The Sea Road [Paperback]

Margaret Elphinstone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2001

A haunting, compelling historical novel, The Sea Road is a daring retelling of the 11th-century Viking exploration of the North Atlantic from the viewpoint of one extraordinary woman. Gudrid lives at the remote edge of the known world, in a starkly beautiful landscape where the sea is the only connection to the shores beyond. It is a world where the old Norse gods are still invoked even as Christianity gains favor, where the spirits of the dead roam the vast northern ice-fields, tormenting the living, and Viking explorers plunder foreign shores. Taking the accidental discovery of North America as its focal point, Gudrid's narrative describes a multilayered voyage into the unknown, all recounted with astonishing immediacy and rich atmospheric detail.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It's a refreshing delight to read a novel of such extremely high calibre which interweaves mythical, magical and historical dimensions."  —Herald

About the Author

Margaret Elphinstone is the author of Light and Voyageurs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Canongate UK (August 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841951765
• ISBN-13: 978-1841951768
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,586,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars highly recommended read, May 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sea Road: A Novel (Paperback)

for everyone who likes sigrid undset "kristin lavrandsdaughter", halldor laxness "independent people", cecilia hollander "two ravens", and just generally the saga style, this is a well-written, lovely book. (for content see the book-description above). i really enjoyed this and think i will read it again eventually.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Saga Light, April 4, 2010

By 

Fairlee E. Winfield "Author of BUFFALOed 2009... (Boulder, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sea Road: A Novel (Paperback)

OK, so maybe the battle axes don't swing and we don't get the titillating sexy scenes, but I truly enjoyed this book and I've read the sagas and plenty of the historic Greenland novels. What did I like about it? I liked the tension between the heathen and christian beliefs. I liked that the characters were still at the crossroads there--unable to commit totally to one or the other belief. Most of all I like the characterization of Leif Eriksson. For the most part, we find him such an heroic figure. Elphistone shows him as rather conniving and not entirely the prince charming we are accustomed to seeing. In "The Sea Road," he's good old Erik the Red's son, only a bit away from dad's violence.

I'm not sure how accurate some of the ambiance is. I don't think the Greenlanders were able to keep chickens, and the ponies? Maybe only early on. But hey, this is a fun read. Wish I could have gotten it on Kindle though Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation).

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Written, April 21, 2005

By 

Sunshine (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sea Road (Paperback)

This book was beautifully written and the images floated inside my head as I was reading this book.