Light and Being Human: A Conversation with Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
“I was born and I live on an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, and one of the things that has changed with global warming is that intense storms have become more frequent. The nature in Iceland is spectacular and unlike any other country, but it does not exist without the weather. And it’s the sudden weather changes that make the nature dangerous, especially in winter.”
Photo Credit: Art Bietnick
How does it feel to know that so many people in multiple countries are reading about an experience that is very specific to Iceland? And what would you like your readers to understand about an Icelandic winter and the idiosyncrasies of the Icelandic frame of mind?
What I'm interested in, in every novel I write, is to find some new aspect of what it means to be a human being and especially about the paradoxes that make us human. People are the same everywhere. I think that is the reason why we read novels that take place in remote or exotic environments. Because they tell us something about ourselves and the world we live in. At least that's what readers in different countries have said to me: thank you for writing about me! In Animal Life, man is discussed as a human animal and he is compared to other animals, in his weaknesses and strengths. The narrator sees man as the most vulnerable animal.
Although I never preach, but only tell a story, climate change is in the background of the story. I was born and live on an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, and one of the things that has changed with global warming is that intense storms have become more frequent. The nature in Iceland is spectacular and unlike any other country, but it does not exist without the weather. And it’s the sudden weather changes that make the nature dangerous, especially in winter. Until the 1940s, people still travelled on horseback in Iceland and even on foot from one part of the country to another. In Animal Life, the voices of two generations of midwives intertwine. One chapter of the book is an ode to the midwives of the past who were the only people to travel in bad weather at all times of the year. Because babies are born also in bad weather.
Where did the inspiration for Animal Life come from?
The initial idea came when Icelanders voted for the most beautiful word in their language and chose the Icelandic term for midwife: ljósmóðir which means a mother of light. I decided then to one day write a novel that would focus on the meaning of light in a world of darkness in which the narrator would be a midwife. I thought it logical that she would reduce our species to a mammal.
Did you have to carry out research on midwifery or do you have any personal experience that you were able to draw on?
My only personal experience with midwives is having delivered two babies into this world. My older daughter was born in Paris when I was finishing my degree in art history there, so I also have experience with French midwives! Otherwise, I just use my imagination. However, when the book was in its final form, I asked an experienced, retired midwife to read it over and she suggested no changes!
Could you explain the process of writing a narrative within a narrative? Did you have to have quite a strong idea of what the manuscripts the grandaunt in the novel wrote would contain?
A book within a book can actually be found in another novel written by me, that has not been translated into English and is called The Exception in Icelandic. In some other novels too I also feel the need to remind the reader at some point that they are reading a novel. The three manuscripts that the narrator finds in the apartment she has inherited and belong to the great aunt, Animal Life, The Truth About Light and The Coincidence, touch on the three main themes of the book. The Truth about the Light was actually the working title of the novel, and in some translations, as in French and Catalan, it is the title of the book.
There are a lot of insightful and beautiful ideas about humanity and the forces that shape our lives within Animal Life, but was there any particular message that you would like readers to take away from your novel?
That’s a bit difficult to answer! Perhaps that a human being is a contradictory and fragile animal? It’s complicated to be a human being. But there is also light and hope to be found in the novel!
Do you identify at all with any of the characters in Animal Life?
I identify with all the characters in all my books in the sense that I understand them. Even if I don't always agree with them. The older midwife in the story - the great aunt - reminds me of many older women in my family. My grandmother on my mother's side for example. A friend also said to me once that there is a little bit of my mom in all the mothers in my books.
Do you have any writing rituals? And have they changed over the years?
Since I worked full-time until four years ago as a University teacher, I got into the habit of writing whenever I had free time. That might explain why I can write anywhere and anytime, in fact, I am also writing when I am not writing. I don't need a room of my own. Actually, I wrote my first novels with my children and their friends playing around in the same room. Today I am an ex-art historian and can make a living just writing. That means I am able to write in the morning when I wake up like I always dreamed of. I’m still trying to learn when to stop.
What type of books do you prefer to read? And does this change when you write?
I read almost all poetry books published in Iceland. The book season in Iceland is mainly in November and December because everyone gives books as Christmas gifts on the volcanic island, but the poetry books are usually published earlier or in September. When I'm writing, I actually read less because I'm busy "reading" my own book. When I have printed the first manuscript of a new book, I often take a reading session before starting with the next draft.
Do you judge a book by its cover?
I would rather say that it can happen that I judge a book by the publishing company. Some publishing companies are more likely to publish books that I find more interesting and original than others. And some publishing companies are known precisely by their covers!
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