Review: Short, simple, well written.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 11, 2012
This is a charming tale, only 19 pages long, but well written, interesting, and enjoyable to read. It begins with a quotation from the 14th century Icelandic Saga of the Greenlanders, which tells how Leif Ericsson sailed west from Greenland to discover a new a country - now believed to be part of Newfoundland - which he called Vinland or `Wineland' after his foster-father, a German slave called Tyrker, found grapes growing there.This short story is told from the point of view of  Tyrker. He is a slave in Iceland, with the job of training Leif and his younger brother Tosti in warrior skills. The boys are young, wilful, and get into trouble, from which Tyrker rescues them. Tyrker is lonely, far from home, and fears he will never have a wife or family. When he commits a crime, he expects Leif's father, Eric the Red, to punish him severely.The story is simply but beautifully written, and portrays a convincing and sympathetic picture of what life must have been like this time and place. It leaves this reader hoping for more.