Named after one of Iceland's most magnificent volcanoes,Hekla always knew she wanted to be a writer. In a nation of poets,where each household proudly displays leatherbound volumes of the Sagas,and there are more writers per capita than anywhere else in the world,there is only one problem: she is a woman.She decides to try her luck in Reykjavik,and moves in with her friend Jon,a gay man who longs to work in the theatre,but can only find dangerous,backbreaking work on fishing trawlers. Hekla's opportunities are equally limited: marriage and babies,or a job as a waitress,in which harassment from customers is part of the daily grind. They both feel completely out of place in a small and conservative world.And yet that world is changing: JFK is shot,hemlines are rising,and in Iceland another volcano erupts,and Hekla knows she must escape to find freedom abroad,whatever must be left behind.
MEDIA REVIEWS
Publisher: Pushkin PressISBN: 9781782275671Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Aueur Ava ólafsdóttir's speciality is the small journeys we take in order to save ourselves and the ones we care for. She is the heart's finest map-makerólafsdóttir...does a brilliant job of conveying,sentence by sentence and word by word,the exotic nature of Icelandic life,its harshness,its connection to the land and to history,and its amusing qualities... the distinctive nature of every scene and every character takes hold of the reader immediatelyA potent,atmospheric story of creative frustration and fulfilment. I loved the wry,tender voice of ólafsdóttir's narrator. I'm now going to read all of her other novels.Hekla,trying to make it in the big city,a woman in 1960s Reyjavik weighed down by expectation and constraint.Such great writing here,poetic and raw in places. I so wanted Helka to get away and be free,to slap the hands that felt her up and to ditch the boyfriend.Only a great book can make you feel you're really there,a thousand miles and a generation away. I loved it.An absorbing,bittersweet tale... this captivating novel's finest component is it's endearing heroine(A) compelling tale of thwarted hope and ambition in a strange,cold,cruel,beautiful landólafsdóttir's graceful and quiet tale of feminism,alienation,and artistic expression...This winning tale of friendship and self-fulfillment will inspire readers.In her sixth novel,award-winning author ólafsdóttir paints a vivid portrait of Iceland: cold weather,volcanic eruptions,northern lights,whale hunting,darkness,sexism,and homophobia....In this excellent introduction to her work,ólafsdóttir creates a world where either escape or hiding one's true nature are the only choices.A magnetic novelA magnificent feminist heroineólafsdóttir's charm and devastating honour have just won her the Prix MédicisCaptivating and deeply moving until the final page
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