Imbued with the lyrical force of medieval ballads and Nordic myth, 'Independent People' is an engrossing, humane and modern classic.
Bjartus is a sheep farmer hewing a living from a blighted patch of land, Summerhouses. After 18 years of servitude to a master he despises, all he desires is to raise his flocks unbeholden to any man. Nothing, not inclement weather, not his wives, not his family will come between him and his goal of financial independence.
Only Asta, the child he brings up as his daughter, can pierce his repetitive soul. But she wishes to live unbeholden to him - and when Bjartus throws her from the house discovering she is pregnant, her more temperate determination is set against his stony will.
