“…there are different kinds of love and different ways of loving. The deepest ones bring pain, always, and it cannot be otherwise.”

An historical fiction based around the abduction and enslavement of 400 Icelandic people in the 1600s. The premise sounded very interesting and just my thing but, I did not gel with the storyline or any character. The apparent love affair (or perhaps elements of Stockholm syndrome) between Asta and her captor was unbelievable, especially when considering the fate of her children. In my opinion, this also diminished the true reality of what enslaved people have likely suffered through. ( )

I'm not really a fan of historical novels, and the older the history, the greater my disinterest. But a good friend recommended this, one whose recommendations I trust implicitly, and having grown up with Mastermind hosted by Icelandic Magnus Magnusson, I was intrigued to explore the talents of his author daughter.

I wasn't disappointed. She took an event from seventeenth-century Icelandic history, a time of piracy and slavery, to form the building blocks of her novel and with incredible imagination created an amazing story featuring Asta and her family: her pastor husband and four children. It's a story which takes us from the bleak and harsh Icelandic geography to the hot, sultry Algerian climate and embraces the stark contrast of culture, religion and language between the two.

The weaving of history and fiction is executed with impressive skill. This is Magnusson's debut novel. It's evocative, compelling and meticulously researched.

Captivating though this is, impelling you to turn those pages, it's worth slowing down your reading pace to really savour the Icelandic sagas, the richness of the writing, the sensuality, the understanding and passion therein, the drama, the heartbreak and adventure. And then there's Asta: loyal, devoted, stubborn, determined and brave.

A charming and wonderful tale. ( )

A book that was listed for our local reading group, not one I would naturally have picked up. It's a very powerful and thought-provoking story, based solidly on research, weaving fiction into known facts to produce an excellent novel.

Set in the 1600s, this book features the slave trade that forced captive Icelanders to Algeria - something I knew nothing about before reading this book. The writing is excellent, touching on some horrific and heart-wrenching scenes without any wallowing or gratuitous detail. The characterisation is good, the conversations believable, and the conclusion, if not exactly ideal, entirely realistic - probably because it was based on what actually happened.

Definitely recommended.

Full review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-sealwomans-gift-by-sally-magnus... ( )

Magnusson has hit upon a fascinating historical event, rich in possibilities for a novelist to explore. Unfortunately her writing is insufficiently deep to exploit these possibilities. Instead we get a mixture of different elements of variable quality, but no harmonious whole. She’s a good sense of place for Iceland, less so for Algiers. After a somewhat slow low key build up we are suddenly thrown into an overwrought romance. There are even some odd elements of magic realism. The best is saved for the end as Asta returns to Iceland- a deeply moving if sentimental rediscovery of her place in her marriage and family. ( )

I loved reading this novel and would definitely recommend it. It was wonderful to read through the perspective of a woman in the 17th century; something that is rarely explored in that time period. The story is captivating and constantly changing, and the fact that it is based on true events is even more interesting. The writing is a perfect mix of fiction and historical events, tied in with detailed imagery and intense emotion. The only thing I didn't like was the romantic relationship that formed between Asta, the protagonist and at that point a slave, and her slave owner. It felt a little out of place and forced, yet I still enjoyed the story and would read it again! ( )