Welcome to Litsy!

I've just started Requiem, my first book by Gyrðir Elíasson. Nature and music in Eastern #Iceland.

photo of the Stuðlagil canyon in Iceland from wikipedia

A historical fiction about the last woman to be executed in Iceland in the 1800s. I love how it humanizes her, showing that there‘s more to her story than “murderer.” The Icelandic setting is deliciously moody. But I think I have to give this a so-so for the pacing. Most of the book feels pretty mellow and moody, and then the last 50 pages everything breaks apart and it‘s so heavy and so dark. Good book, just needs to give more a bit earlier.

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

Enjoyed this memoir of Sarah Moss' year in Iceland and learning more about the country and its culture.

This makes me wish for Spring…🌿🌼

During what looks like the end of the world, a 70 yr old is determined to learn whether his memories were worth the lifetime of longing. Nostalgia is low on society‘s heirarchy of feelings. It sits on the border of silly and useless. But in this novel it‘s a force of nature as the character quests to actually touch his past. Faulkner told us that the past is not even the past. Olafsson adds that it is worth a visit.

I liked the story of a woman in 1960s Iceland who wants to be a writer, but faces oppression and sexism at every step. Her good friend is a gay man who faces similar prejudice. But I didn‘t like the writing and felt the depiction of the main character diminished her, in a way that felt like just another example of sexism. Plus, the cover doesn‘t work for this book at all—it‘s cute, but doesn‘t fit the content.

Loved this Nordic noir mystery. Set in a small community In Iceland, lots of great characters and it‘s a series, so I have already moved on to book #2!

This is not what you'd call a cheery or uplifting read. It is, however, beautifully written. Kent skillfully creates an authentic sense of time & place - the bleakness, the cold, the poverty of 19th century rural Iceland all powerfully evoked. Agnes is also an intriguing character, your empathy for her building the more pages you turn. I love the way the bureaucracy surrounding Agnes' execution is juxtaposed with her raw emotions & her story of ⬇️

I started this one late December and then decided to wait until January to continue because it worked for #PandemicStory #Booked2023 😷 Kristofer, living in Iceland, receives a message from his long lost lover Miko, a woman he hasn‘t seen in over 50 years. It‘s early March 2020 and the world is beginning to experience a global pandemic, Kritofer decides to fly to Japan before his second chance for great love is lost again. #MoreMehThanYeah