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mandibibbs37's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Suicide, and Sexual harassment
klazu's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved the heroine, and I hated the world around her.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death
eisenbuns's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
miss iceland, set in 1960s iceland, explores the lives of 2 of society's marginalized, a female writer and a gay man, and is a slim work w/ spare prose that's surprisingly melancholic.
ólaffsdóttir balances variables of contradictions here: a story that's seemingly filled w/ a lot of space - aided by the sparse writing and breathing room in the pacing - but one that packs quite a punch in terms of themes and insight into its setting and larger societal - even global - context. i particularly enjoy how the prose resembles poetry at times w/ the choice of lines and spacing; not a word is wasted here, and this results in a slim novel that's nevertheless full of msgs.
i learn a lot abt iceland and its society, esp pertaining to the specific time period, and the inequality never ceases to infuriate me. it's quite different to read abt the bleakness of the icelandic landscape and the rural setting. the danish setting in the latter part of the book also comes as a delightful and much welcomed surprise.
my fav thing abt this book, however, is the relationship between hekla and jón john, which, despite them not being in the same scene for a chunk of the novel, manages to move and emotionally wrangle me. theirs is a bond deeper than mere friendship, perhaps one of platonic soulmates, and is now certainly one of my top male-female fictional friendships. the way they care abt one another, kin to marginalized kin, is just wholesome and non-toxic, which is why im also a lil disheartened by the book's ending.
overall, this is a sparse, reflective read that examines the external world's manmade limitations on society's marginalized, and a refreshing one for anyone looking for a read w/ different setting.
ólaffsdóttir balances variables of contradictions here: a story that's seemingly filled w/ a lot of space - aided by the sparse writing and breathing room in the pacing - but one that packs quite a punch in terms of themes and insight into its setting and larger societal - even global - context. i particularly enjoy how the prose resembles poetry at times w/ the choice of lines and spacing; not a word is wasted here, and this results in a slim novel that's nevertheless full of msgs.
i learn a lot abt iceland and its society, esp pertaining to the specific time period, and the inequality never ceases to infuriate me. it's quite different to read abt the bleakness of the icelandic landscape and the rural setting. the danish setting in the latter part of the book also comes as a delightful and much welcomed surprise.
my fav thing abt this book, however, is the relationship between hekla and jón john, which, despite them not being in the same scene for a chunk of the novel, manages to move and emotionally wrangle me. theirs is a bond deeper than mere friendship, perhaps one of platonic soulmates, and is now certainly one of my top male-female fictional friendships. the way they care abt one another, kin to marginalized kin, is just wholesome and non-toxic, which is why im also a lil disheartened by the book's ending.
overall, this is a sparse, reflective read that examines the external world's manmade limitations on society's marginalized, and a refreshing one for anyone looking for a read w/ different setting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Animal death, Suicide, and Death of parent
e_m_f_reads's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Terminal illness, Stalking, Death of parent, and Classism
rieviolet's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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? No
3.5
I quite liked the general setting, I've never read about Icelandic society, let alone in the 1960s, and I appreciated the focus on the conditions of women and gay men.
Still, I'm not so sure about the actual characters and their portrayals, I struggled a bit to connect with them, especially with the main character Helka. Among everyone, my favourite character might actually be her best friend Ísey.
I appreciated the writing style, especially the descriptions of the landscape, they were very atmospheric. I also didn't mind the division in short sections, it made for a pacier reading, but I can see that it might also give a bit of a disjointed feeling to the narration.
Sometimes I struggled a bit with the tone, like I read a passage and I really could not understand if it was supposed to be funny?! I don't know if it is just me, it just felt strange, I couldn't get my head around it.
Also, I have to say I was disappointed by the end, it actually did not feel like much of an ending, more like an abrupt stop in the narration.
Still, I'm not so sure about the actual characters and their portrayals, I struggled a bit to connect with them, especially with the main character Helka. Among everyone, my favourite character might actually be her best friend Ísey.
I appreciated the writing style, especially the descriptions of the landscape, they were very atmospheric. I also didn't mind the division in short sections, it made for a pacier reading, but I can see that it might also give a bit of a disjointed feeling to the narration.
Sometimes I struggled a bit with the tone, like I read a passage and I really could not understand if it was supposed to be funny?! I don't know if it is just me, it just felt strange, I couldn't get my head around it.
Also, I have to say I was disappointed by the end, it actually did not feel like much of an ending, more like an abrupt stop in the narration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Homophobia, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Vomit, Police brutality, and War
h_andreanne's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Rape
marinable_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
gabriellejane's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Withholding is the perfect descriptor of the book, yet I don't think it would have benefited from more information. I did want some more emotion perhaps? It all felt a bit one note, morose. Still, I couldn't put the story down. I had been wondering if this was the book that Hekla was writing and loved that little detail at the end of the page number of both books ending at the same time. it did remind me of Iceland and made me want to return one day.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
davidbowie's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent
Minor: Police brutality