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A review by tillydaisym
Nothing to be Rescued by Asta Sigurdardottir
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.0
An aura of melancholy drifts through each of these short stories in Nothing to Be Rescued, the first English translation of the Icelandic author, Ásta Sigurðardóttir (tr. Meg Matich) for nordisk books*.
At the centre of daily repetition and mundanity is an unlikely protagonist, yet only towards the end of each story does the real misery or misfortune or grotesquery unveil itself with brutal clarity.
A woman seeks an abortion due to her shame of being unmarried and poor; another woman obsesses over the faces of babies in prams due to mourning the loss of her own child; another woman keeps a bird trapped in a cage, unsure whether freedom is truly liberating, symbolic for her own confines within society.
The Icelandic author had a turbulent life herself, suffering from alcoholism and complicated relationships and scrutiny under the male gaze. Her personal stories seem to ripple as an undercurrent in her writing.
If you like the danish author, Tove Ditlevsen, I’m naming Ásta Sigurðardóttir Iceland’s equivalent.
*Takk to the publisher for a gifted copy; all thoughts my own xo
At the centre of daily repetition and mundanity is an unlikely protagonist, yet only towards the end of each story does the real misery or misfortune or grotesquery unveil itself with brutal clarity.
A woman seeks an abortion due to her shame of being unmarried and poor; another woman obsesses over the faces of babies in prams due to mourning the loss of her own child; another woman keeps a bird trapped in a cage, unsure whether freedom is truly liberating, symbolic for her own confines within society.
The Icelandic author had a turbulent life herself, suffering from alcoholism and complicated relationships and scrutiny under the male gaze. Her personal stories seem to ripple as an undercurrent in her writing.
If you like the danish author, Tove Ditlevsen, I’m naming Ásta Sigurðardóttir Iceland’s equivalent.
*Takk to the publisher for a gifted copy; all thoughts my own xo
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Child death, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Grief