⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Animal Life by Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir

Quiet and deeply reflective novel set in Reykjavik on the run up to Christmas. The narrator has continued after her mother, grandmother, great grandmother and grandaunt into midwifery and her entire life is immersed in its practice, its vocation and its legacy. In Icelandic, the word for midwife is made up of light and mother, and motherhood and light are major themes throughout the book.
Other themes are nature, man in relation to other mammals, coincidence, paradox and the search for meaning.
The writing style is very Nordic. This is one of those books where nothing happens and yet everything happens. The pace is slow and reflective, but it never drags, its too short for that.
Iceland itself is one of the main characters; it's unique terrain, it's flora and fauna, it's climate and it's dramatic winter darkness not to mention the glory of the Aurora Borealis. The whole book makes me ache to go there.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #GroveAtlantic for providing this gallery in return for an honest review.