Place of the Heart

by Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, Philip Roughton (Translation)

Harpa ist Anfang Dreißig, und sie hat ein Problem: Ihre Tochter Edda ist drogensüchtig. Freundin Heide will der allein erziehenden Mutter helfen, und die drei machen sich mit einem weißen Pick-up auf, fort von Reykjavik und der schlechten Gesellschaft.
So beginnt eine abenteurliche Reise durch die Schönheit der isländischen Landschaft, erschwert durch die Unberechenbarkeit Eddas und des Wetters - eine Reise zum Herzort der Kindheit.

438 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Steinunn Sigurðardóttir was born in Reykjavík in 1950. She finished her Matriculation Examination at the Reykjavík Higher Secondary Grammar School in 1968 and a BA in Psychology and Philosophy at the University College in Dublin in 1972.

She published her first book, the poetry collection Sífellur (Continuances), 19 years old and received immediate attention. In 1995 she received the Icelandic Literature Prize for the novel Hjartastaður (Heart Place). Her books have been translated into other languages and a French movie based on the novel Tímaþjófurinn (The Thief of Time) premiered in 1999.

Sigurðardóttir was a reporter at the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV) and a news correspondent with intervals from 1970-1982. She has also worked as a journalist and written programmes for radio and television.

Steinunn Sigurðardóttir has lived for long and short periods of time in various places in Europe, in the US and in Japan. She currently divides her time between France and Iceland. She has one grown-up daughter.

Reviews

[Alta]

It took me some time to establish a connection with Steinunn Sigurdardóttir’s novel Place of the Heart, in spite of its elegant yet unpretentious writing, translated with outstanding artfulness by Philip Roughton. The reason is simple: I hate spending time with teenagers bent on destroying themselves with drugs and alcohol, not to mention the risk of AIDS—and this novel forces you to. But the author managed to convince me that her novel is more than worth reading, and the more I read the more enjoyable it became. Its 413 pages are written in Harpa’s voice, a complex character, mother to a delinquent teenager, who had her at the unripe age of sixteen. A single mother working as an assistant nurse, Harpa struggles to save her daughter, Edda, from the downward spiral she’s been caught in, and which could only lead to her death. Edda is a masterfully realized portrait of a teenager out of control: she calls her mother whore, bitch, old cow, tells her to “eat shit,” and threatens to kill her. Possessed by some inner demon, the fifteen-year-old girl shares the company of very dubious characters depicted with lucidity and humor by Sigurdardóttir, and one New Year’s eve she is left for dead—or she tries to commit suicide, we don’t know—half naked, in the snow. Harpa manages to save her life, but the incident leads to a decision she hopes would be life-changing: to move from Reykjavik to her relatives on Iceland’s East coast, and let the marvelous countryside of her childhood heal her daughter.

Thus begins a journey that takes over four hundred pages, and covers 48 hours and half of Iceland. True, the journey is also inward, in Harpa’s mind and soul, and into the past. Besides her best friend, Heidur, who drives them, and Edda, Harpa’s dead mother is also a steady road companion, engaging her in long conversations and refusing to reveal the identity of her real father. Harpa, who bears no resemblance neither to her legal father nor to Icelandic people in general, is, thus, on a double quest: for a “place of the heart” for her daughter; and for her true identity. She hopes to find both at her aunt’s place, Dýrfinna, and that of a cousin who has offered to host Edda. The aunt, the cousin, another aunt and an uncle seen on the road, are all quirky, picturesque, yet angelic in their goodness, characters, and take us to a bygone world populated with tales of ghosts, homemade pies and a natural landscape of uncanny beauty.

The journey is not without perils, as it turns out that Edda’s delinquent friends have been following them, and somewhere, in a parking lot, they pretend that they are taking her with them, but in the end let her go, after giving her a new provision of white powder. Nature is also sometimes a dangerous monster in these remote parts—apocalyptic winds are lashing at their car. Yet, the description of Iceland’s moonlike landscape is one of the best rewards of this novel, and it will make you want to travel. I had just returned from Iceland before reading it, and it was a double pleasure to immerse myself into Sigurdardóttir’s world. The novel’s surprise ending— both the identity of Harpa’s real father and the twist in her love life are unexpected—adds to a truly enjoyable reading experience.

[Lora · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book from 1995 won the Icelandic Literature Prize. In a way, I'm surprised the book won a prize - it's very slow going, focusing too much on landscape and inner thoughts. It also has an abrupt, unsatisfactory ending, and I feel personally "insulted" that the main character feels she is a dwarf even though she's my height (5'2" which is only 4" shorter than the Icelandic average woman).

In another way, I'm not surprised it won a prize, because the author says a lot of meaningful things in interesting ways - I highlighted 70 passages, including some passages on Icelandic nature. For example: "The sea in this deep fjord is no longer of saltwater; it's a viscous molten pool of silk, the softest cradle in the world for ducklings tired in the evenings."

It has particularly much to say about being a caregiver. The main character works in nursing, and at the same time she's helping her elderly father and dealing with her troubled teenage daughter. Constantly caring for others, wondering if she's to blame for her daughter's problems, grieving her mother's death, questioning who her father is, and coping with an on-again/off-again love affair all lead her to the brink of a breakdown. "My tears are hard as hail, my heart is chilled." There's no room for herself in her life, and her last hope is taking this road-trip to a new life.

The book ends with a so-called glossary. The glossary would have functioned much better as footnotes, because many of the entries identify sources of quotes. Other entries tell about Icelandic sayings, songs and products. I would have consulted the glossary if I had known it was there!

The author has enjoyed success in both Iceland, Germany and France (where one of her books was made into a film). I hope more of her books get translated into English - she has an interesting voice and I'd like to read other (hopefully faster-praced) books by her.

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of few books I’ve decided I’ve “finished” despite only getting halfway through. Another reviewer put it well: “tedious.” Harpa spends so much time wallowing in self-pity and spouting pseudo intellectual nonsense. No wonder she hid her poems in the laundry basket, that’s where they belong. Not recommended unless you like books about moms who are stuck in their own head. I was so sick of hearing all Harpa’s potential titles for her autobiography I just gave up. Not invested enough in any of the characters.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a tough read and ultimately not for me, but I did finish it because I appreciated the book. One of the elements that made it so difficult to read was the lack of quotation marks to set off dialogue. In addition, the main character speaks with her dead mother, whom only she can see. These conversations, as well as her inner monologue, occur in the middle of conversations with other characters, and it's confusing many times who is speaking to whom and when. A final point of confusion is that there are many flashbacks interspersed with the present scenes; they don't flip back and forth, they're cut in here and there as the scenes progress, so it's hard to tell sometimes if we're in the present or remembering something in the past. There are also confusing scenes with details revealed about her love interest. The story is about both a figurative and literal journey by the main character to figure out who she is, despite her life having been derailed by a teenage pregnancy, the early death of her mother, and her uncertain paternity, and to chart a future for herself. The story is racing toward a climax at the end when it suddenly stops, a bit too abruptly for me. Despite all these issues, I found the main character's story and evolution interesting.

[Ele Pawelski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mainly it was great. Because I've driven the route that the book takes place over, I could really relate to the scenery and descriptions.

The writing was powerful, even the main character talking about herself in the third person from time to time. I wasn't as keen on her seeing and talking to her dead mother, and thought this information could have been conveyed a different way.

The story/relationship of the main character with her daughter seemed unfinished to me. But the cast of characters was interesting and the conversations, epiphanies were real!

[Valgerdur Benediktsdottir]

"Sá sem spyr ekki réttra spurninga fær ekki rétt svör." Þetta er ein uppáhaldssetningin mín úr Hjartastað. Önnur uppáhaldssetning úr bókinni hékk uppi á vegg hjá mér árum saman: "Allir dagar eru endir einhvers þó ekki sé nema á sjálfum sér og jafnframt eru dagarnir upphaf ef við munum að þeir eru nýir."

[Berglind Steinsdóttir]

Það er vandasamt að skrifa um lúsera. Mér finnst Steinunni ekki hafa tekist vel upp hér.

[Anna Gunnarsdottir · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok

[Anne-Arielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Les parents d'adolescents s'y retrouveront ! belles descriptions de la nature sauvage islandaises et itinéraire personnel de l'héroïne intéressant mais beaucoup de longueurs...

[Gretel · Rating 2 out of 5]

My God, that was tedious.

Place of the Heart by Icelandic author Steinunn Sigurdardóttir is the story of a forty-eight hour roadtrip across the Icelandic wilderness. Harpa doesn't look like other Icelanders and is short and dark, and she is a single mother to her tearaway daughter Edda. Along with Harpa's flutist friend Heidur, they get into a pick-up truck and go on their journey. Along the way, Harpa hopes her daughter's bad behaviour will be rectified and Harpa hopes to discover where she really comes from, as she feels she is too dark looking to really be her father's child.

The author doesn't use speech marks in the novel, I don't know why, it just makes the novel a lot harder to read. The non-linear storytelling and scenes changing instantly throw you a bit. I didn't really like Harpa's narration, as she seemed to feel sorry for herself too much and was way too indecisive, wishing her daughter was never born one minute and then cherising the memories of her the next. The language used by Harpa grated on me, as the wording was a bit weird and some descriptions fell flat on their face. The friend, Heidur, felt like an accessory rather than a character, only there to aid Harpa's egotistic and psuedo-intellectual ramblings. Harpa repeats herself a lot, mentioning she had her daughter as a teenager, but never divulging the interesting details, such as the relationship with the child's father. She never really shed any light on her teen parenthood, which is a shame, as it would've made the novel that little bit more interesting.

I am giving it two stars, because I did like it in places, such as Harpa retelling her experience of her being caught by other children because they thought she was a troll. I also appreciated the anecdotes about Icelandic history and some of the scenery descriptions.

[Janne Paananen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sydämen seutuvilla kertoo läpi Islannin tapahtuvasta automatkasta, jossa äiti lähtee etsimään totuutta omasta isästään ja auttamaan teini-ikäistä tytärtään pois huonoista piireistä. Kuskina toimii äidin ystävä, varakas muusikko, joka on tottunut kiertämään maailman lavoja ja elämään yltäkylläisyydessä. Tyttären arveluttavat ystävät lähtevät kuitenkin seuraamaan "pakolaisia" ja muutenkin reissussa on kasassa kaikki katastrofin ainekset.

Sigurðardóttir pyrkii kuvaamaan Islannin ainutlaatuista luontoa, mutta ei onnistu siinä mielestäni järin hyvin. Hänen kuvauksen perusteella ei tulisi pieneen mieleenkään lähteä tutustumaan Islannin hiekkamyrskyihin. Myös itse tarinan kuljettaminen tökkii melko lailla. Päähenkilöihin, varsinkin äitiin, hän saa puhallettua henkeä ja kolmikon riitely on hyvinkin aidontuntuista paikoiteillen.

Äiti saa lopussa vastauksen kysymyksiinsä, mutta tytär jotenkin vain heivataan toisten harteille. Tältä osin loppu tuntui jotenkin melko tylyltä. Booooo-ring...

[Michael Sanderson-green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the horrid ,dis functional daughter that has no redeeming features the author is able grip you into their trip up the east coast of Iceland . I really want to make the same journey. She was also able to weave the Icelandic culture into the story. I hope this is successful enough to warrant more translations of her works.

[Kristine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Newly translated from Icelandic

Story of an unhappy 33 year old woman with a 15 year old drug addicted
daughter. The woman is taking her daughter, whom she does not like, to live with
a relative.
On the journey the woman has many conversations with her own mother who happens to be dead.

[World Literature Today]

This book was featured in the Nota Benes section of the March/April 2015 issue of World Literature Today Magazine.

http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...

[Irene]

Second time I tried reading this book. First time I didn't like it, now months later it has not gotten any better, and could not finish it. Would not recommend.