Book
A fist or a heart / Kristín Eiríksdóttir ; translated by Larissa Kyzer.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781542044035
- Physical Description: 188 pages ; 22 cm
- Publisher: Seattle, Washington : AmazonCrossing, 2019.
- Copyright: ©2019.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | "Previously published as Elín, ýmislegt by Forlagid ... in Iceland in 2017"--Title page verso. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Theaters > Stage-setting and scenery > Fiction. Recluses > Fiction. Women dramatists > Fiction. Psychic trauma > Fiction. Reykjavík (Iceland) > Fiction. |
Available copies
- 10 of 10 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Smithers Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 10 total copies.
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithers Public Library | F EIR (Text) | 35101011037913 | Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2019 August #1
Winner of the Icelandic Literary Prize, this strange little novel with elements of psychological suspense marks EirÃksdóttir's English language debut. ElÃn is an aging props maker living a lonely existence in Reykjavik. She is working on a play that is written by a famous novelist's young daughter, Ellen. It is quickly obvious that the women have more in common than a name. ElÃn sees herself in the awkward, introverted playwright, but her maternal instincts are rebuffed by Ellen. However, there is more to ElÃn's interest: she knew the girl's father, and her appearance brings ElÃn face-to-face with her difficult past. The narrative shifts between the two women, reflecting their similarities. But as their histories come to light, their narratives become so intertwined that, at times it's difficult to parse out whose story is whose. While EirÃksdóttir clearly does this intentionally and her circular writing amps up the suspense, readers can get a little lost. But patience will be rewarded, and even the out-of-left-field ending won't temper the book's ultimately unexpected connections, both literary and emotional. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2019 July #2
In award-winning Icelandic novelist EirÃÂksdóttir's English-language debut, an older woman fixates on a young playwriting prodigy, and both women come to the realization that they are linked by shared trauma in their pasts. ElÃÂn Jónsdóttir is a woman in her late 60s living alone in ReykjavÃÂk. She makes her living creating propsâsevered limbs and decaying corpses, especiallyâfor the theater and Nordic crime films. ElÃÂn crosses paths with Ellen ÃÂlfsdóttir, the 19-year-old daughter of famed playwright Alfur Finnsson and author of a new play that's garnering a lot of buzz. This atmospheric, disorienting tale is narrated by ElÃÂn, who says "the reason I decided to write this is that if I don't, no one will," and that it's "an attempt to connect signs that were conveyed in waking life and in dreams." ElÃÂn, who had a difficult childhood, has spent her adulthood pushing others away. She claims that she "[can] see feigð, someone's death approaching." Long ago, she "accidentally got mixed up in the most salacious story of them all": one involving Ellen's philandering father, who was discovered dead halfway between his wife's house and that of his mistressâEllen's mother. ElÃÂn's work in the theater brings her close to Ellen, and she spies on the young woman and her artist mother. "The people I wanted to get to know were far beyond my reach," ElÃÂn confesses, and the unexpected delivery of boxes full of memorabilia from her dead grandmother's house forces her to recall that she has obsessed over others before with traumatic and tragic results. As Ellen's play is produced and ElÃÂn circles closer to the girl, she finally acknowledges the spell she's under and that "trauma is, of course, nothing but an enchantment." A dreamlike meditation on isolation and the bone-aching desire for companionship. Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved. - PW Annex Reviews : Publishers Weekly Annex Reviews
A prop artist's long-suppressed memories rise to the surface when she encounters a young writer struggling to free herself from a domestic morass in this gripping, often surprising novel, EirÃksdottÃr's English-language debut. ElÃn JónsdottÃr is in her 70s and living in ReykjavÃk; she's an accomplished maker of props for television shows and films that share "the same old fixation, varying levels of guilt in regard to the abuse of a girl-child." ElÃn takes a job making props for a new play by Ellen Ãlfsdóttir, the 19-year-old daughter of famous writer Ãlfur Finnsson, because she's curious about Ellen, whose first play is praised even before it opens. In reality, Ellen is a troubled, lonely misfit who was raised by her increasingly delusional mother after Finnsson died from drinking. Yet the solitary, bristly ElÃn is drawn to Ellen, perhaps because her story reminds ElÃn of her own fatherless childhood, and of a dark episode that shaped her entire life. Moving between ElÃn's recollections of studying art in the 1960s and traveling abroad in the '80s, and Ellen's present-day meetings with boys she meets online, the book offers readers insight into the draws and dangers of solitude; thinking of a John Waters film, ElÃn reflects that "someone else's fingerprints constrict your existence. There's nothing particularly charitable or charming about it, but it's human." EirÃksdottÃr's novel is both intelligent and affecting.
Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly Annex.(Sept.)
