Adeline
3.75 stars Horror mystery translated from Icelandic about a young woman Idrunn who surfers from constant fatigue and soon realises something happens to her every night during her sleep.
This was a quick little story that I read in a couple of hours. The pacing was good, and many chapters were very short (one sentence long) so I flew through this.
The Icelandic setting of course made me want to travel there even more so I also wanted more descriptions of the island and city. Though it’s always hard to judge because it’s translated, I wasn’t wowed by the writing, there were some nice turns of phrasing but more often it was simplistic.
I liked the bleak atmosphere, enhanced by the helplessness felt by the main character about her situation, and most gory elements (not all though, IYKYK and check the tw) especially after she woke up. But I felt this lacked tension, especially in the revelations of what is happening to Idunn
Idunn as a main character came across as a bit bland but still her story was compelling enough for me to push through. The side characters were just there and I didn’t care for any of them (though it felt like a parallel to the main character’s emotions perhaps).
I liked what the author had to say about autonomy, patriarchy,sexism in the medical field but I wished it was better integrated into the story and that the author delved more into it. Many plot elements weren’t explained but I feel this added to the sense of despair and helplessness of Idrunn so I wasn’t totally bothered. I really liked the open ending. Overall a quick read perfect for the autumn/winter seasons if you like weird stories that doesn’t answer everything.
3.75 stars Horror mystery translated from Icelandic about a young woman Idrunn who surfers from constant fatigue and soon realises something happens to her every night during her sleep.
This was a quick little story that I read in a couple of hours. The pacing was good, and many chapters were very short (one sentence long) so I flew through this.
The Icelandic setting of course made me want to travel there even more so I also wanted more descriptions of the island and city. Though it’s always hard to judge because it’s translated, I wasn’t wowed by the writing, there were some nice turns of phrasing but more often it was simplistic.
I liked the bleak atmosphere, enhanced by the helplessness felt by the main character about her situation, and most gory elements (not all though, IYKYK and check the tw) especially after she woke up. But I felt this lacked tension, especially in the revelations of what is happening to Idunn
Idunn as a main character came across as a bit bland but still her story was compelling enough for me to push through. The side characters were just there and I didn’t care for any of them (though it felt like a parallel to the main character’s emotions perhaps).
I liked what the author had to say about autonomy, patriarchy,sexism in the medical field but I wished it was better integrated into the story and that the author delved more into it. Many plot elements weren’t explained but I feel this added to the sense of despair and helplessness of Idrunn so I wasn’t totally bothered. I really liked the open ending. Overall a quick read perfect for the autumn/winter seasons if you like weird stories that doesn’t answer everything.