Der Spiegel recommends Auðnin (Bleakness) By Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
This book selected as one of the three Books of the Week
The German weekly magazine Der Spiegel has chosen Yrsa Sigurðardóttir's Book Auðnin / Bleakness as one of last week's three top recommendations. Auðnin was published recently in German translation by Fischer Verlag publishers.
Auðnin describes the isolated research facility of an Icelandic company in North-East Greenland. Solicitor Þóra Guðmundsdóttir takes part in an expedition to investigate conditions in the facility and the fate of two Icelanders living there who have been out of contact.
The Spiegel reviewer says that Peter Höeg's protagonist, Smilla, has now got a successor, although her interest in snow is somewhat limited. The magazine points out that Greenland is on Iceland's doorstep, not just for its crime writers but also for its engineers, and that Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is an engineer by profession. In Auðnin, therefore, she combines her talent for story-telling with her own experience. “And blue-tinted footprints on the ice lead you into unchartered territories where wild dogs and highly dangerous creatures lurk.”