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angelic712's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
The writing was a 4.5 but the story, for me, was as a 1.5. I was expecting an action based disaster story. Instead it was a relationship drama where a selfish woman uses her knowledge of volcanoes as a metaphor for the disaster her life becomes when she picks an affair with a selfish and childish man over her stable and caring husband and father of her children culminating in the death of her youngest and herself.
thepeachmartini's review
2.0
Wow. I don't even know where to begin to unpack this. I picked this book as one of the Amazon Prime picks for January - the cover intrigued me, and the subject matter intrigued me....or what I THOUGHT the subject matter was going to be: volcanoes, an impending volcano disaster, and the effects it has on a woman and her family.
The first hurdle was the formatting; I admittedly don't read a lot of books that have been translated, so I am not used to this, but the dialogue is not formatted in the 'normal' manner. It all runs in with the text, so I was continually re-reading the same paragraphs multiple times to make sure I didn't miss anything.
The second hurdle was how technical this was. I love science and I love learning about things like volcanoes and earthquakes, and how the earth moves and shifts to shape our lives in all manner of ways. There were times this almost felt like a white paper on some aspect of volcanology, and mixed with the wonky formatting of dialog it made it hard to follow some of the conversations.
The third and most critical hurdle, in my opinion was the main character - Anna. I could not connect with her at all, at any point in this story. Anna was selfish and self-righteous, to the point of making me very frustrated and angry with her. Normally, I like it when a character challenges me, but not in this case. I am marking the rest of this as a spoiler, so proceed with caution... it also might be a little disjointed, because I'm still trying to organize my thoughts.
The marriage between Anna and her husband was sad...it felt one-sided and I was not surprised when Tomas showed up in the picture. I didn't fully understand her husband's intentions in the marriage - it often seemed like material items and wealth were what he wanted to provide her with, and supported her self-righteousness; and yet, through all of that, she is always depicted (in my mind anyway) as being a bit homely and not as polished as her lifestyle would make her seem. She goes from wanting to hide everything from her husband to confessing and wanting to try to salvage things and resolve them amicably, but then she continues to see Tomas off and on...and then gets mad at her husband when he brings up separation. Then she gets mad at Tomas when she suspects he might be having a fling with someone else...
Ultimately this story is one about relationships: humans and their relationship to their environment, the relationship between an economy and keeping a community safe, Anna and her relationship with her mother, Anna and her relationship with her spouse/lover, Anna's relationship with the world around her, and Anna's relationship with herself.
In each facet, we can see how broken she is, yet how she doesn't seem to acknowledge the harm she may be doing to others - or herself - which is a bit ironic when she's the one who is supposed to make the decisions about alert levels for the volcano and keeping the community safe...a point, which I may say is not forgotten as the story progresses and she reminds us quite often just how much she feels a responsibility to protect the community, yet she caves into the pressures of the economic and tourism trades. What's the worst that could happen? She ignores the feelings she has that something is not quite right, keeps them hidden from all but one person because she is afraid to show she truly is human and has thoughts and feelings like a human.
The ending...I can't say I'm surprised, but I think it was pretty sh*tty of her to put Tomas into a situation like that and then leave him behind...leave everyone behind. Was it just to get out of the bind she was in? She did have a lot to face when it was all said and done: infidelity, betrayal, professionally she didn't stand up for what was right, even though she knew she should have. Was it in spite of her own mother, who would never have done the same for her? She had to have the last say - the last twist of the knife to show she was the bigger person. Was it worth it?
The first hurdle was the formatting; I admittedly don't read a lot of books that have been translated, so I am not used to this, but the dialogue is not formatted in the 'normal' manner. It all runs in with the text, so I was continually re-reading the same paragraphs multiple times to make sure I didn't miss anything.
The second hurdle was how technical this was. I love science and I love learning about things like volcanoes and earthquakes, and how the earth moves and shifts to shape our lives in all manner of ways. There were times this almost felt like a white paper on some aspect of volcanology, and mixed with the wonky formatting of dialog it made it hard to follow some of the conversations.
The third and most critical hurdle, in my opinion was the main character - Anna. I could not connect with her at all, at any point in this story. Anna was selfish and self-righteous, to the point of making me very frustrated and angry with her. Normally, I like it when a character challenges me, but not in this case. I am marking the rest of this as a spoiler, so proceed with caution... it also might be a little disjointed, because I'm still trying to organize my thoughts.
Spoiler
I know she was damaged goods from a mother who suffered from mental illness (postpartum and bipolar it almost seemed like, but I don't recall that it was ever really identified - I'm not a doctor, nor have I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express lately.) but there had to have been more to it than that for her to be as bitter as she was about 'frivolous' things like true love and gut feelings. And the way she talked about only caring for her mother out of spite, and not really because she WANTED to care for her just put me off. And the way in which she just seemed to go through the motions of her daily life with her family - as though everything around her was some sort of scientific equation that needed a precise outcome. Life is not like that, and to go through life having raised TWO KIDS, I'm not sure how you could still be so closed-minded to things like feelings, human emotions and human reactions, and instinct.The marriage between Anna and her husband was sad...it felt one-sided and I was not surprised when Tomas showed up in the picture. I didn't fully understand her husband's intentions in the marriage - it often seemed like material items and wealth were what he wanted to provide her with, and supported her self-righteousness; and yet, through all of that, she is always depicted (in my mind anyway) as being a bit homely and not as polished as her lifestyle would make her seem. She goes from wanting to hide everything from her husband to confessing and wanting to try to salvage things and resolve them amicably, but then she continues to see Tomas off and on...and then gets mad at her husband when he brings up separation. Then she gets mad at Tomas when she suspects he might be having a fling with someone else...
Ultimately this story is one about relationships: humans and their relationship to their environment, the relationship between an economy and keeping a community safe, Anna and her relationship with her mother, Anna and her relationship with her spouse/lover, Anna's relationship with the world around her, and Anna's relationship with herself.
In each facet, we can see how broken she is, yet how she doesn't seem to acknowledge the harm she may be doing to others - or herself - which is a bit ironic when she's the one who is supposed to make the decisions about alert levels for the volcano and keeping the community safe...a point, which I may say is not forgotten as the story progresses and she reminds us quite often just how much she feels a responsibility to protect the community, yet she caves into the pressures of the economic and tourism trades. What's the worst that could happen? She ignores the feelings she has that something is not quite right, keeps them hidden from all but one person because she is afraid to show she truly is human and has thoughts and feelings like a human.
The ending...I can't say I'm surprised, but I think it was pretty sh*tty of her to put Tomas into a situation like that and then leave him behind...leave everyone behind. Was it just to get out of the bind she was in? She did have a lot to face when it was all said and done: infidelity, betrayal, professionally she didn't stand up for what was right, even though she knew she should have. Was it in spite of her own mother, who would never have done the same for her? She had to have the last say - the last twist of the knife to show she was the bigger person. Was it worth it?
tararullestad's review
3.75
Listen, the book was good. I have even thought about it occasionally since I read it months ago. It just wasn't all I wanted it to be. The ending though, ugh, it hurt, so I was attached. There were just too many slow parts throughout. Also, theres a character in this that had a 180 degree turn and it pissed some people off but I loved the irony in it. I also learned a lot about volcanoes which was cool. I liked it.
portybelle's review
4.0
I really enjoyed reading The Fires. I don't read many thrillers but thought this one sounded a bit different with its Icelandic setting and a focus on natural disaster rather than the more usual Scandi-crime. Having visited Iceland a few years back, I could easily visualise the places on the Reykjanes Peninsula which Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir was writing about.
The book opens with a prologue that is most intriguing. Volcanologist Anna is clearly in grave danger from a major volcanic eruption. The story then spools back six months to an initial eruption which closes Keflavik airport, covers the surrounding area in thick ash and disrupts air travel. I'm sure many of us can remember that happening after the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. The title of the book refers to what Icelandic people often call a series of eruptions over a long period of time: fires rather than eruptions.
The author weaves a lot about the unpredictable nature of Iceland's environment, the history of the region and the geology of volcanos into the narrative. I found this really fascinating. The power and unpredictability of nature is clear throughout. There's a sense of the mounting danger from beginning to end, making this a gripping, tense read.
The relationships between Anna and many of the other characters were really interesting. She obviously adored her late father, who was also a geoscientist, a volcanologist. He was a well known and respected expert in his field and she clearly sees him as a hero figure. On the other hand, she has a more difficult relationship with her mother and describes visits to her as always ending in disappointment. Her immediate family life seems quite normal with a loving husband and a son and daughter. When she begins a passionate affair, her life becomes as dangerous and unpredictable as the landscape she studies. Anna's mission to save those she loves from the danger posed by the eruptions against overwhelming odds seems an impossible task.
The Fires really surprised me and wasn't what I expected but in a good way. It is a thriller in the sense that there is danger and a race against time to save Anna's loved ones. But it's also a love story. It's like a love letter to Iceland and the power of nature as well as revealing a deeply felt and dangerous attraction between two people. It's beautifully written and so well translated that you wouldn't guess it was translated at all. One little niggle I must mention though is the lack of speech marks. With nothing differentiating speech from thoughts or from any other paragraph, I did at times find that a bit confusing.
I had thought I'd like to go back to Iceland - now I'm not so sure! Full of drama, danger and passion, I'd recommend The Fires if you want a thriller that's that little bit different.
The book opens with a prologue that is most intriguing. Volcanologist Anna is clearly in grave danger from a major volcanic eruption. The story then spools back six months to an initial eruption which closes Keflavik airport, covers the surrounding area in thick ash and disrupts air travel. I'm sure many of us can remember that happening after the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. The title of the book refers to what Icelandic people often call a series of eruptions over a long period of time: fires rather than eruptions.
The author weaves a lot about the unpredictable nature of Iceland's environment, the history of the region and the geology of volcanos into the narrative. I found this really fascinating. The power and unpredictability of nature is clear throughout. There's a sense of the mounting danger from beginning to end, making this a gripping, tense read.
The relationships between Anna and many of the other characters were really interesting. She obviously adored her late father, who was also a geoscientist, a volcanologist. He was a well known and respected expert in his field and she clearly sees him as a hero figure. On the other hand, she has a more difficult relationship with her mother and describes visits to her as always ending in disappointment. Her immediate family life seems quite normal with a loving husband and a son and daughter. When she begins a passionate affair, her life becomes as dangerous and unpredictable as the landscape she studies. Anna's mission to save those she loves from the danger posed by the eruptions against overwhelming odds seems an impossible task.
The Fires really surprised me and wasn't what I expected but in a good way. It is a thriller in the sense that there is danger and a race against time to save Anna's loved ones. But it's also a love story. It's like a love letter to Iceland and the power of nature as well as revealing a deeply felt and dangerous attraction between two people. It's beautifully written and so well translated that you wouldn't guess it was translated at all. One little niggle I must mention though is the lack of speech marks. With nothing differentiating speech from thoughts or from any other paragraph, I did at times find that a bit confusing.
I had thought I'd like to go back to Iceland - now I'm not so sure! Full of drama, danger and passion, I'd recommend The Fires if you want a thriller that's that little bit different.
margardenlady's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A dystopian thriller. This book chronicles the emergency preparedness of o Iceland during a significant geologic event-earthquake and volcano- and its effect on the pic of a scientist and her family. Written in first person, it is a bit difficult to follow who is speaking but the characters are fairly well developed.
rachmc's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
pjmack's review
I couldn't finish.
Not sure if all versions are the same, but the Kindle version has 0 quotations of when a person is speaking. It can make it difficult to read & understand who is or isn't talking.
Not sure if all versions are the same, but the Kindle version has 0 quotations of when a person is speaking. It can make it difficult to read & understand who is or isn't talking.
deebert's review
2.0
Two stars is generous and that's only for the last 20% of the book.
There are no quotations used in the translation which was hard to get used to. The main character, Anna, constantly talks about how she should be behaving as a reserved, middle-aged woman. I was invested in this book for the volcanoes and science but the love story and multiple "heartbreaks" in various aspects of her life ruined it over and over again.
There are no quotations used in the translation which was hard to get used to. The main character, Anna, constantly talks about how she should be behaving as a reserved, middle-aged woman. I was invested in this book for the volcanoes and science but the love story and multiple "heartbreaks" in various aspects of her life ruined it over and over again.
gemarky's review
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings