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Two Ravens Cecelia Holland 9780394499888 Books

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Two Ravens Cecelia Holland 9780394499888 Books

Two Ravens is a refreshing read that sets its own course. Unlike typical Viking historical fiction that follows the adventures of a superman, our main character Bjarni ("Bear") is admirable in a humble way and is plagued by his own faults and self-perceived shortcomings. As other reviewers have pointed out, he comes from a highly dysfunctional family, like many of us, and the cast of characters are generally not very nice to each other. Mrs. Holland tells the tale in a voice that comes straight out of a saga, which adds a sense of authenticity and allows our imaginations to explore this strange world. The result is a very lively and personal experience, that encourages the creativity to flow.

I recently read Magnus the Viking by Olav Crone-Aamot, and his character begins with tragedy and then enjoys a whole book-full of great fortune. Not so here. Bjarni's life is one great big tragedy interspersed with dribbles of small luck; just enough to help him get by in life and move forward one step at a time. Through his adversity he grows, even if the success is not so sweet or self-evident. It was a hard life for an Icelander, and Cecelia's Bjarni never has it easy. Even when he realizes his dreams in the end, the result is more bittersweet than he ever envisioned it.

Bjarni's father is a retired Viking and we never get more than a small glimpse into his back-story, but it is just enough to let the imagination soar. This is a source of inspiration for Bjarni, who seems to both hate and admire his hard father. This cryptic curiosity propels Bjarni to leave Iceland seeking adventure, and reminded me of Luke Skywalker feeling trapped on the moisture farm. His brothers and some other young men follow him on a misguided adventure following their dreams of becoming great Vikings, but instead discover only disappointment.

The book is not full of great battles and lot of action, but is more of a character-driven tale as they cope with various adversities without going too far in life. It is a page-turner and I polished it off in 2-sittings. If you like the Sagas and the Viking genre, then I highly recommend this book. I just got The Soul Thief, and I'm looking forward to it.


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Two Ravens Cecelia Holland 9780394499888 Books Reviews

The tale of Bjarni Hoskuldsson who lives a claustrophobic life with his father and young stepmother, brothers and half-brother on a rude Icelandic farm at the tail end of the viking period, this is a very psychological work which chronicles the deterioration of the relationship between father and son and between brother and brothers as Bjarni, too big to be beaten by his brutal father, leaves his home and sets out on adventures with his brothers. But the effort is aborted early on by bad luck and only Bjarni ends up making his way to the England of King William Rufus, successor to William the Conqueror. There he does a few things to distinguish himself, but nothing of any lasting note, longing instead for the farmstead and step mother he has abandoned back in Iceland. How he returns and makes his presence felt in that farm and his Icelandic district make up the remainder of this tale. It's worth reading, not for the action but for the sharply delineated and probing portrait of these people and especially of Bjarni the almost-viking. Not the very best of the saga novels which have been written since the nineteenth century, but a modern one. And a unique one.

SWM
author of The King of Vinland's Saga
Holland has written more than thirty novels in the past forty-plus years, and while all of them have been (to my mind) at least above average, her style has changed somewhat over time. This one is from her "early period," which means short declarative sentences, a straightforward and unadorned narrative style, and a tendency to under-explain, to let the reader draw his own conclusions as to the characters' motivations and inner mental workings. I think I could pick up a loose page from any of these early books, read it, and know immediately that it was her work. The setting this time is the late 11th century, beginning in Iceland. Bjarni is a young man in what we would today call an abusive and dysfunctional family -- though, to judge by the sagas of the time, the sort of interrelationships he has to deal with were not uncommon there and then. He's the eldest, with three younger half-brothers and a step-brother, the son of Hiyke, his father's much younger third wife. In fact, she's only a couple of years older than Bjarni himself, and he definitely has the hots for her. Except that she's a practicing Christian and neither Bjarni nor his father, Hoskuld, have abandoned the old beliefs (even though everyone in Iceland is, by law, an official Christian), which complicates everything. Hoskuld farms and fishes and when Bjarni finally decides he's had enough, he decides to steal his father's fishing boat and run off to the Hebrides, and he talks his brothers into going along. Which isn't difficult, as they all hate the old man as much as he does. Only, when they get there, nothing is as they expected. When they decide to press on to another location, Bjarni's brother, Ulf, who can't keep his breeches buttoned, insists on kidnapping one of their bloody-minded host's daughters -- and then Bjarni gets caught and his brothers flee back home with the boat and the girl. From there, Bjarni finds his way to England and further adventures, including meeting the king, William Rufus, and becoming involved with a delinquent (and pregnant) adolescent Saxon girl who attaches herself to him. Eventually, he will make his way home again to Iceland, where things will mostly sort themselves out, one way or another, but where there are no happy endings. This is not what many readers would consider an "exciting" book, being rather dark and dour and anti-romantic, and even Bjarni is not always the sort of protagonist one can like. Nor is it even an especially lengthy novel, at just under two hundred pages, though it feels like the right length for the story it tells. But it's a satisfying read for all that.
Enjoyed Cecelia Holland's spare writing style - no words wasted - and at the same time the effect of her writing is very visual. Set in mediaeval Iceland the plot is unexpected, the characters and the sense of period are convincing and the closing image of the novel is symbolically powerful and stayed with me. I used to have this book and bought the version to read it again. I was not disappointed. A good quick read if you enjoy historical fiction and/ or the Vikings.
Two Ravens is a refreshing read that sets its own course. Unlike typical Viking historical fiction that follows the adventures of a superman, our main character Bjarni ("Bear") is admirable in a humble way and is plagued by his own faults and self-perceived shortcomings. As other reviewers have pointed out, he comes from a highly dysfunctional family, like many of us, and the cast of characters are generally not very nice to each other. Mrs. Holland tells the tale in a voice that comes straight out of a saga, which adds a sense of authenticity and allows our imaginations to explore this strange world. The result is a very lively and personal experience, that encourages the creativity to flow.

I recently read Magnus the Viking by Olav Crone-Aamot, and his character begins with tragedy and then enjoys a whole book-full of great fortune. Not so here. Bjarni's life is one great big tragedy interspersed with dribbles of small luck; just enough to help him get by in life and move forward one step at a time. Through his adversity he grows, even if the success is not so sweet or self-evident. It was a hard life for an Icelander, and Cecelia's Bjarni never has it easy. Even when he realizes his dreams in the end, the result is more bittersweet than he ever envisioned it.

Bjarni's father is a retired Viking and we never get more than a small glimpse into his back-story, but it is just enough to let the imagination soar. This is a source of inspiration for Bjarni, who seems to both hate and admire his hard father. This cryptic curiosity propels Bjarni to leave Iceland seeking adventure, and reminded me of Luke Skywalker feeling trapped on the moisture farm. His brothers and some other young men follow him on a misguided adventure following their dreams of becoming great Vikings, but instead discover only disappointment.

The book is not full of great battles and lot of action, but is more of a character-driven tale as they cope with various adversities without going too far in life. It is a page-turner and I polished it off in 2-sittings. If you like the Sagas and the Viking genre, then I highly recommend this book. I just got The Soul Thief, and I'm looking forward to it.