who is working at the family's homestead. This illicit relationship leads to violence and tragedy. This happens about 80 pages into the novel and represented a turning point for me. Because I realized that this wasn't the kind of storytelling I am used to. I would never know as much as I wanted to about the characters feelings concerning life-changing events. At first, I was shocked at the detached recounting of major and often traumatic incidents. I could have put the book down, but I accepted this fact and continued to read because I wanted to find out more about Greenland. And that is the real story here, the story of the Greenland settlement and the forces that cause its decline.

The story doesn't focus on Margret throughout, rather it introduces different characters and as they are introduced, the interactions and influence of each person manage to create a bigger picture of what citizens of this isolated and bleak society faced. New facets are exposed, physical, mental and spiritual. Different aspects of the story include the increasing conflict with the Eskimos encroaching on the settlement as the weather gets colder in the north, the need to hunt in forbidden fjords as game becomes less plentiful, the abandonment by Europe as visits from the mainland decline and cease, the mystique of the American paradise they cannot reach, the introspection and ravings of their religious leader...There are visions, love-affairs, accidents, murders, family-feuds, starvation, death, exile, departures and all the rich descriptions of a land totally foreign to me. At one point a young girl chooses to marry a virtual stranger who arrives on a ship. When she sails away into the unknown world, leaving her homeland forever, I felt fear and excitement. Was she brave to leave? Or would it be braver to stay? I understood the total isolation of these people, their madness, their courage, and their battle to survive.

This was not a page-turner. It was a challenging read. But so well worth it. The simply stated feelings of the characters, which I was at first disappointed with, left me free to imagine what was going through their minds. And I did so vividly. When I finished this book I was awed at the web it had spun around me without my being aware. I had truly experienced a different time and place and I believed this story really happened. This is the best book I have read in a really long time.