Set in Iceland this is a novel told by a midwife. It considers light in life in many ways and I’m not sure how to interpret the story. It is beautifully written and thought-provoking. It seems to have no climax, and yet I enjoyed it. Would I recommend it…I’m not sure. Some people will love it but I do think many won’t. However, I do think it is a great book for a book club to read or a class to discuss. It is a piece of literature that needs to be mulled over and possibly reread to understand and enjoy it completely.

This short book has moments of interest about the life and career of the women in the book, I liked the writing about the midwife and her Great Aunt which make them very personable.
Unfortunately I didn’t finish the book although I gave it my best, not much happens, which I don’t mind, but I do need something to grab me when reading a book.

Thank you to Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir (translated from Icelandic by Brian Fitzgibbon) and to Grove and NetGalley for the advance read.

This is a story of midwives

“Animal Life” - Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir (translated from Icelandic by Brian Fitzgibbon).

“Unlike mankind, Dýja dear,” said my grandaunt, “plants turn towards the light.”

Interesting book, this one. Set in the days leading up to Christmas, with a huge storm fast approaching, Dómhildur discovers a huge trove of letters written by her great-aunt, whose house she inherited and currently resides in.

Dómhildur comes from a family of midwives (on her mother’s side, her father’s family being predominantly undertakers…), but her great-aunt was especially famous, with rumours of her eccentric ways of talking to both mothers and babies being the talk of the hospital where she worked. With this in mind, Dómhildur delves into the writings, finding a word of thoughts on everything to climate change, life and death, our relationship with animals, and why Icelandic songwriters don’t buy into fate:

Mix this in with Dómhildur fielding both calls from her nervous meteorologist sister and visits from the tourist living in her neighbour’s flat, and what emerges is what I thought was a strange gem of a book. The story is told very much as if the reader is discovering random parts of an unpublished novel, which leads to jumps in theme and ideas quite quickly, though I tended to enjoy that. I just found, despite the snowy setting, that there was a warmth to this book, even when it recognises the fears that play on the minds of new mothers in particular and humanity in general. It might not be for everyone, and its slow start and lack of action in the plot should be noted, but I stuck with it and came away with thoughts provoked and some new perspectives.

Thank you to @netgalley and @groveatlantic for the ARC copy. “Animal Life” is published on 6th December, keep an eye out for it then!

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"With her singular warmth and humor, in Animal Life Ólafsdóttir gives us a beguiling novel that comes direct from the depths of an Icelandic winter, full of hope for spring."

I have to admit it, I didn't get it. Maybe it's the translation, maybe it's the writing, maybe it was just me. I found this uninteresting and dull.

2☆

Quiet and unusual novel set in Iceland. A story of midwives (mothers of light in the local language), day to day family and work - with larger themes such as nature and man's role in the grander scheme of things.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Animal Life.

I've never read any of the author's books before but I was intrigued by the premise and excited when my request was approved.

Dómhildur is a midwife who hails from a long line of midwives on her mother's side. After the death of her beloved grandaunt, also a midwife, she discovers years worth of letters and manuscripts by her grandaunt, containing her mussIn the days about life, love, and animals.

At the same time, a storm is racing toward Iceland and Dómhildur is juggling her duties as a midwife, sister, and daughter.

It took me a few pages to get into the novel, and though nothing happens, there's no action scenes, drama or suspense, the writing style is warm and engaging.

There's a lot of fascinating anecdotes and factoids about animal, fertility, and what midwives do.

Readers are offered a brief glimpse into Dómhildur's life filled with babies, family, life and death, and her dear memories of her grandaunt, a fascinating woman I would have liked to have known more about.

There's tenderness, hope, death, and optimism in this short book; the style is almost random, stream of consciousness-like at times, which is realistic considering these are Dómhildur's reflections and thoughts.

Animal Life is about humanity, our beauty and frailty, our strengths and our many weaknesses, but also about looking head, hoping for a better tomorrow.

I found the writing style of this book quite lovely, almost like a memoir (is it a memoir? It’s hard to tell). Unfortunately, it was also quite slow. I got about a third of the way in and for lack of a discernible plot had a hard time staying interested. That being said, now that I have a better expectation of the style of writing, I would definitely like to return to finish it someday.

Such beautiful, lyrical writing. I felt the cold as I read. I enjoyed this book but it took me a while to read as I tend to enjoy a bit more of a plot driven narrative. I loved our main character but the lack of action meant this wasn't the book for me. I do appreciate its loveliness, though, and if you enjoy a descriptive read you'll love it.

Thanks to Grove and NetGalley for the advance read.

While this was a quick thing to read, it was unexpected ad surprising, with both the day to day life of the narrator, and the depths of thought from her grandaunt's writings. Really intriguing and thought-provoking, with an underlying depth and stillness.

Normally, I wouldn't start off a review by saying it was an ARC, but it's relevant in this case. I almost DNF'd this book around the 30% mark, but since I had requested the ARC (as opposed to just downloading a 'Read Now'), I felt obligated to actually finish it before reviewing. Which was a very good thing, because I would have missed out on something special otherwise.

My initial thoughts up to the DNF tipping point was that this book doesn't seem to be going anywhere, or. maybe more accurately, is going in too many different directions. I wasn't sure if it was poorly edited, a translation issue, or because it was still an uncorrected proof.

There are 2 passages that describe the grandaunt's manuscript in the second half that perfectly mirrors the chaotic feel of this book.

The first: "Incoherence or disjointedness were, in fact, the first terms to spring to my mind. Form and content seemed to merge into one, as my grandaunt writes: One thing does not necessarily lead to another. That is because the world is scattered and man sees only a fraction of a fraction."

After reading this passage, I realized that the structure of the book is actually purposefully incoherent, which is kind of a brilliant idea...if it wasn't a realization more than halfway through said book.

The second: "I found myself in a quandary, and felt that what I had previously experienced as chaos and disjointedness was precisely what constituted the idea behind the work , its goal and purpose. That its organization was to be found in its disorganization, that there was a system to the chaos."

As Dómhildur comes to realize the thread within her grandaunt's manuscripts, so too do I see it in this book. It became a journey that started to make sense. I began to appreciate more the musings and ramblings on humanity, the impact we have on the world around us, and how we deal with life.

Having said that, I don't feel comfortable giving this more than a 3⭐ rating. It takes a long time to realize the beauty of this book and I feel like there could have been a better sequence to it somehow. For readers who don't mind what seems like random strings of poetic anecdotes, this book works. For readers looking for a plot, I'd expect a lot of DNFs.

And because I am a bit of both, some plot threads that weren't clear or left hanging upset me. Like what was up with the nosy sister, what happened with the Aussie neighbor, and what was the point of that last comment from HR?

Thank you to Grove Atlantic, Black Cat and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The author has a nice writing style which might seem unusual at least to Americans, and this is a good story. It won't appeal to a wide audience, I'll predict. But I hope it finds an audience.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

I read the translated English version from the Icelandic by Brian Fitzgibbon.
The book follows Dómhildur, named after her great aunt and a fourth generation midwife.
The book really sucks you into a beautiful world, of midwiving, life and death and Iceland.
The translation had a beautiful poetic sense to it.
She inherits her great aunts flat and a lot of her possessions and starts reading her mostly meandering but poetic writing. The book is really unlike anything I've read. It was a short sweet, philosophical read. Would recommend it.

As a terrible storm approaches Reykjavik, a midwife investigates three manuscripts left by her grandaunt, also a midwife. Musings on life, birth, light and animal life follow. This is interspersed with interludes with colleagues, a neighbour and her sister, all of which are amusing.
I have mixed feelings about this book. Several times I thought about not finishing it, but something kept me engaged until the end. It has the feel of non-fiction and further exploration of the topics the grandaunt wrote about would have been welcome.

"To think that a tomato only has slightly fewer genes than man" Audur Ava Olafsdottir is a well known Icelandic writer and it filled me with joy to see that another one of her older titles is being published in english. I loved Miss Iceland and Butterflies in November, and couldn't wait to dig into this one. Shortly before Christmas a midwife delivers her 1922nd baby to the world. She lives in the home of her greataunt, who also worked as a midwife. Part of her heritage is a box filled with manuscripts, Animal Life, The Truth about Light and Coincident. While she tries to fix her lightning and helping a struggling mother, the reader discovers part of these manuscripts as well. I found it interesting that the english translation went with Animal Life as the book title, while the french translation chose The truth about light. ( La vérité sur la lumière ), which I find more appropriate. While the translation meets my expectations to get her style this 192 pages long novella wasn't quite my cup of tea. Especially the reflection of the greataunt and her apparent dislike of men started to become annoying the more I read. I get it, a man is useless during childbirth. But you'll get it explained on 200 pages. With the endnote "Humans are on earth to love." A bit too cliche for my liking. For fans of Icelandic writers and some calm moments, this is still a nice read.

I love this author. I loved her book Hotel Silence and this one was even better. A book where not a whole lot is happening but you still get a brilliant story. Musings on life and brilliant landscape.

As a terrible storm approaches Reykjavik, a midwife investigates writings left by her grand-aunt, one of the many women in her family to share that profession. Parallel with the grand-aunt's philosophical thoughts run the narrator's observations of her patients and the new arrival of a neighbor, as well as an attempt to come to peace with the space, literal and figurative, that her grand-aunt has left.
Olafsdottir's book is wonderfully descriptive and thought-provoking, and the impending storm (with the tension increased by the narrator's meteorologist sister's worries) provides a real and symbolic suspense to the quiet plot. Terrific balance of literary insights and atmospheric setting! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Animal Life is a uniquely Icelandic story about the interconnection of all life on earth. Written from the point of view of a midwife, we learn how the job has changed through the generations as the narrator sifts through her late great-aunt’s draft manuscripts which contain many references to her own life as a midwife. As the storm of the century is bearing down on Iceland, the narrator ruminates on how fragile humans are when born compared to other animals. With themes of light and darkness, this book is a reminder of how important balance is for survival. In turn this book has some darkness, but also shows the beauty of life. I thought it was a thought provoking and enjoyable read.

I loved the structure of this novel and the back and forth between the protagonist's story and her relations writing. The musings on life, humanity and the animal world were insightful and inspiring, with stories of midwifery both wholesome and heartbreaking. However, this book felt like the author wanted to write a non-fiction book about animal life and its interaction with humans, and I would have rather read that book.

Animal Life is a story about a midwife living in Iceland. She comes from a family of midwives and is in the process of going through her grandaunt's things including a few manuscripts. Her grandaunt, also a midwife, was writing about herself and her reflections on birth, death, and humans in general. The narrator's sister is a meteorologist and calls often to warn of the weather and to see how the manuscripts are coming along. The story flows so nicely it is easy to get caught up in it. It feels like a lot is happening but actually, there is very little happening. The story is mostly reflections and musings on human nature and life. I loved it and can't wait to read more by this author.