Animal Life
READING GROUP Reading Around the World: I is for Iceland
Monday 23rd June 2025 at 6:15pm
There is no charge to attend our Reading Group sessions. It is however essential to book a place in advance. Call us on 01628 473240.
Join us as we travel to Iceland for our I destination in our alphabetical Reading Around the World.
Translated into English by Brian FitzGibbon, this novel, Animal Life, is a work of literary fiction by author Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir. The book was published in Icelandic in 2020 and in English on December 6, 2022.
In the days leading up to Christmas, Dómhildur delivers her 1,922nd baby. Beginnings and endings are her family trade; she comes from a long line of midwives on her mother’s side and a long line of undertakers on her father’s. She even lives in the apartment that she inherited from her grandaunt, a midwife with a unique reputation for her unconventional methods.
As a terrible storm races towards Reykjavik, Dómhildur discovers decades worth of letters and manuscripts hidden amongst her grandaunt’s clutter. Fielding calls from her anxious meteorologist sister and visits from her curious new neighbour, Dómhildur escapes into her grandaunt’s archive and discovers strange and beautiful reflections on birth, death and human nature. For even in the depths of an Icelandic winter, new life will find a way.
If you would like to join our discussion, when we review this book, please contact the bookshop to secure your place. Booking in is essential.
You may order a copy of the book HERE.
