Tricking of Freya, The
Sunley, ChristinaThis is the story of Freya Morris, daughter of sober and responsible Anna, niece of wild and unpredictable Birdie, and granddaughter of the revered poet Olafur. Olafur and his wife fled Iceland to Canada after the massive volcano eruption of 1875. As a result, Freya grows up with her mother in Connecticut, and her extended family in the Icelandic community of Gimli, Canada. A series of events leaves Freya with a sense of shame and loss: a freak accident, Freya's kidnapping, a return to Iceland, and the accidental discovery of a long-hidden family secret. Freya's story deftly weaves in Iceland's history, landscape, mythology and literary heritage, spanning generations in this gripping, lyrical and heartbreaking novel. [Taken from book cover.]
Comments from Groups
Mixed reaction - some loved it because of the language and others found the language too much. Most of us picked the ending early on. However, good discussion about the importance of knowing ones culture and language. Waikanae Beach 004A great book! Well written, very interesting subject matter opened up lots of discussion on Iceland, immigration etc. One of our best reads for 2013. Whangamata 001We all enjoyed the book and learnt a lot about Icelandic culture and landscape. Some felt the story was secondary to the Icelandic theme. Greymouth 001Everyone enjoyed the book, learnt a lot about Iceland. Most guessed the outcome early. Picton 001There were mixed opinions on this book. Most people said it took time to read but enjoyed finding out about Iceland. Nelson 051
Pages
370
370
Year
2009
2009
Reviews
24-07-2023
The ladies enjoyed reading this book and the descriptive writing.
18-07-2023
Interesting book - some folklore/myths hard to follow but most enjoyed the book.
18-07-2023
Those who read it enjoyed it once they mastered the Icelandic names. They also enjoyed the history of Iceland, and the storyline. Good discussion about being bi-polar, and mental illness.
18-07-2023
After a slow start the majority read this book. We felt it was about 5 chapters too long!! Loved the Icelandic setting.
18-07-2023
Everyone loved it! Learned lots about Iceland. Fabulous language.
18-07-2023
Mixed reviews - most found it very hard to get into.
18-07-2023
Some found it difficult to get into. Loved the descriptions of Iceland. Predictable outcome of Freya's journey.
18-07-2023
A book with depth. Great insight into the Icelandic culture.
18-07-2023
Not a great read - some didn't finish!
18-07-2023
Wonderful. Well-written and we all learnt so much about Iceland we didn't know, and also about the start of the new community of Icelandic people in Canada. We even coped with the characters' names!
18-07-2023
Our group found this book extremely interesting. We loved the writing and enjoyed the exploration of its themes, such as adoption, belonging, mental illness and migration. Highly recommended!
18-07-2023
A mixed response. Good portrayal of bipolar and child's view of adult behaviour. Icelandic references an interesting history.
22-09-2021
Everyone found this book interesting and enjoyed both the writing style and language. We had read two other books set in historic Iceland previously so that had given us some context around the diaspora and history. The effect of a Bipolar person on the family was the key theme with Icelandic sagas and lifestyles woven around this. It was pleasing to see that the questions in the notes were brief, unlike those for many books, but they still provided a good framework for discussion.
11-05-2021
Mixed review from the group. Most found it interesting but became disenchanted with its long drawn out descriptions, especially around the Icelandic language. Having said that, we found the descriptions of Iceland fascinating. It was obvious who was who very early in the book, leading us into a long discussion on adoption and when do you divulge the truth to the adopted child. The other topic of discussion was Bipolar and its effect on those closest to the sufferer. Suffice it to say, in general we didn't like the book but we found there was plenty to discuss around the topics within it.
06-11-2019
We all enjoyed this book. It was beautifully written. We also liked the linguistic history that was revealed within the story.