pollycharlotte's review against another edition
3.0
Cultural insight into Iceland and the varied presumptions and attitudes towards Icelandic history. Sounded too cold and too grey for me!
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
4.0
Moss works for a year as an English Literature lecturer in Iceland's only university. It is 2009: the economic crash that destroyed Iceland's banks has just occurred, and Icelandic society is still rocking the impact. On top of that, during her time in Iceland, the volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupts, sending clouds of ash over the country and disrupting most of European air space. Moss recounts her year in Iceland with cheer and vigour: she makes friends with various different Icelanders, and interviews and talks to many more, giving us insight into Iceland during the volcano eruption of the 1970s, the experience of Icelanders during WW2, and how Icelandic people feel about foreigners, elves, fruit, schooling, consumerism, and much more. She doesn't claim to give a complete portrait of the country, but she does capture many different people, and spending a year in a place in the company of her stay-at-home husband and her two young sons gives her insights into what it's like driving in Iceland, what schools are like, and how to survive the bleak and endless winter months. There are moments of beauty and poetry, such as seeing the endless summer sunsets, or the northern lights, as well as moments of the mundane, such as struggling to make an interesting meal from Iceland's endless supply of meat and buttermilk. This is an intelligent, well-written book, offering an excellent travelogue as well as a deeper exploration into Iceland. I enjoyed it a lot.
zeljana's review against another edition
3.0
I love Sarah Moss and I've never been to Iceland, even though I'd love to go, so I was really excited to read this. Unlike the travel books by bold, independent travellers, this book has a different perspective - a middle-aged British professor moving to Iceland with her family following a teenage trip when she fell in love with the country.
But, I honestly wonder: how is it possible that in the age of google people really go somewhere for a year and do not do the research. Even if I haven't been to Iceland, I was surprised Moss didn't know about some of the things about Iceland that seem to be pretty pedestrian "common knowledge". I am not sure if that is just a literary device to make this whole experience sound more novel or genuine proof of how much people do get isolated in their "ivory towers". It seemed more the latter, and many of the remarks the author makes were kind of detached and "classist".
What is unique is that Sarah Moss, similar to her fiction, has this sombre, intellectual approach to cultural adaptation and being "a stranger in a strange land". Her year abroad is not a light-hearted, humorous adventure. She digs deep into the topics that fascinate her (the amount of detail makes this a tedious read at times), but there is this constant undertone of anxiety throughout the book.
What I found disappointing was that there was very little (if any) magic of moving to a new and strange place, especially the one like Iceland. I didn't feel that spark anywhere and this whole experience seemed to be more like a year of merely surviving and just dealing with the "weirdness" of the local folk.
The last quarter or so of the book was a little bit more joyful but too late to change the overall feel. It wasn't a bad read, but I simply expected something else.
But, I honestly wonder: how is it possible that in the age of google people really go somewhere for a year and do not do the research. Even if I haven't been to Iceland, I was surprised Moss didn't know about some of the things about Iceland that seem to be pretty pedestrian "common knowledge". I am not sure if that is just a literary device to make this whole experience sound more novel or genuine proof of how much people do get isolated in their "ivory towers". It seemed more the latter, and many of the remarks the author makes were kind of detached and "classist".
What is unique is that Sarah Moss, similar to her fiction, has this sombre, intellectual approach to cultural adaptation and being "a stranger in a strange land". Her year abroad is not a light-hearted, humorous adventure. She digs deep into the topics that fascinate her (the amount of detail makes this a tedious read at times), but there is this constant undertone of anxiety throughout the book.
What I found disappointing was that there was very little (if any) magic of moving to a new and strange place, especially the one like Iceland. I didn't feel that spark anywhere and this whole experience seemed to be more like a year of merely surviving and just dealing with the "weirdness" of the local folk.
The last quarter or so of the book was a little bit more joyful but too late to change the overall feel. It wasn't a bad read, but I simply expected something else.
elisabethafsteinsdottir's review against another edition
4.0
As an Icelander, currently living in Norway, this book is both satisfying my homesickness and providing me with camaraderie as a foreigner in another land.
I must correct however, Moss' egregious mistake that there is no second-hand market in Iceland. There is indeed, it is just mostly on the internet! I have both bought and sold things like refrigerators, cars and computer equipment via that website. But there even is a charity shop that sells used furniture and items called Góði hirðirinn or the Good Sheperd, where Icelanders put their unwanted items into a special container at the garbage collection place and those things go straight to the charity shop.
Also, regarding fatal car accidents, which Moss seems to imply are more frequent in Iceland than other places, most of those happen outside of the city and are due to road conditions, although I agree with her that people drive cars that are much too big.
It does irritate me at times how afraid she seems to be of everything which makes things seem worse than they are and she played it a bit fast a loose with spelling of Icelandic names (like Hallðór Laxness (correct is Halldór Laxness)! Common, she should know how the Nobel winner's name is spelled and I can't imagine where she got that mistake from.
I otherwise enjoyed the book as it was interesting to see my country with a stranger's eyes. I would give it three and a half stars if I could, due to the above points.
I must correct however, Moss' egregious mistake that there is no second-hand market in Iceland. There is indeed, it is just mostly on the internet! I have both bought and sold things like refrigerators, cars and computer equipment via that website. But there even is a charity shop that sells used furniture and items called Góði hirðirinn or the Good Sheperd, where Icelanders put their unwanted items into a special container at the garbage collection place and those things go straight to the charity shop.
Also, regarding fatal car accidents, which Moss seems to imply are more frequent in Iceland than other places, most of those happen outside of the city and are due to road conditions, although I agree with her that people drive cars that are much too big.
It does irritate me at times how afraid she seems to be of everything which makes things seem worse than they are and she played it a bit fast a loose with spelling of Icelandic names (like Hallðór Laxness (correct is Halldór Laxness)! Common, she should know how the Nobel winner's name is spelled and I can't imagine where she got that mistake from.
I otherwise enjoyed the book as it was interesting to see my country with a stranger's eyes. I would give it three and a half stars if I could, due to the above points.
bryoniadioica's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.25