BERGTHORA'S SAGA

Prochaska’s fantasy novel follows a widow who, having trained in magic, seeks revenge in early 11th-century Iceland.

After her husband dies, Bergthora Bjornsdóttir leaves her Greenland farm and returns to Iceland, her place of birth. Iceland has only recently converted to Christianity, though many of the country’s people see the Christian god as merely a new addition to the old gods to whom they’ve long made sacrifices. Bergthora reunites with her brother and her childhood friend Kjartan, but she’s truly returned for retribution, pursuing someone regarding a grim secret that she’s harbored for decades. Bergthora arrives in time for a wedding: Kjartan’s daughter Engilborg marries Egill, a considerably older chieftain. Egill is up to no good, using seeress Ægileif’s dark heathen magic for his own sinister purposes. Bergthora knows magic as well, courtesy of a woman back in Greenland. As her revenge plan gradually rolls out, a string of unexplained events (like the sight of a walking, talking corpse) and a character’s murderous intent stir up a number of startling pasts. Prochaska conveys this tale through various perspectives: Sometimes, the text reads like a historical textbook; other sections feature alternating first-person narrations from Bergthora, Engilborg, and others; and then there is the account of a monk named Helgi, whose bishop in 14th-century Greenland assigns him the task of writing Bergthora’s saga. The author’s relaxed, concise prose masterfully compacts the epic narrative, covering decades without truncating or rushing the story. While the characters’ individual narrations are relatively indistinguishable, they memorably chronicle harrowing days of deception, religious struggles, and assorted magic (“The rune spell she had given Egill aroused in him a desire, but it withered away as soon as he engaged in the act”). Thorough character development further refines this novel, especially in the cases of Bergthora (Bergthora’s marriage to Steinkell proves to be a convincing union of unforeseen obstacles and mutual devotion), Kjartan, and, surprisingly, Helgi. The worthy final act culminates in a bizarre yet unforgettable ending.

A historically rich, vengeance-fueled tale.