This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.For my Around the World challenge (Iceland).
Not sure what to think of this slender novel from Iceland. I think I should have read this in a Swedish or Norwegian translation (I'm frustrated I can't understand more than a few words of Icelandic) to get a different perspective, because I feel like I'm missing something here.
The novel has been nominated for several prestigious literary awards and it's widely praised by Icelandic, Danish and Norwegian readers and critics, and yet I kept asking myselfFor my Around the World challenge (Iceland).
Not sure what to think of this slender novel from Iceland. I think I should have read this in a Swedish or Norwegian translation (I'm frustrated I can't understand more than a few words of Icelandic) to get a different perspective, because I feel like I'm missing something here.
The novel has been nominated for several prestigious literary awards and it's widely praised by Icelandic, Danish and Norwegian readers and critics, and yet I kept asking myself why. Although the writing is earthy and lyrical, the characters and the love story itself seem quite trite (stolid sheep farmer Bjarni covets his buxom neighbor Helga, but can't leave his farm or frigid wife) and definitely less interesting than the Icelandic country setting, the curious anecdotes about neighbors and fellow islanders, and the literary references to classic Icelandic texts (the writer and translator even provide endnotes to highlight the allusions).
Maybe something was lost in the translation? Or perhaps illicit love among the sheep just isn't my cup of tea. I'm not sure, but I wasn't moved or touched by Bjarni's choices or his fate. I was intrigued by the Icelandic landscape, people and stories, but I want my next Icelandic novel to be very different from this one....more
