Audur Ava Olafsdóttir; trans. Brian FitzGibbon
Animal Life by Audur Ava Olafsdóttir, translated from the Icelandic by Brian FitzGibbon, is a quiet, meditative novel with very little plot. It unfolds in the voice of Dýja Dómhildur, a midwife in Reykjavík. Dýja comes from a long line of midwives from her mother’s side and a long line of undertakers from her father’s side. She is well-acquainted with beginnings and endings.
The novel opens after the death of Dýja’s great aunt Fifa, a respected midwife known for her eccentricities. Dýja has inherited her home with all its cluttered, mismatched furnishings. Among her great aunt’s possessions, Dýja discovers her forty-year correspondence with an overseas pen pal, a woman who shares her interests. She also discovers boxes and boxes of her great aunt’s manuscripts and other writings. Dýja reads through the material, making slow progress as she tries to piece together its jigsaw quality. Her ruminations on her great aunt’s writings infiltrate her activities as she brings babies into the world; reassures new and expectant mothers; talks with her neighbors, co-workers, and sisters; and prepares for an impending severe storm. Little else happens in the novel.
The fragmentary nature of the writing reinforces the great aunt’s wholistic approach to life and her ability to observe connections in what is seemingly disconnected. She reflects on birth, life, and death; man’s place in the world; man’s nature; the fragility of life; the degradation of the natural environment; the importance of preserving plant and animal life; empty spaces; and the pivotal role coincidences play in our everyday lives. Since the writings cover several decades, the great aunt was well ahead of her time in her prescient awareness of global warming and its deleterious environmental impact.
The Icelandic term for midwife is ljósmódir, which means “mother of light.” By contrast, the novel takes place in Iceland’s season of darkness, just before Christmas, the darkest time of the year. The interplay of light and darkness resonate with the great aunt’s reflections on light and dark, both literal and metaphorical. To reinforce the theme, Dýja’s sister, a meteorologist, peppers her conversations with anxious reminders that a severe storm is heading in their direction, bringing with it heavy winds, disruption of services, and darkness.
Set against an immersive backdrop replete with vivid descriptions of Iceland’s weather, its stark and beautiful landscape, its star-filled night skies, and its shimmering sunrises, the novel’s fragmentary nature and wide-ranging topics stitch together to form an intricate tapestry that is, at once, thought-provoking, meditative, tranquil, subdued, and beautiful.
Very highly recommended.