I suppose it's the combination of the story as well as the writing style. The story is about a man, more advanced than his time, who was perhaps the unluckiest man in the country. He is well-educated, yet because it's in the 1630s, education is seen more as evil, a sign of devilish power. So people think he's a sorcerer instead, and persecute him. Life throws plenty of lemons at him, and so it's definitely not a happy read. And as a reader, I definitely was thankful that I didn't live in the same era.
There's also the writing style. A big chunk of the book is written in the first person, and as is typical for first-person narrators, they can be unreliable. As a reader, I felt like I was reading a story that was absolutely foggy I couldn't grasp the entire picture. It adds to the mystique, I suppose.
Eventually, I finished the book. Yes, there were some happy moments, and yes, there were some moments where the main character was proven correct, yet of course, life in general for the main character was still bleak. I definitely do not want to be living in Iceland in the late 17th century.
So do I like this book? Not really. I didn't find it gripping. Rather, I found it choking. I felt like I was metaphorically gasping for air while reading it. I couldn't make up my mind whether the main character was rational (as I hoped he would be) or also superstitious, and so it wasn't clear whether he was the same with his persecutors or not. It was however a tragic story, and by the time it ended, I was glad that it did. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
See my other book reviews here.
