Don’t be fooled by the cover of Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir. In fact, the cover was a conscious choice by Ólafsdóttir to critique the expectation women face to be no more than a pretty face, which is the main focus of this story.

Hekla is a female poet trying to make it in a man’s world. She is forced to publish her work under anonymous names and constantly struggle against the fate of so many women like her. But Hekla was named by her father after a volcano, and her character perfectly embodies this force of nature in it’s entirety. The book follows her journey as she faces the consequences of lying dormant or erupting into her true potential. 

Ólafsdóttir’s writing is mesmerizing. It’s at the same time incredibly simple and utterly complex, and a lot of the story reads like the poetry her main character yearns to write. I loved Hekla and her inner dialogue, but my favorite character was actually Hekla’s good friend. She is the very image of what Hekla dreads- a women trapped in the home due to the marital and societal expectations of motherhood. Her friend’s descriptions of what it means to be a woman at that time are beautiful and haunting, and her character is a perfect foil to Hekla while still embracing feminine solidarity. 

The only reason this novel wasn’t 5 stars was because I felt some of its beauty was lost in translation, which is to be somewhat expected.