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The Sealwoman's Gift
The Sealwoman's Gift | Sally Magnusson
'A remarkable feat of imagination... I enjoyed and admired it in equal measure' Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent In 1627 Barbary pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted some 400 of its people, including 250 from a tiny island off the mainland. Among the captives sold into slavery in Algiers were the island pastor, his wife and their three children. Although the raid itself is well documented, little is known about what happened to the women and children afterwards. It was a time when women everywhere were largely silent. In this brilliant reimagining, Sally Magnusson gives a voice to sta, the pastor's wife. Enslaved in an alien Arab culture sta meets the loss of both her freedom and her children with the one thing she has brought from home: the stories in her head. Steeped in the sagas and folk tales of her northern homeland, she finds herself experiencing not just the separations and agonies of captivity, but the reassessments that come in any age when intelligent eyes are opened to other lives, other cultures and other kinds of loving. The Sealwoman's Gift is about the eternal power of storytelling to help us survive. The novel is full of stories - Icelandic ones told to fend off a slave-owner's advances, Arabian ones to help an old man die. And there are others, too: the stories we tell ourselves to protect our minds from what cannot otherwise be borne, the stories we need to make us happy. 'Icelandic history has been brought to extraordinary life... An accomplished and intelligent novel' Yrsa Sigurardttir, author of Why Did You Lie?
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RobES
The Sealwoman's Gift | Sally Magnusson
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Pickpick

A slow burn that is worth persevering with because it is both heartbreaking and beautiful. It is based on real events - a part of history that I knew nothing about- the kidnap of over 400 people from Iceland by barbery pirates. The FMC was a real woman, with a real story that has been fictionalised, but there are so many historical facts, that this is a powerful story ❣️

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 1mo
37 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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TheEllieMo
The Sealwoman's Gift | Sally Magnusson
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

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SamAnne
The Sealwoman's Gift | Sally Magnusson
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Not sure about this book, but I do enjoy the June bugs hanging with me on the front porch on a hot evening.

Reggie Lol, love this! 3y
TheAromaofBooks Your June bugs are stripey!! Ours are plain brown! 3y
Hazel2019 Lol they want to be friends 😊 3y
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SamAnne @TheAromaofBooks weird out! Do yours careen around running into things like they are flying drunk? I love them. 3y
TheAromaofBooks haha YES - also bounce off of things and then lay on their backs waving their legs vaguely 😂 I also have a weird fondness for them and their sticky legs! 3y
52 likes6 comments
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Annashep
The Sealwoman's Gift | Sally Magnusson
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Next book group read .... sounds good 😊😊📚📚

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Clare_Riley
The Sealwoman's Gift | Sally Magnusson
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Pickpick

I listened to this on Audible, and really enjoyed the narrator as well as the story. A small island off the coast of Iceland is attacked by pirates/ Corsairs, and the inhabitants captured, taken to Algiers and sold into slavery. Such a good book that follows the fate of one particular family.

10 likes1 stack add
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Hannahjeangranger
The Sealwoman's Gift | Sally Magnusson
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Beautiful book with a beautiful cover, can‘t wait to devour this. Also, spot my cat Lupin

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Lacythebookworm
The Sealwoman's Gift | Sally Magnusson
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My Book Depository order arrived! Never quick, but always lovely 💕📚

See All 18 Comments
ElishaLovesBooks These look great! Happy Reading!!💙 7y
DGRachel Wow! The tagged book sounds so interesting. It‘s beautiful, too! 7y
ju.ca.no I love the covers! 7y
EllanaRose I like it when books take their time to arrive, it feels like they're having a holiday before they live on my shelf. 7y
howjessicareads I always get excited when I spy one of my kids‘ names in a title. It happens surprisingly often! (Juliet this time) 7y
SharonGoforth I got Sight today, too! 7y
Lacythebookworm @ElishaLovesBooks @DGRachel @ju.ca.no Thank you! I love judging books by their covers ☺️ 7y
Lacythebookworm @EllanaRose Yes! And I‘ve often forgotten what I ordered so it‘s a nice surprise! 7y
Lacythebookworm @jesshowbooks That‘s so cool! And a lovely name! 😊 7y
Lacythebookworm @SharonGoforth I‘m intrigued by it! Hope it‘s as good as it sounds! 7y
SharonGoforth @Lacythebookworm I hope so, too! 7y
Reviewsbylola I recently bought The Wicked Cometh. It‘s beautiful! 7y
Lacythebookworm @Reviewsbylola Naked hardback! 😍 Have you started reading it? 7y
Reviewsbylola No I have not. Knowing me it could happen next week or five years from now. 😂😂 @Lacythebookworm 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Ooh, I‘ve not seen these except Wicked Cometh. And how lovely they sent you different bookmarks. I often receive the same ones. 7y
104 likes1 stack add18 comments
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LonesomeReader
The Sealwoman's Gift | Sally Magnusson
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I was totally enthralled & moved by Sally Magnusson‘s debut novel that gives a fictional account of a 1627 pirate raid of Iceland's shores where over 400 people were abducted & enslaved. It‘s a vividly imagined historical novel and a touching meditation on the personal choices we must make in life.

ScorpioBookDreams I've been thinking of buying this one so it's great to hear you enjoyed it. 7y
8 likes1 stack add1 comment