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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“If you’re not working, you’re writing. If you’re not writing, you’re reading. You’d drain your own veins if you ran out of ink.”
The cover and title of this book wouldn’t necessarily lead a reader to think of it as a stark literary fiction portrayal of life in Iceland. The book centers around Hekla, a young female poet/novelist in 1960s Reykjavik, and her two best friends. Being a female writer who has no interest in becoming Miss Iceland makes her a bit of an outcast, and her mostly closeted gay best friend and married-with-a-child-but-dying-from-domesticity other best friend are also outliers from the norm.
I love that the author doesn’t shy away from hard truths about society during this time period. Hekla is harassed, pestered, stalked, and talked down to so many times during the book, and she is essentially told to accept that this is what it means to be a woman. Her best friends also deal with atrocious behavior and/or societal norms holding them back, and some of these scenes were incredibly heartbreaking and poignant to read.
The language, while not flowery or frilly, brought forth so much emotion. The dejection and self loathing Jón John feels as he is ostracized for being queer swim off the page, and so do the painful isolation and dejection from Ísey as she struggles with motherhood. There were several passages that felt beautifully poetic as well, especially pertaining to the art and passion of writing.
The ending of this book is abrupt and from what I’ve seen in other reviews, controversial. During our three person buddy read, we all came to different potential conclusions about what it all meant, and I kind of love that the conclusion is bizarrely uncertain.
Overall I really enjoyed this one, and I’d gladly look for other books from this author! If you enjoy historical lit fic and characters who dream of more because they don’t fit into society’s norms, this might be one to check out!
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“The postman stands in the slushy snow in the skimmedmilky grey light and hands me a postcard.”
this book was so interesting and different and beautiful. the more space i have from it, the more things i find to like about it. i should probably change this review to 5 stars.
i've never read something translated from the Icelandic. i don't know anything about Iceland. the language, the landscapes, all of it was different to me, and Ólafsdóttir's quality of writing is captivating. this is a story of a young woman, Hekla. it is a story about friendship and the nuanced relationships between men and women, women and women, men and men. it is about art and family how Hekla strives to find her place amid it all.
i've never read something translated from the Icelandic. i don't know anything about Iceland. the language, the landscapes, all of it was different to me, and Ólafsdóttir's quality of writing is captivating. this is a story of a young woman, Hekla. it is a story about friendship and the nuanced relationships between men and women, women and women, men and men. it is about art and family how Hekla strives to find her place amid it all.
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book was my first experience of an Icelandic author and I'm simply in awe of how poetic the writing was. It was a beautiful book, simple, and somehow both easy and painful to hold. I enjoyed peering into the experiences of women authors in Iceland, especially when written by one herself.
dark
reflective
fast-paced
medium-paced