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Nothing to Be Rescued
Collected here for the first time in English, the short stories of Ásta Sigurðardóttir (April 1, 1930- Dec. 21, 1971) mark the breakthrough of modernism in Icelandic prose, though she herself remains a somewhat unsung figure in the island's contemporary literary history. Sigurðardóttir’s poetic and hallucinogenically-beautiful stories, often written from the perspective of a naïve girl or young woman, grapple with violence in mid-twentieth century Iceland from the vantage points of marginalised voices. Many narrativize strife—sexual, physical, and psychological abuse; houselessness, alcoholism, and income inequality; extramarital pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and child loss—while still others vibrate with the natural forces of Iceland.
- GenresShort Stories
160 pages, Paperback
Published November 23, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 13, 2024
Absolutely gut-wrenching.
As the translator Meg Matich brilliantly explains it at the beginning of the book, every novel seems to lift a veil on a part of Ásta's life.
Poverty. Aborption. Rape. Alcoholism.
But a sentence comes again and again : "People are good". Letting us understand that, as the doctor tells the young pregnant woman in "Lilies", "Everyone has troubles, but every cloud has a silver lining."
I really loved the fact that every novel started in a way that didn't appeal to me : the real catcher always came at the third or fourth page, and at the end I was conquered, every single time.
Some sentences will stay with me and echo from within. Among them :
"I coudln’t trace a single track, and nobody could find me. I’d left nothing behind to lead them to me. I’d realized that the world I was searching for was gone, all joy was gone, and all company was gone." (The dream)
"My child was dead, I couldn't forget, my lover hated me, never again would I wish to die from pleasure in his arms, never, but I wanted to be dead now, to be dead here against the ice-cold iron." (The dream)
"He pulled out a bottle of black death and lifted it to the light. It was just under half empty.
- It's death, he said, a little arrogantly. Want some?
A little pick-me-up is never a bad thing, so without answering, I accepted the bottle and took a good gulp."
(The street in the rain)
As the translator Meg Matich brilliantly explains it at the beginning of the book, every novel seems to lift a veil on a part of Ásta's life.
Poverty. Aborption. Rape. Alcoholism.
But a sentence comes again and again : "People are good". Letting us understand that, as the doctor tells the young pregnant woman in "Lilies", "Everyone has troubles, but every cloud has a silver lining."
I really loved the fact that every novel started in a way that didn't appeal to me : the real catcher always came at the third or fourth page, and at the end I was conquered, every single time.
Some sentences will stay with me and echo from within. Among them :
"I coudln’t trace a single track, and nobody could find me. I’d left nothing behind to lead them to me. I’d realized that the world I was searching for was gone, all joy was gone, and all company was gone." (The dream)
"My child was dead, I couldn't forget, my lover hated me, never again would I wish to die from pleasure in his arms, never, but I wanted to be dead now, to be dead here against the ice-cold iron." (The dream)
"He pulled out a bottle of black death and lifted it to the light. It was just under half empty.
- It's death, he said, a little arrogantly. Want some?
A little pick-me-up is never a bad thing, so without answering, I accepted the bottle and took a good gulp."
(The street in the rain)
April 21, 2024
An aura of melancholy drifts through each of these short stories in Nothing to Be Rescued, the first English translation of the Icelandic author, Ásta Sigurðardóttir (tr. Meg Matich) for nordisk books*.
At the centre of daily repetition and mundanity is an unlikely protagonist, yet only towards the end of each story does the real misery or misfortune or grotesquery unveil itself with brutal clarity.
A woman seeks an abortion due to her shame of being unmarried and poor; another woman obsesses over the faces of babies in prams due to mourning the loss of her own child; another woman keeps a bird trapped in a cage, unsure whether freedom is truly liberating, symbolic for her own confines within society.
The Icelandic author had a turbulent life herself, suffering from alcoholism and complicated relationships and scrutiny under the male gaze. Her personal stories seem to ripple as an undercurrent in her writing.
If you like the danish author, Tove Ditlevsen, I’m naming Ásta Sigurðardóttir Iceland’s equivalent.
*Takk to the publisher for a gifted copy; all thoughts my own xo
At the centre of daily repetition and mundanity is an unlikely protagonist, yet only towards the end of each story does the real misery or misfortune or grotesquery unveil itself with brutal clarity.
A woman seeks an abortion due to her shame of being unmarried and poor; another woman obsesses over the faces of babies in prams due to mourning the loss of her own child; another woman keeps a bird trapped in a cage, unsure whether freedom is truly liberating, symbolic for her own confines within society.
The Icelandic author had a turbulent life herself, suffering from alcoholism and complicated relationships and scrutiny under the male gaze. Her personal stories seem to ripple as an undercurrent in her writing.
If you like the danish author, Tove Ditlevsen, I’m naming Ásta Sigurðardóttir Iceland’s equivalent.
*Takk to the publisher for a gifted copy; all thoughts my own xo
November 10, 2024
A beautifully written translation of 10 of Ásta's stories that resonate powerfully in our times.
August 19, 2024
Really enjoyed this collection of short stories which caused quite a stir when originally published in Iceland. The collection focuses on the fringes of society- drunks, illegal abortion, and the meanness of a society that prides itself on the proper way of doing things.
The translator appears to have done a marvellous job, the language was incredibly vivid.
The translator appears to have done a marvellous job, the language was incredibly vivid.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews