The Greenlanders is an exceptionally well-written bit of historical fiction, detailing the little-known history of the Norse settlement in Greenland from the mid-14th to early-15th century. While the story focuses primarily on one family, there is no real protagonist, and the narrative slips in and out of the lives of many members of the small community. Smiley (no relation of mine, sadly!) consciously adopts the style of an oral epic, paying attention to the rhythm of the prose and repeating certain phrases ("It was the case that. . . ."). But there are other consequences of this style as well: there's a certain emotional distance from all the characters, who play their roles in the story but let little of their personalities or emotions shine through, compared to characters in most modern novels. There's also a certain lack of explanations and description, which, while I understand that it was a deliberate choice, bothered me somewhat: it's another way of keeping the reader at a distance. Which isn't to say that this isn't an enjoyable or absorbing book, by any means. I wouldn't call it a "page-turner," but still didn't want to put it down once I got into it. Not surprisingly, a lot happens in the book, with major events often treated with great detachment, as there's just so much to get through. Memory and the passage of time are dealt with quite a bit; we see events that happened early in the book become legends, while other early events are forgotten about completely and disbelieved when someone mentions them half a century later. We're also witnesses to the slow decline of the Greenlander civilization: before the beginning of the book, one of the two settlements has already been abandoned, and the Greenlanders fold in on themselves more and more as time progresses. Their detachment from European civilization, and the little that we do hear about Europe in the book, provide an interesting backdrop to their daily struggles. As a literary book, I suppose this one is meant to be able to be interpreted in many different ways, and it's interesting to see how other people here have interpreted it quite differently from me: for instance, I saw the native population as being quite minor and Smiley as deliberately downplaying their role. The "skraelings" remain an enigma, with characters telling us about them far more than we actually see them. At any rate, I found this to be an admirable book, although I'd advise people to read the preview before ordering it, as it's not for everyone. I round down to four stars not because I found the book to be flawed, but because I found the level of detachment to be a bit much. I understand that the Greenlanders expressed very little, and that they would have found no need to explain things about their culture when they didn't realize that things could be any other way; but the book was neither narrated by, written by or written for ancient Greenlanders, and this kept the book from being as memorable as it otherwise might have been. Still, overall an excellent piece of literature.
A saga of the decline and eventual end of the Norse settlement in 14th century Greenland after 500 years. A settlement which began favorably in the warm period toward the end of the first millennium ends in isolation and eventual starvation as the climate grows colder and the colonists are cut off from the trading ships sent from Norway. There are several reasons for the end of the colony. Climate change, politics and the inability of the Norse settlers to adapt to their environment. They farm the only way they know how, which is not suitable for the colder land in which they are living. The soil quickly becomes exhausted, and takes centuries to recover. Harvests are less every year. Trees do not grow and what spindly shrubs exist in sheltered areas are no longer available either for building or firewood. The colonists must depend on driftwood. The dairy and farm animals they depend on die off, as the winters grow longer and longer, and they are reduced to eating birds which also grow fewer. People begin to spend most of the winter bundled up in bed and freeze to death or die of starvation. They consider the native people to be savages and do not learn the survival techniques which might have saved them. Some hardy souls sail west, visiting and trading with the people of the American continent, bringing back furs, but later these visits pass into legends. Because the decline is slow, tales of when certain types of food was plentiful, and warmer summers with longer growing seasons are presumed to be legends as the people are unaware of the change. Ships which supplied them from Norway and took away their produce fail to arrive, partly due to the sea freezing and partly due to politics. They are trapped as there is no wood to build ships for them to leave. Eventually the colony is forgotten and dies off in the 14th century. The remnants are not discovered for another three hundred years. Although the overall synopsis sounds depressing, the saga is told from the viewpoint of the many people living in the settlements and their day-to-day lives. In many ways, the fate of the colonists could be a warning to all of what can happen when a civilization fails to adapt to change.
What do You think about The Greenlanders (2005)?
I really really wanted to read this book - I generally like Jane Smiley's work, and its historical fiction! About Northern Europe no less! But in the end it was just...ponderous and dull. And frankly, I couldn't care less about any of the characters - not the unfaithful wife, the family she left behind, the crazy priest...not anyone. They were just all so dull. Even as Smiley so painstakingly - in so much detail - talked about the harshness of their life and their winters I still didn't care. (and she never did really quite get the idea of being an oathbreaker!)
—Sarah
This books was captivating in a way that caught me off guard. First of all, it's written in a prose style very different from other novels, but which feels entirely natural for the subject matter. It reads like history, a true Scandinavian family saga. But if you don't enjoy history for history's sake, you might not like the book. It doesn't have a traditional story arc, and didn't exactly keep me riveted to the pages. It can be somewhat ponderous and dense. But overall, I enjoyed sliding into its idiosyncratic rhythm, slowing down, and experiencing a different kind of novel.
—Matthew
You don't just read this book. You LIVE it. Who would have thought that the lives of Scandinavian settlers in medieval Greenland could be so fascinating. Life was so hard and brutal. Both the culture and the climate were totally unforgiving. But it's fascinating to see how our forebearers lived, and how much of stoic Scandinavian culture remains in families of that heritage today.The author, Jane Smiley, is an author of stunning brilliance. She carries you to another time and place, such that you feel you're in the minds and souls of the people back then. I didn't know that Greenland was eventually abandoned by the Icelandic and Norwegian settlers in the 1400s. But this book got me into doing research, and learning about the history of the colony there. The book also makes you think about climate change, and how even small variations (little the Little Ice Age) can have drastic effects on human settlements.This book wasn't exactly fun to read. Rather, it was 100% absorbing. If you loved Kristin Lavransdatter, then this is a must read.
—Alesa
