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bookph1le's review
4.0
4.5 stars
This was such a devastating book, and so unexpected for me. Minor spoilers to follow with major spoilers behind the tags.
I picked this up thinking it was going to be a disaster book, which it was in some respects, but what I pictured was far too small. It's a moving portrait of a woman's messy life, how she feels torn between her lover and her family, how her father's influence has shaped her, how her insistence on rationality above all else fails her. It was complex and multi-faceted, and I was really blown away by it.
I was also surprised by how much I liked it, considering how dense and science-heavy it is at times. I don't live anywhere near a volcano, so my interest in them was negligible at best, and yet I was still fascinated by everything this book had to teach me about volcanoes and how they work. Since Anna's work is so central to who she is as a person, I thought the details about volcanology went a long way toward making her characterization strong and believable.
There were two things I didn't like so much about this book, though. One was Anna's encounter with an interior designer. I understood that it was a metaphor for Anna herself and how she was living her life, but it felt weirdly out of place to me, and there are so many other details that reinforce the idea that Anna chafes against her self-imposed restraints that I didn't see the purpose the interior decorator character served. (Aside: I was weirded out by the way characters in this book open other people's unlocked doors and invite themselves on into other people's homes. That's like one of my worst nightmares.)
The other thing I disliked was Tomas. That relationship felt off to me. To me he came across as immature and controlling, and I couldn't see how he and Anna would ever work out in the real world, where you have to pay bills and do laundry and attend to any number of mundane details. I didn't find it out of keeping that Anna would be so irresponsible because of her affair, but it did bother me. I couldn't help but think of how adults will mock teenage love and infatuation, yet when Anna is pretty much in the same boat, it's meant to be this grand love affair.
This was truly a standout book for me, especially since I find a lot of the Kindle First books I get are either disappointing and just okay.
This was such a devastating book, and so unexpected for me. Minor spoilers to follow with major spoilers behind the tags.
I picked this up thinking it was going to be a disaster book, which it was in some respects, but what I pictured was far too small. It's a moving portrait of a woman's messy life, how she feels torn between her lover and her family, how her father's influence has shaped her, how her insistence on rationality above all else fails her. It was complex and multi-faceted, and I was really blown away by it.
I was also surprised by how much I liked it, considering how dense and science-heavy it is at times. I don't live anywhere near a volcano, so my interest in them was negligible at best, and yet I was still fascinated by everything this book had to teach me about volcanoes and how they work. Since Anna's work is so central to who she is as a person, I thought the details about volcanology went a long way toward making her characterization strong and believable.
There were two things I didn't like so much about this book, though. One was Anna's encounter with an interior designer. I understood that it was a metaphor for Anna herself and how she was living her life, but it felt weirdly out of place to me, and there are so many other details that reinforce the idea that Anna chafes against her self-imposed restraints that I didn't see the purpose the interior decorator character served. (Aside: I was weirded out by the way characters in this book open other people's unlocked doors and invite themselves on into other people's homes. That's like one of my worst nightmares.)
The other thing I disliked was Tomas. That relationship felt off to me. To me he came across as immature and controlling, and I couldn't see how he and Anna would ever work out in the real world, where you have to pay bills and do laundry and attend to any number of mundane details. I didn't find it out of keeping that Anna would be so irresponsible because of her affair, but it did bother me. I couldn't help but think of how adults will mock teenage love and infatuation, yet when Anna is pretty much in the same boat, it's meant to be this grand love affair.
Spoiler
Even though I'm not going to explicitly give away the ending, I'm still placing a spoiler tag here because that ending came roaring up at me out of nowhere. I didn't expect it, didn't see it coming, and found it absolutely devastating and heartbreaking--though I did think it fit in with the rest of the book and with Anna as a character.This was truly a standout book for me, especially since I find a lot of the Kindle First books I get are either disappointing and just okay.
anndudzinski's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Really interesting plot. Poignant yet pointless ending.
verumsolum's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those books where I suspect that there's a divergence between quality and enjoyment. I think the author did very well what she set out to do, but it wasn't to my taste. She tells the story well, but I had two major problems with the story: the first was the main character. She… was one of those characters who is too smart in some ways and too dumb in others. Her professional life is a success, and her personal life is a mess. And… her obsession with her perception of herself as rational ends up being completely ludicrous when she hits situations where she behaves emotionally and selfishly.
The other problem I have is the book's ending. I don't want to get into spoilers, but it takes us somewhere horrible, and then just stops. And I don't want an author to lead me to that and then abandon me immediately. If you have to take me there, do something with it. Even if it's not "happily ever after," help me find meaning in it, rather than a chapter of airy bullshit from the character we've watched bullshit herself through most of the book. I mean, given what she's said about herself through the book, why should I trust that what she says now is going to be meaningful?
If my criticisms haven't scared you off, you probably should read the book: technically, I think she handled it well. But it just ended up being a book I wished I hadn't finished (even though I rarely DNF books).
The other problem I have is the book's ending. I don't want to get into spoilers, but it takes us somewhere horrible, and then just stops. And I don't want an author to lead me to that and then abandon me immediately. If you have to take me there, do something with it. Even if it's not "happily ever after," help me find meaning in it, rather than a chapter of airy bullshit from the character we've watched bullshit herself through most of the book. I mean, given what she's said about herself through the book, why should I trust that what she says now is going to be meaningful?
If my criticisms haven't scared you off, you probably should read the book: technically, I think she handled it well. But it just ended up being a book I wished I hadn't finished (even though I rarely DNF books).
mel_books's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Volcanologist Anna Arnardóttir has it all. A husband that loves her, a family that makes her happy, a beautiful, spacious house in the suburbs, and a fulfilling job. She has been fascinated by geology and volcanology since she was little. Her father was also a prominent scientist in the field. When a series of earthquakes begin, things start to get complicated.
Overall, The Fires is a good novel and a very well-researched one. But there are so many places where the story dragged. Detailed descriptions of volcanic activity are scattered all over the book. If volcanology is your thing, this is an excellent book for you. However, it contains far too much detail for the average reader. Although volcanoes are an interesting topic, these descriptions often distracted me while reading this story.
Overall, The Fires is a good novel and a very well-researched one. But there are so many places where the story dragged. Detailed descriptions of volcanic activity are scattered all over the book. If volcanology is your thing, this is an excellent book for you. However, it contains far too much detail for the average reader. Although volcanoes are an interesting topic, these descriptions often distracted me while reading this story.
laurajh77's review
3.0
I am fascinated by volcanoes and recently watched a documentary about the fires that have erupted near Reykjavik in recent years. It was so good. So when this came up as an Amazon first read I was delighted! The sections throughout explaining volcanoes and how they form I found very interesting, the love story less so. Anna’s choices didn’t seem to match with her character and intellect, and maybe that was the point. I just didn’t feel it was convincing. The end was shocking and completely different to the majority of the book, which I liked, it added to the confusion and panic, very well done. There were a few points where it felt the translation was a bit clunky - I will admit to not generally liking books translated into English, they lose too much nuance. But this was a good read and worth persevering with the scientific parts.
leannehymes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
pvp_niki's review against another edition
4.0
*Edited my rating 2 months later from 3 stars to 4 stars. I had the amazing opportunity to interview the author where she was providing some valuable context to this book, Anna Karenina being one of the main inspirations to write a book about a similarly destructive relationship. I still think that the book might reinforce the stereotypes and misconceptions about new, bohemian relationships as described below, but with this context all the positives outweigh this and make me rethink my star rating.*
I'm in trouble with rating this book and I don't think I can give it a rational star rating just right now because I feel so conflicted and I may have to review it after the experience has settled.
I wanted to love it so much because I loved the author's first book, the Island and The Fires was one of the most anticipated releases of the year for me (in English and in my language Hungarian). It is so beautifully written and the scientific explanations about how volcanoes work are so masterfully intertwined with all the happenings of the domestic drama and the parallels drawn between them and the feelings and acts of the protagonist are created perfectly.
BUT the extramarital affair part of the plot is such problematic and not reflected well that from the moment I realized that this will be the subplot I was raging almost all the time.
The problem is not that the protagonist feels the way she feels and acts the way she acts. The problem is the author let the protagonist call this feeling love all along, without anyone else reflecting on it. Calling it love INSTANTLY, calling it love even after the first encounter not ending with sex but a fight over mistrust showed this relationship is as disfunctional and lacking basis as it should be after such a short time and with such an infantile, irresponsible, idolized bohemian bad boy involved as Tómas.
I know there are different kinds of love, which even the protagonist explains, but it's clear she does not mean this once she states this is the FIRST time for her being in love in her life, erasing her 20+ years of well-functioning, affectionate, feel-home marriage all at once, just because it is not very exciting.
And keeps on calling Tómas "my love" even after aforementioned fight, and amongst the turmoil of the disaster in the final parts of the book lists her relationship with him, her "love" with him as important in her life as the loves for her husband, children and parents.
Considering all this, it is unfair to expect this relationship to stand the test of a natural disaster.
Mislabeling infatuation, lust and obsession as love, even calling it as THE love, the one and greatest love in a person's life is such a huge issue in general, giving people unrealistic expectations and misconceptions about the value of a cozy, long-lasting feel-home relationship.
I cannot ignore that the book does not do justice to this subplot. Calling this affair love is not wrong because it's extramarital but because it lacks any basis. Calling it love is not wrong because it fails in a natural disaster but because it becomes disfunctional the first moment the pink fog lifts and you have to function apart from physical attraction and butterflies in the belly.
Someone feeling they need an adventorous affair, feeling that they are attracted to someone more at the moment than to their lifelong partner, making decisions driven by these feelings are all totally valid. But saying this is love, but 20+ years of a loving, affectionate, feel-home, happy marriage has never been love is totally not valid.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'm in trouble with rating this book and I don't think I can give it a rational star rating just right now because I feel so conflicted and I may have to review it after the experience has settled.
I wanted to love it so much because I loved the author's first book, the Island and The Fires was one of the most anticipated releases of the year for me (in English and in my language Hungarian). It is so beautifully written and the scientific explanations about how volcanoes work are so masterfully intertwined with all the happenings of the domestic drama and the parallels drawn between them and the feelings and acts of the protagonist are created perfectly.
BUT the extramarital affair part of the plot is such problematic and not reflected well that from the moment I realized that this will be the subplot I was raging almost all the time.
The problem is not that the protagonist feels the way she feels and acts the way she acts. The problem is the author let the protagonist call this feeling love all along, without anyone else reflecting on it. Calling it love INSTANTLY, calling it love even after the first encounter not ending with sex but a fight over mistrust showed this relationship is as disfunctional and lacking basis as it should be after such a short time and with such an infantile, irresponsible, idolized bohemian bad boy involved as Tómas.
I know there are different kinds of love, which even the protagonist explains, but it's clear she does not mean this once she states this is the FIRST time for her being in love in her life, erasing her 20+ years of well-functioning, affectionate, feel-home marriage all at once, just because it is not very exciting.
And keeps on calling Tómas "my love" even after aforementioned fight, and amongst the turmoil of the disaster in the final parts of the book lists her relationship with him, her "love" with him as important in her life as the loves for her husband, children and parents.
Considering all this, it is unfair to expect this relationship to stand the test of a natural disaster.
Mislabeling infatuation, lust and obsession as love, even calling it as THE love, the one and greatest love in a person's life is such a huge issue in general, giving people unrealistic expectations and misconceptions about the value of a cozy, long-lasting feel-home relationship.
I cannot ignore that the book does not do justice to this subplot. Calling this affair love is not wrong because it's extramarital but because it lacks any basis. Calling it love is not wrong because it fails in a natural disaster but because it becomes disfunctional the first moment the pink fog lifts and you have to function apart from physical attraction and butterflies in the belly.
Someone feeling they need an adventorous affair, feeling that they are attracted to someone more at the moment than to their lifelong partner, making decisions driven by these feelings are all totally valid. But saying this is love, but 20+ years of a loving, affectionate, feel-home, happy marriage has never been love is totally not valid.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.