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Rigning í Nóvember (2004)

by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir(Favorite Author)

3.38 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

9979768312 (ISBN13: 9789979768319)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Salka

review 1: I received a complimentary copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads and this is the first time I have read anything by this author. As I write this review, it occurs to me that I don't know what the central character's name is. The novel begins by detailing a really bad day for her -- she hits and kills a goose with her car, the man she is having an affair with breaks up with her, and her husband tells her he is divorcing her to be with his mistress (who is having his child). I was struck at how detached and accepting she seemed, like in shock, as she moved from one crisis to another that day. Later, a friend who is pregnant with twins comes to visit her and falls on her doorstep. She is entrusted with the care of this woman's young child when she is confined t... moreo the hospital for the remainder of the pregnancy. After winning a lottery ticket, she and the young child embark on a road trip across Iceland to a place where her grandmother once lived. The child is disabled with sight and hearing problems, but he proves to be what she needs at this point in her life. They come together, both broken, and grow stronger as a result. It was an interesting, but strange read. I was struck at her willingness to accommodate others (her estranged husband leaving her and taking most of the possessions, her friend needing her to take her child, then burdening her to do things for him that she wasn't willing or able to do, etc. I'd recommend it because the relationship between her and the boy was heartwarming and was probably the thread she needed to keep her life from unravelling.
review 2: Well, I can’t say I hated this book but I can’t necessarily say that I liked it much either. It was a fine enough read in many ways but in the end it didn’t seem to really have much to say for itself by way of the story, or the writing for that matter. Comparisons are often largely unfair, misplaced and misleading but if pressed I’d say this is something Anne Tyler could easily have written, or has already. The characters here in this book are indeed quirky and unpredictable as any review or blurb you may have read, yet they are also oddly removed and distanced from the events that occur. Miraculously hitting the lottery brings freedom for the main character but she really keeps on doing what she would have done anyway, just with a bigger expense account. It hardly seems to matter that she is filthy rich. Everything else in this book doesn’t seem to matter as well. Things just happen and she hardly reacts, merely accepts. She does however periodically panic over losing sight of her friend’s hearing-impaired child that she is looking after but that seems to be the highest point of drama one can really expect to get from this book that shows any real emotion or concern from its characters.At first, this strange removal from emotional attachments was actually part of the novels charm, its humor even. Only, as the book draws towards the end this apathy became infectious for me as a reader and I could really care less what she did one way or another. However, rather than abandoning it out of a lack of interest I figured that there had to be some big revelation or grand finale that would occur that would explain or otherwise provide a reason for some of the behavior in this book. Nope. Of course, the faults that I find in this book could very well be the translation, my copy of the uncorrected proof, or lastly the author herself, it’s hard to say which. Giving it the benefit of the doubt on all counts I can say that it held my attention for most of its length but there were nevertheless some moments in the writing that left me frustrated and confused. This was largely due to the sparseness of the writing in places, which at times left me wondering what in the world was happening. In such instances, I’d find myself rereading a few paragraphs a couple of times over to figure out if I was missing something. Again, nope! These errors of omission were either an oversight of the author or one of the many other hands that came after that brought this English translation to market. Then there were one or two times where the writing took flight in imaginative turns of fancy and these also had me guessing whether it was to be taken literally or whether this was poetic license. Of course, it’s possible that maybe it’s something of a cultural thing that I’m missing. This is an Icelandic novel, which initially was part of its appeal for me, and my unfamiliarity with this country and its people could be at fault here. Regardless, despite these moments of ambiguity and confusion the main plot was easy enough to follow but this also just outright failed for me as well. There are mysteries from the past in this book that essentially go nowhere. There are also psychic predictions of the future that likewise holds equal promise but also seem to either be lost in the shuffle or just with me. All in all, I feel as if I need to go back and reread it all over again to see if I am mistaken in all of this but there are far too many books out there left for me to read to justify taking the time to do so. First impressions are not always right but they also aren’t completely mistaken either. I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. less

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