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Reviews tagging 'Grief'
Animal Life: the dazzling, funny and beguiling novel about an Icelandic midwife working over Christmas, perfect for fans of Miriam Toews and Tove Jansson by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
4 reviews
eire2011's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was such an interesting book and I found myself drawn in from the beginning. It was enjoyable to read about Domhildur's life, how she came to be a midwife, her life living in Iceland and how her Great Aunt was also a midwife and a huge influence on Domhildur's decision in also becoming a midwife.
Looking forward to reading more by this author and would love for there to hopefully be a sequel to this book.
Looking forward to reading more by this author and would love for there to hopefully be a sequel to this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
bookforthought's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This quiet little nordic novel was the perfect read to usher in the new year, with its wintery setting and philosophical musings on life and death, light and dark.
Dómhildur is a midwife, descending from a long line of midwives on her mother's side and from undertakers on her father's, so life and death are her daily bread. As a terrible storm approaches Reykjavik in the days leading up to Christmas, Dómhildur comes across an old box of letters and manuscripts in the flat she inherited from her grandaunt, who was also a midwife known for her unconventional methods. With Dómhildur, we slowly uncover her grandaunt's collection of reflections on all stages of human life and nature and meet some of the people around her, each with their fears, quirks, and hopes.
The writing is gorgeous and lyrical but never heavy, even despite the sometimes peculiar sentence structure. This is a credit to both the author and the translator, as it couldn't have been easy to translate this book! I really enjoyed getting lost in Dómhildur's and her grandaunt's musings. There are a lot of themes at play here, from the most obvious ones to subtler ones to ones that most likely would only emerge on a re-read. Life, death, light, dark, parenthood (but especially motherhood), what it means to be human and our relationship with nature all feature prominently. Still, there are many more besides and the more I think about it, the more I find.
What I struggled a bit with, especially at the beginning is the structure of this book. There isn't a plot as such: it's more a collection of events, like vignettes, that prompt further reflections or arise as memories from something Dómhildur's grandaunt wrote. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but several times it felt disjointed and more than a bit chaotic. I'm not a huge fan of stream of consciousness and similar narrative modes so I had a hard time with this aspect, but if it doesn't bother you then you might enjoy this even more than I did!
Despite that, I enjoyed the slower, more reflective pace that had been missing from some of my previous reads. I liked the writing and the characters and really appreciated how some of the heavier reflections were balanced with lighter moments brought about by some of the side characters; simple, ordinary exchanges that could easily be overlooked but immediately brought up a smile. It's a short book, but it's not a quick book: Animal Life asks, and deserves, that the reader takes their time with it, stopping to marvel at the miracle of life in all its forms. Definitely recommended to anyone looking for a thoughtful, meaningful read. I'll be looking forward to checking out some of the author's other works!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death and Grief
Minor: Miscarriage
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Animal Life is an Icelandic novel. Dómhildur is a midwife, as were many women in her family. The men were undertakers. As a storm approaches she uncovers an archive of her great-aunt’s papers, full of her reflections on birth, death, what it means to be human, and plenty of musings on nature, particularly human’s negative impact on the natural world. This was a book that led to plenty of quiet reflection; plot driven it was not. I particularly enjoyed seeing the theme of light vs dark explored in many different ways. The writing was almost poetic and very atmospheric.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Grief, and Pregnancy
odyssia's review against another edition
reflective
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? No
4.0
Themes of light, birth and death are found throughout the book. There isn't much of a plot, it's mostly memories of the protagonist's grandaunt, who was a slightly eccentric philosopher/conservationist intermingled with snippets of the present (approaching Christmas). Skilful writing with slightly intriguing philosophical nuggets.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief
Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
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