Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
83rd out of 100 books
—
32 voters
Children in Reindeer Woods
by
Kristín Ómarsdóttir,
Lytton Smith (Goodreads Author)
Eleven-year-old Billie lives at a ‘temporary home for children’ called Children in Reindeer Woods, which she discovers one afternoon, to her surprise, is in the middle of a war zone. When a small group of paratroopers kill everyone who lives there with her, and then turn on each other, Billie is forced to learn to live with the violent, innocent, and troubled Rafael, who d...more
Paperback, 193 pages
Published
April 17th 2012
by Open Letter Books
(first published January 1st 2004)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
256)
"Children in Reindeer Woods" is sort of an absurdist fairy tale. Billie is in a temporary home for children when soldiers appear and kill everyone in the home but her. One of the soldiers then turns on his fellows, kills them, then buries them all, dog included, in the yard. Thus begins the bizarre relationship of Billie and Rafael. Rafael wants to renounce being a soldier and reinvent himself as a farmer but complications get in the way. Meanwhile Billie has to define her relationship with Rafa...more
In a lot of ways this novel, which is the first of Omarsdottir's to be published in English, is dull. The entire book is so smooth it would almost be relaxing, if it weren't for the constant threat of violence, the vaguely uncomfortable feeling of sexuality, and the utter incongruity of such a placid and placidly written landscape making me so disconcerted.The book takes place in what seems like the near future in a country that could be anywhere. There is an isolated farmhouse and a constant wa...more
By Jena Salon
For The Literary Review
Spring 2012 "Encyclopedia Britannica"
One day recently I was out hiking with my husband in the woods by our new house,
and we came upon a stranger. At first he pointed in the direction of our house and
asked us if we knew the people who had bought it. It seemed to me he already had
to know the answer or else he wouldn’t be asking. But we live in a small town, and
people are nosy but polite, so we introduced ourselves and tried to be friendly. He
asked about ou...more
For The Literary Review
Spring 2012 "Encyclopedia Britannica"
One day recently I was out hiking with my husband in the woods by our new house,
and we came upon a stranger. At first he pointed in the direction of our house and
asked us if we knew the people who had bought it. It seemed to me he already had
to know the answer or else he wouldn’t be asking. But we live in a small town, and
people are nosy but polite, so we introduced ourselves and tried to be friendly. He
asked about ou...more
It seems like quite an idyllic life there on the farm for Rafael and Billie. He's a retired soldier, she has just turned eleven --- although a very astute eleven (she can discourse on the fifth article of the declaration of human rights).
There is a cow to milk, a cat to cuddle with, chickens to feed, eggs to gather, crops to grow. The ground is fertile, the farm is isolated, there in Reindeer Woods.
In the time we are with them, there are only four visitors, including a nun who promptly falls in...more
There is a cow to milk, a cat to cuddle with, chickens to feed, eggs to gather, crops to grow. The ground is fertile, the farm is isolated, there in Reindeer Woods.
In the time we are with them, there are only four visitors, including a nun who promptly falls in...more
The reviews I have read so far, including the NYT one that drew me to this book, can't seem to get beyond the novel's distubing premisse. Here's me trying.
I think the crux of it is in the articulation between nature and culture. And it appears to be fairly complex. From the little we know about the soldier's past, he joined the army to gain a semblance of purpose to his life. He learns to value cleanliness, order, army etiquette and respect for rank and structure. The paradox is that social str...more
I think the crux of it is in the articulation between nature and culture. And it appears to be fairly complex. From the little we know about the soldier's past, he joined the army to gain a semblance of purpose to his life. He learns to value cleanliness, order, army etiquette and respect for rank and structure. The paradox is that social str...more
Imagine a hike in Reindeer Woods.
The sky is clear. Creatures creep and call and chatter around you, complemented by small and sometimes irritating insect doings. You wear a backpack that is well-stocked. You are rested, and you feel ready to walk for many hours. Beside you are some new acquaintances. You listen to what they have to say, and you ponder what has been said. You have every intention of making the most of this shared experience, and of keeping these people in memory.
Together, you wal...more
The sky is clear. Creatures creep and call and chatter around you, complemented by small and sometimes irritating insect doings. You wear a backpack that is well-stocked. You are rested, and you feel ready to walk for many hours. Beside you are some new acquaintances. You listen to what they have to say, and you ponder what has been said. You have every intention of making the most of this shared experience, and of keeping these people in memory.
Together, you wal...more
4 likes · like · see review
view all 4 comments
This is translated from Icelandic, which always complicates things in terms of diction and style. But still.
Spoilers!
Billie, an 11-year-old girl, is sent to a summer camp in Reindeer Woods, presumably while her parents deal with her father's mental illness, her mother's depression, and life in general. There's a war on, which we discover when the camp is taken over by three soldiers who kill everyone but Billie. One of the three, Rafael, then kills the other two, and from then on Billie and Raf...more
Spoilers!
Billie, an 11-year-old girl, is sent to a summer camp in Reindeer Woods, presumably while her parents deal with her father's mental illness, her mother's depression, and life in general. There's a war on, which we discover when the camp is taken over by three soldiers who kill everyone but Billie. One of the three, Rafael, then kills the other two, and from then on Billie and Raf...more
Three soldiers walk up to a house in the woods. An old woman who lives in the house offers them food, drink, a place to sit down and against all the rules of civilized hospitality, and in the kind of action that drives Greek Tragedy and propels stories like George RR Martin's along, the soldiers act like really bad guests. They open fire on the old women, a couple of adults, some children and dogs and kill all of them but one little girl who runs off and hides. One of the soldiers then turns aro...more
24 likes · like · see review
Within the first two pages of Children in Reindeer Woods in quick succession two women, three children, one man, one dog, and two soldiers are brutally murdered. When the dust finally settles the only ones left standing are an eleven year old girl named Billie who may or may not be mentally handicapped and a soldier named Rafael who may or may not be completely deranged. The remaining one hundred ninety five pages chronicle their disturbingly fascinating story.
Where is this farm house that doubl...more
Where is this farm house that doubl...more
This slim, strange novel gave me awesome nightmares. Which I mean in the best way. Worth the read just for the scenes of Barbies talking to each other ("Sara: I had to host this party, my darling cinnamon bun, so that no one would think I'm retarded."), but also for its unsettling, often hilarious, and sometimes terrifying visions of girlhood, the idealized/idyllic country life, and wartime. Ómarsdóttir is also a poet and a playwright, and the novel has the qualities of both: a hallucinatory fee...more
What to say about this book.... Well, I liked it. It was almost like reading a hallucination. A girl is left to stay at this temporary children's home while her mother and father (who is actually an alien-controlled puppet) go...somewhere. Her life turns upside down when these three paratroopers show up at the house (they ARE in a war zone, after all) and murder everyone except her. A particularly violent member of this group goes a step further and murders his comrades so that he can give up hi...more
I try to avoid stereotypes—positive or negative—especially cultural stereotypes. There are valid reasons sometimes why these stereotypes were assigned, but there are quite a few that were meant only to harm. That being said, I've tried to ignore that stigma of oddness placed on Icelanders. Sure an Internet search on famous Icelanders and Icelandic attractions may lead you to believe they're all a little strange, but surely they all cannot be, right?
Children in Reindeer Woods is odd. There may be...more
Children in Reindeer Woods is odd. There may be...more
Rating: 4 1/2 stars.
Children in Reindeer Woods is a darkly exotic tale by the Icelandic author, Kristin Omarsdottir. This is one of ten (10) foreign authors published yearly by the Open Letter Press via the University of Rochester. Their purpose is to expose influential international writers. These books can be ordered on: www.openletterbooks.org. They publish an amazing variety of authors. Readers are truly missing something if they have not explored these books.
Children in Reindeer Woods is a darkly exotic tale by the Icelandic author, Kristin Omarsdottir. This is one of ten (10) foreign authors published yearly by the Open Letter Press via the University of Rochester. Their purpose is to expose influential international writers. These books can be ordered on: www.openletterbooks.org. They publish an amazing variety of authors. Readers are truly missing something if they have not explored these books.
"The mood is disconcerting. Children in Reindeer Woods, Kristín Ómarsdóttir’s first novel to be translated from Icelandic into English, remains unsettling to the very end." - Shaun Randol, New York
This book was reviewed in the November 2012 issue of World Literature Today. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://bit.ly/RrA8cR
This book was reviewed in the November 2012 issue of World Literature Today. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://bit.ly/RrA8cR
What an odd little tale. I had difficulties placing it in time and location (maybe the 1980's?). And it's a disturbing mixture of violence and placidity as 11-year-old Billie complies with the direction her life takes. She changes, yes, but less so than anyone she meets.
I was skeptical at first, but then I could not wait to find out what would happen next. A strange mixture of events puts us in a situation most would never consider: a young girl in the care if a soldier-turned-farmer. A great read!!
Rather disturbing book, couldn't quite make it out completely. Something to do with translating from icelandic? Don't know...
Huh? Seriously I don't get it. Could be a translation problem, but I don't think so...
Eleven-year-old Billie lives at a " home for abandonded children"
Much to Billie's suprise it is in the middle of a war zone.
When a small group of soldiers kill everyone who lives there with her,
and then each other, Billie is forced to make the best of the violence, and her new caretaker troubled Rafael, who decides to abandon his army and become a farmer,
.
Much to Billie's suprise it is in the middle of a war zone.
When a small group of soldiers kill everyone who lives there with her,
and then each other, Billie is forced to make the best of the violence, and her new caretaker troubled Rafael, who decides to abandon his army and become a farmer,
.
This modern day fable has a dramatic, frightening opening and is then followed by a strange tale of a soldier who is tired of war, and an 11 year old girl who is wise beyond her years yet still a child, and how they help one another. It is a disturbing and thought provoking story by an Icelandic author whose work I haven't read before. I will be looking for more!
I won this book in a Goodreads first reads giveaway. I thought the book sounded great, but ti was slow paced and I lost interest quick. A soldier kills the two men in his brigade, and everyone in Reindeer Woods except Billie. It is confusing, and doesn't hold much emotion.
An interesting absurdist allegory.
Apr 15, 2012
Lizzie
marked it as to-read
Read about this in the NYT.
May 13, 2013
Gabbie Groff
marked it as to-read
Apr 30, 2013
Karen
marked it as to-read
Apr 12, 2013
Corina
marked it as to-read
May 03, 2013
Emily Johnson
marked it as to-read
Apr 09, 2013
Anna Goodson
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Kristín grew up in Hafnarfjörður. She studied Literature and Spanish at the University of Iceland, then pursued Spanish at the Universities of Barcelona and Copenhagen. She has published poetry, novels, short stories and plays.
Her first publication was the poetry book Í húsinu okkar er þoka (There is Fog in Our House) in 1987, and her first novel, Svartir brúðarkjólar (Black Wedding Dresses) came...more
More about Kristín Ómarsdóttir...
Her first publication was the poetry book Í húsinu okkar er þoka (There is Fog in Our House) in 1987, and her first novel, Svartir brúðarkjólar (Black Wedding Dresses) came...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
