The Glass Woman

Speaking of enticing covers… again, this book draws attention with its beautiful and mesmerizing cover design. Another reason for picking this one is a fascination with Nordic myths and landscapes. Although the author is from New Jersey, she has done a brilliant job conjuring up a rich, authentic atmosphere of 17th century Iceland. Rough, cold, and snowy, it reminded me a little of the 1987 movie “Ofelas” (Pathfinder), although the movie is about a war between Norwegian tribes and ultimately revenge. But Lea has invented a saga in its own right, albeit on a smaller scale, concerning but a small group of people. It is basically set in two Icelandic villages, one of them right by the sea. After the loss of her father, Rósa has no choice but to agree and marry a widower whose first wife has not long passed. It is a matter of sheer survival. Missing her old life, her mother, her old home, her childhood love and her hunger for knowledge, she is torn, struggling to be a dutiful and pious wife to a strangely distant husband. She feels exposed to all sorts of forces in a lonely and increasingly uncanny new place. Almost nothing is like it seems in this story, for “the truth isn’t solid, like the earth; she knows that now. The truth is water, or steam; the truth is ice. The same tale might shift and melt and reshape at any time.” You will probably not want to put this tale down until you're done reading it. There are some surprising similarities to “The Binding” by Bridget Collins. I would highly recommend Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir’s “Karitas” (German: “Die Eismalerin”), set about 250 years later, also about an Icelandic woman who must find her calling.