This was a good story, a re imagining of a historical incident in which 400 Icelanders were captured and taken into slavery in Algiers in the 1600s. Lots of things seem improbable and then turn out to have been true. It has a strong sense of place, both in Iceland and in Algiers. A brilliant portrait of people's different ways of reacting to being torn away from lives and loves. How people adapt to circumstances and build lives with whatever they are given. Levels of resilience.
I'm not sure what I thought of the writing though, it was a little stilted and try-hard and a little bit like chick lit (lots to read into re. why that makes it less worthy - because female?) I much preferred the way the afterword was written, very engaging and made me think that a first draft might have read better.
