Heida: A Shepherd at the Edge of the World

Here's a book to give to a teen who is fascinated with the larger world and for whom you have secret aspirations of greatness. Leave it on your coffee table or somewhere where it will get picked up and read.

In a no-nonsense translation, the life of Heida Ásgeirsdóttir is presented in seasons of a single year. The writing is straightforward and, judging from other reviews, does not appeal to everyone. The lack of lyricism didn't bother me much as a reader, but I was curious that a culture that prides itself on extemporaneous poetry could not produce a more poetic text. The translator perhaps?

Nevertheless, Heida tells us a lot about Iceland, its climate and natural world, and the rigors of farming. We learn how solitary farming is and show more thus how important social conventions, including wild parties, are to a rural culture.

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy Scandinavian culture, rural culture, and sheep. It's also wildly feminist.

I received a review copy of "Heida: A Shepherd at the Edge of the World" by Steinunn Sigurðardóttir (John Murray) through NetGalley.com. show less

⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

My Star Book in April:
Heiða: A Shepherd at the End of the World.

•Written in short, succinct chapters
•Wonderful portrait of warmth, toughness & humour, in Heiða and her family, friends & neighbours
•Constant struggle with the elements, on a hill farm ‘at the end of the world’, which at the same time is the most beautiful place in the world for her.
•A protracted battle, successful for the moment, to stop a giant corporation destroying her 1000 year old farm, by building a giant reservoir on it.

An experience of Icelandic culture: Heiða and her friends meet up for a poetry group where they share short (often cruelly humourous) poems they’ve made up (often excruciatingly translated!)
•The show more constant presence of her near neighbour, Katla, a live volcano.

I emerged from reading the book full of respect for Heiða, and her intense awareness of how Iceland’s farms and wilderness need protection. show less

I read this because we are going to Iceland next week. Because of this, I found aspects of it interesting but otherwise it doesn't have a huge amount to recommend it as literature. Which is a shame because there are lots of themes with potential in here. Heida's passion for sheep farming and for her farm comes over very strongly, her conservation passion perhaps not quite so clearly. And she gives some insight into Icelandic rural society and her own struggles. But she does not have the analytical faculty to provide real illumination, and her writer fails to make up for this deficit or provide a structure that might help. 3 May 2019

Ik moest wennen aan de stijl en de politieke stukken boeiden me niet altijd. Maar de verhalen over de schapen en het werk op de boerderij: prachtig!

The book is very interesting but the combination of topic - mostly sheep farming and Iceland - and translation into a Northern variety of German made it difficult to read.

Heida es una agricultora solitaria con un rebaño de 500 ovejas en una zona implacable que bordea las tierras altas de Islandia. Es conocido como el fin del mundo. Escrito con ingenio y humor por una de los novelistas más aclamados de Islandia, Steinunn Sigurdardottir y dividido en cuatro estaciones, este libro cuenta la historia de un año extraordinario, entretejido con historias vívidas de sus animales y el trabajo de la granja; y pinta un retrato inolvidable de una vida remota cercana a la naturaleza. “No estoy sola porque me he quedado sentada llorando con un pañuelo o un delantal por la falta de interés de hombres en mi." “Quiero decirles a las mujeres que pueden hacer cualquier cosa y demostrar que la cría de ovejas no show more es solo un trabajo de hombres." show less

La inspiradora historia de Heiða, una solitaria granjera de ovejas islandesa, exmodelo y heroína feminista, se ha convertido en un éxito de ventas internacional. «No estoy sola porque me haya quedado sentada llorando con un pañuelo o un delantal por la falta de atención de los hombres». Heiða cuida de su rebaño de quinientas ovejas en una zona implacable que bordea las tierras altas de Islandia, conocida como el Fin del Mundo. Uno de sus vecinos más cercanos es el volcán más famoso de Islandia, Katla, que ha expulsado periódicamente a los habitantes de Ljótarstaðir desde que la gente comenzó a cultivar allí, en el siglo xii. Este retrato de su vida, escrito con ingenio y humor por una de las novelistas más aclamadas de show more Islandia, Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, cuenta la historia heroica de una joven carismática que a los veintitrés años dejó una carrera como modelo en Nueva York para hacerse cargo de la granja familiar cuando su padre murió. «Quiero decirles a las mujeres que pueden hacer cualquier cosa, y demostrar que la cría de ovejas no es solo un trabajo de hombres». Dividida en cuatro estaciones, Heiða cuenta la historia de un año extraordinario, entretejida con historias vívidas de sus animales y el trabajo de la granja; y pinta un retrato inolvidable de una remota vida cercana a la naturaleza. show less