Sword Song: A Book Review

We use historical fiction in our homeschool on a regular basis. Textbooks tend to suck the life out of the story, but well written fiction does just the opposite: it brings to life a time that has passed. Part of our goal as we educate our kiddos at home is to encourage them to become life-long-learners. Wonderful historical fiction assists us in accomplishing this goal. When the kids are immersed in a different time and place through their reading, history becomes relevant and real. And the lessons and principles learned by the people they read about are more easily transferred to today, because they have connected with authentic characters. 

One of our favorite authors of historical fiction for young adults for the time period from the early ages of Britannia through Rome is Rosemary Sutcliff. When we still had the older three kids home for school, I read many of her books in our "read-aloud" time. Our read-aloud time is everyone's favorite part of our school day. When reading to your children, you can easily choose books they are not able or ready to read on their own. It gives you a chance to expand their vocabulary and teach them complex sentence structure by allowing them to listen to works beyond their independent reading levels. And, since we are dealing with a multi-level group of readers here, I actually choose things that are ahead of the most advanced of our readers. The younger ones may have to stretch quite a bit, but it is amazing how they rise to the challenge. When possible, I try to preview the books myself before using them with the kids. That's why I picked up this book.

Sword Song is set during the time of the Vikings and tells the story of Bjarni Sigurdson, a 16 year old boy who is sent into exile for 5 years after "accidentally" drowning a holy man for kicking his dog. A rather shocking introduction, don't you think? He is given a sword and a silver arm band (to help pay passage) and sent away on a merchant ship leaving the following morning. And so it begins.

The "telling" of his adventures takes the reader on exactly the types of adventures one would expect, riding along with a band of Viking warriors. We witness Bjarni's many scrapes with death and dismemberment. He endures periods of privation, being lost at sea, and the death of friends and lords. But the most compelling part of his story is his personal journey to actually establish "roots" and "connections" in his life. As a traveling warrior, he could easily have continued to simply sign on with another Viking lord when each service commitment was completed. But as he grows older and more mature, he recognizes that something is missing. His heart needs more than just another battle. 

He meets a Lady, the wife of a clan leader, who has a profound and lasting influence on his life. She is a follower of the White Christ, instead of the old gods of the Norse. He sees in her, and those others who believe as she does, something that he didn't even know he wanted: peace. And as he delves more deeply, he comes full circle so that his crime in the beginning paragraphs has resolution and forgiveness.

Nearing the end of his 5 years in exile, his heart begins to long for (much to his surprise) his home village and a plot of land to call his own. During his journey of self discovery, he meets and befriends a young woman who calls up in him a desire to have things of his own: a wife, a family, a home.

I was surprised at the depth of the plot and how well the elements of the story fit together in the end. This is one of Sutcliff's 40 or so stories that I had not yet read. It will definitely go on our read-aloud list for our study of the history of the Vikings. 

I will admit, I was looking for a "lighter" read after finishing Bonhoeffer. This is #6 in my quest for 52 in 52. I am still behind since this is the 9th week of the year, so it's on to the next book:
  
A Jules Verne novel called Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon. I have no idea what it is about, but I have enjoyed reading many of his other books, so I thought I would give it a try.