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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
reflective
slow-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Honestly, this was more interesting than I thought it would be. You have the historical backdrop of WWI and influenza, queerness, and film all wrapped up into one. The ending was interesting and a bit confusing but I still kinda liked it.
Well that was a bit of a roller-coaster. The ending is pretty strange, kinda liked it though. Interested to read more by Sjón.
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
This book was a pretty unique read. A bit experimental. Interesting historical backdrop of the independence of Iceland, Spanish flu, also incorporating some film history and queer coming of age story. I think I’ll like this more on a re-read. It is a quick read but I think it’d do the book justice to take time and sit with the story. I do wish it was a bit longer I feel like you could really dive more into these characters and setting.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
If I hadn’t gone to City Lights Booksellers in San Francisco and perused their staff picks, I would have never known this book existed. I’m glad I did, since I found this to be a beautifully-written story. It’s quite short and won’t take long to work through, and it’s both simple and full of complexity to keep readers interested without being overwhelmed.
Things I Liked
1. Prose: The version I read is in translation, but I don’t think that’s a reason to ignore prose. Victoria Cribb beautifully takes Sjon’s original and renders it into something that reads simple yet poetic in English. I often had the feeling that I was reading something aesthetically understated.
2. Connection to Early Film: Much of Mani’s experience in Iceland is filtered through his love of film. I liked the way Sjon incorporated film history, making it something of an obsession of Mani’s without being overbearing. I liked that the theater was a place that Mani could essentially escape from society, but I also liked how the theater bled into his perception of everyday life as well. Sjon also is careful to add in details, like the fact that early films were accompanied by live orchestras and that the early movie equipment was actually quite loud.
3. Historical Backdrop: This novella takes place in 1918 in Iceland against the backdrop of a volcanic eruption, coal shortage, and an epidemic. The three are woven together quite well - though the epidemic is front and center most of the time, the other things are quietly in the background and work to exasperate the situation. The tie-in to Iceland’s independence was also nice.
4. Ending: Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that I enjoyed the ending. I was glad that it didn’t end the way a lot of LGBT+ stories do (especially in pop culture), though it never tries to deny that early-20th century ICeland was homophobic.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Length: I almost wish this novella was longer in order to give the narrative more room to explore more topics in-depth. As it stands, the novella is fine, but I was wishing for Sjon to delve deeper into issues like societal perceptions of queerness, the role of film, etc.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in contemporary Icelandic literature, LGBT+ characters/experiences, film history, early film, silent film, French experimental film, epidemics, disease, and Spanish flu.
Things I Liked
1. Prose: The version I read is in translation, but I don’t think that’s a reason to ignore prose. Victoria Cribb beautifully takes Sjon’s original and renders it into something that reads simple yet poetic in English. I often had the feeling that I was reading something aesthetically understated.
2. Connection to Early Film: Much of Mani’s experience in Iceland is filtered through his love of film. I liked the way Sjon incorporated film history, making it something of an obsession of Mani’s without being overbearing. I liked that the theater was a place that Mani could essentially escape from society, but I also liked how the theater bled into his perception of everyday life as well. Sjon also is careful to add in details, like the fact that early films were accompanied by live orchestras and that the early movie equipment was actually quite loud.
3. Historical Backdrop: This novella takes place in 1918 in Iceland against the backdrop of a volcanic eruption, coal shortage, and an epidemic. The three are woven together quite well - though the epidemic is front and center most of the time, the other things are quietly in the background and work to exasperate the situation. The tie-in to Iceland’s independence was also nice.
4. Ending: Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that I enjoyed the ending. I was glad that it didn’t end the way a lot of LGBT+ stories do (especially in pop culture), though it never tries to deny that early-20th century ICeland was homophobic.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Length: I almost wish this novella was longer in order to give the narrative more room to explore more topics in-depth. As it stands, the novella is fine, but I was wishing for Sjon to delve deeper into issues like societal perceptions of queerness, the role of film, etc.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in contemporary Icelandic literature, LGBT+ characters/experiences, film history, early film, silent film, French experimental film, epidemics, disease, and Spanish flu.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Terminal illness
Minor: Violence
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I feel a lot like what the fuck did I just read. I think three stars is generous actually, but some of the historical stuff was pretty interesting, and it was a quick single sit-down read. I kept googling Iceland's history, because I like to know what parts are fiction or not. Most of the historical aspects seemed to be non-fiction.
I am still not completely sure what was real or not- in the fictional story, I mean.
I don't agree with the reviews that think this is amazing.
I am not sure if I would recommend it. I think this would be better to read with a book club to discuss.
I am still not completely sure what was real or not- in the fictional story, I mean.
I don't agree with the reviews that think this is amazing.
I am not sure if I would recommend it. I think this would be better to read with a book club to discuss.