Book rec and mini review

[thrihyrne]

Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland

Like the author, I went to Iceland 'just because', drawn to its isolation and language and exotic landscape. Sarah Moss' novel about her year spent there teaching right after the economic collapse, as a foreigner in a country where the phone book lists only first names, is eloquent and intimate. Her prose style is accessible and suffused with beautiful turns of phrase without being self-aware. Having gone to Iceland twice myself, I resonated to this novel in a way I've not with any literature in a long time. Moss is a literary marvel, her descriptions vibrant and compelling. Her observations on herself and her environment are candid and often bittersweet; I felt every bit her confidante.

I'm looking forward to trying out her fiction!