“In 825 CE, Vikings attack a monastery on the island of Iona (‘I’), slaughtering all but one of 70 monks in pursuit of a reliquary said to contain the finger of St. Colm. Grimur kills a smith but, distracted by the luscious smell of the mead his wife is brewing, drinks himself into a stupor and is left for dead. His shipmates bury him before sailing away... The Vikings return, but in a wild ending, Grimur and the meadwife move on, the Viking not so much forgiven his past as accepted for his present. Greig debuts with a unique tale that alternates between brutal and comic and is exceptionally rich in language.”
Read the full review in Library Journal.
