A review by anyu
Rosa Candida by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

1.0

If nothing else reading (the first half of) this book has made me realise that the literary characteristic I have the least tolerance for is repetitiveness. Even if it has a narrative purpose, I find it exasperating. I was tempted to stop reading 60 pages in after being reminded several times that the narrator is a redhead and watching him have the exact same conversation about his roses and his infant daughter with three different people on three different occasions. I kept going, but eventually gave up when he also turned out to be sexist, annoying and insipid, making the inside of his head (and this novel) a very dull place to be.