Overview

‘I live here alone in a garage, together with a laptop and an old hand grenade. It’s pretty cosy.’ And...she’s off. Eighty-year-old Herra Björnsson lies alone in her garage waiting to die. One of the most original narrators in literary history, she takes readers with her on a dazzling ride of a novel as she reflects – in a voice by turns darkly funny, bawdy, poignant, and always, always smart – on the mishaps, tragedies and turns of luck that shaped her life. Born into a prominent political family, Herra’s idyllic childhood in the islands of western Iceland was brought to an abrupt end when her father foolishly cast his lot with a Hitler on the rise. Separated from her mother, and with her father away at war, she finds herself abandoned and alone in war-torn Germany, relying on her wits and occasional good fortune to survive. Now, with death approaching, forced to hack into her sons’ emails to have any contact with them at all, Herra decides to take control of her destiny and sets a date for her own cremation – at a temperature of 1,000 degrees. In this international bestseller, Hallgrímur Helgason invites readers on a journey that is as hilarious as it is heartbreaking, and which ultimately tells the deeply moving story of a woman swept up by the forces of history.

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9781786074553

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Reviews

`A blitzkrieg of a novel... Funny, shrewd and reliably rude... This hugely entertaining tale is surely destined for classic status.' * <i>Guardian</i> * `In this black-humoured novel...the narrator recounts her misshapen life with engaging vividness.' * <i>The New Yorker</i> * `Breathtaking... Herra's life, and voice, is deeply compelling.' * <i>Financial Times</i> * `The hottest new book from Iceland... [Herra's] perspective might be just what we need in these uncertain times: She survives and shares her story on her terms. And what a story it is, one worth reading to further understand the complexity of World War II - and to enjoy the quick wit of a woman you won't forget.' * <i>Washington Post</i> * `The Woman at 1,000 Degrees is incredibly funny, incredibly insightful and incredibly moving.' * Fiona Mozley, author of <i>Elmet</i> * `What a novel! Helgason's Woman at 1,000 Degrees is a gutsy, brilliant book: I could not tear myself away from it. Octogenarian Herra Bjoernsson's dying recollections, as she lies nursing a hand grenade between her legs in an Icelandic garage, hurtle the reader headfirst into an epic narrative of war, loss, desire and survival, across years and continents. Both funny and deeply moving, I finished it utterly dazzled, my ears ringing.' * Hannah Kent, author of <i>Burial Rites</i> * `One of the most original novels of the year.' * <i>Irish Independent</i> * `An explosive experience.' * <i>Elle</i> * `By turns funny, sweet, gripping and sad but never sentimental, Helgason's work...is a sensitive tale of a nearly lived life.' * <i>Monocle</i> * `Herra...is exceedingly quick-witted and has a wickedly colorful way with words... Brilliantly written with flashing insights.' * <i>Kirkus</i> * 'The Woman at 1,000 Degrees is a bold work of fiction that gnaws at the silence blanketing the blackest holes of humanity to lay bare the author's dark vision of truth.' * <i>Washington Independent Review of Books</i> * 'This novel is a shock, a laugh, an evocation of grief, and a tribute to survival and imagination.' * Affinity Konar, author of <i>Mischling</i> * 'Helgason's sad and funny novel begins in 2009, as 80-year-old Herra Bjoernsson lies dying in a Reykavik garage, still in possession of a live hand grenade from World War II...In her unsentimental, unsparing narrative, she offers insights into Icelandic culture and character, including a riff on reticence and a brief summary of Iceland's financial meltdown. Like the Icelandic landscape, she can be both appealing and treacherous.' * <i>Publishers Weekly</i>, starred review * `Compelling...uplifting...required reading for those who want sour along with the sweet of life.' * <i>New York Journal of Books</i> * `A very enjoyable story...a terrific read. Herra is a great character; she is bawdy, at times outright vulgar and mischievous.' * The Bookshelf, ABC Radio Australia * 'Gripping, darkly comic, and utterly original.' * Valerie Martin, author of <i>Property</i> * 'Icelandic novelist Helgason shares with John Irving a knack for masterful plotting and clever, sarcastic humour...anyone willing to...revel in its flights of language will find much to enjoy.' * <i>Booklist</i> * `Helgason's characters are rare beauties. One falls for his absurd fantasies immediately.' * <i>Spiegel.de</i> * `Long after I read it, the story and its prickly protagonist has stayed with me.' * Esmeralda Santiago, author of <i>When I Was Puerto Rican</i>, <i>New York Magazine</i> * `You don't know her yet, but she already despises you... With a biting humour, she examines love, marriage, sex, politics, and those who practice them.' * <i>Le Figaro Magazine</i> * `Extraordinarily absorbing and enjoyable. The story revolves around a woman who lived ahead of her time. Many young women would idealize Herra Bjoernsson. At the same time, it gives an insight into life during World War II.' * <i>Washington Book Review</i> * 'This is a profoundly, triumphantly feminist book... There's nothing like it in our language.' * <i>Toronto Star</i> * `Helgason's novel is superbly written, with characters and events that grab your attention and make it hard to put down.' * <i>Tulsa Book Review</i> * `Unpredictable and endearing.' * <i>Jacksonville Journal-Courier</i> * `It's a sophisticated work, combining elements of Bildungsroman, comic burlesque, fictional biography and historical commentary... The novel's sheer invention, talkativeness and linguistic zest recall Joyce, while the plot itself, with its logical progression into the absurd, is not too distant from the labyrinths of Kafka.' * David McDuff, literary translator and critic * `A magnificent novel about maybe the most memorable character in Icelandic fiction.' * <i>Frettabladid</i> * `A mind-blowing doorstopper' * <i>Le Monde des Livres</i> * `This novel is toxic. The cover, the crumpled lady with the pink wig should have been warning enough, still one is stunned. This novel charges at you like a little terrier after you have opened a garden gate. It barks short, hoarse sentences. However, you don't want to put this book down again!' * <i>Der Spiegel 1</i> * `A ride through the 20th century of the ice island through the Nazi German Reich to Argentina and back again - wildly, tough, and devilishly clever. Like it? It rocks!' * <i>Stern</i> * `The most surprising, funny, bonkers novel of the season' * <i>Lire</i> * `Passionate, explosive and fiery...' * <i>El Periodico</i> * `Book of the year!' * SWR3 Radio * `A caustic and human story that is tragic with a great sense of humour at the same time.' * <i>ABC Libros</i> * `If this had been written by a different, non-Icelandic author, it would be a pulp Charles Dickens, with a bit of Chuck Palahniuk thrown in.' * <i>Il Giornale</i> * `Playing with time and with history, this is a tragicomic and hard-hitting novel in which the author gets to the heart of a global situation and the vagaries of Icelandic politics.' * <i>El Diario</i> *

`Breathtaking... Herra's life, and voice, is deeply compelling.' * <i>Financial Times</i> * 'What a novel! A gutsy, brilliant book: I could not tear myself away from it.' * Hannah Kent, author of <i>Burial Rites</i> * `The Woman at 1,000 Degrees is incredibly funny, incredibly insightful and incredibly moving.' * Fiona Mozley, author of <i>Elmet</i> * `In this black-humoured novel...the narrator recounts her misshapen life with engaging vividness.' * <i>The New Yorker</i> * `One of the most original novels of the year.' * <i>Irish Independent</i> * '[Herra] is the most unreliable of unreliable narrators, but her perspective might be just what we need in these uncertain times: She survives and shares her story on her terms. And what a story it is, one worth reading to further understand the complexity of World War II - and to enjoy the quick wit of a woman you won't forget.' * <i>Washington Post</i> * 'The Woman at 1,000 Degrees is a bold work of fiction that gnaws at the silence blanketing the blackest holes of humanity to lay bare the author's dark vision of truth.' * <i>Washington Independent Review of Books</i> * 'Icelandic novelist Helgason shares with John Irving a knack for masterful plotting and clever, sarcastic humour...anyone willing to...revel in its flights of language will find much to enjoy.' * <i>Booklist</i> * 'Helgason's sad and funny novel begins in 2009, as 80-year-old Herra Bjoernsson lies dying in a Reykavik garage, still in possession of a live hand grenade from World War II...In her unsentimental, unsparing narrative, she offers insights into Icelandic culture and character, including a riff on reticence and a brief summary of Iceland's financial meltdown. Like the Icelandic landscape, she can be both appealing and treacherous.' * <i>Publishers Weekly</i>, starred review * 'This novel is a shock, a laugh, an evocation of grief, and a tribute to survival and imagination.' * Affinity Konar, author of <i>Mischling</i> * 'Gripping, darkly comic, and utterly original.' * Valerie Martin, author of <i>Property</i> * `An explosive experience' * <i>Elle</i> * 'This is a profoundly, triumphantly feminist book... There's nothing like it in our language.' * <i>Toronto Star</i> * `By turns funny, sweet, gripping and sad but never sentimental, Helgason's work...is a sensitive tale of a nearly lived life.' * <i>Monocle</i> * `A mind-blowing doorstopper' * <i>Le Monde des Livres</i> * `Helgason's characters are rare beauties. One falls for his absurd fantasies immediately.' * <i>Spiegel.de</i> * `This novel is toxic. The cover, the crumpled lady with the pink wig should have been warning enough, still one is stunned. This novel charges at you like a little terrier after you have opened a garden gate. It barks short, hoarse sentences. However, you don't want to put this book down again!' * <i>Der Spiegel 1</i> * `A ride through the 20th century of the ice island through the Nazi German Reich to Argentina and back again - wildly, tough, and devilishly clever. Like it? It rocks!' * <i>Stern</i> * `The most surprising, funny, bonkers novel of the season' * <i>Lire</i> * `You don't know her yet, but she already despises you... With a biting humour, she examines love, marriage, sex, politics, and those who practice them.' * <i>Le Figaro Magazine</i> * `Passionate, explosive and fiery...' * <i>El Periodico</i> * `Book of the year!' * SWR3 Radio * `A caustic and human story that is tragic with a great sense of humour at the same time.' * <i>ABC Libros</i> * `If this had been written by a different, non-Icelandic author, it would be a pulp Charles Dickens, with a bit of Chuck Palahniuk thrown in.' * <i>Il Giornale</i> * `Playing with time and with history, this is a tragicomic and hard-hitting novel in which the author gets to the heart of a global situation and the vagaries of Icelandic politics.' * <i>El Diario</i> *

`Breathtaking... Herra's life, and voice, is deeply compelling.' * <i>Financial Times</i> * 'What a novel! A gutsy, brilliant book: I could not tear myself away from it.' * Hannah Kent, author of <i>Burial Rites</i> * `One of the most original novels of the year.' * <i>Irish Independent</i> * '[Herra] is the most unreliable of unreliable narrators, but her perspective might be just what we need in these uncertain times: She survives and shares her story on her terms. And what a story it is, one worth reading to further understand the complexity of World War II - and to enjoy the quick wit of a woman you won't forget.' * <i>Washington Post</i> * 'The Woman at 1,000 Degrees is a bold work of fiction that gnaws at the silence blanketing the blackest holes of humanity to lay bare the author's dark vision of truth.' * <i>Washington Independent Review of Books</i> * 'Icelandic novelist Helgason shares with John Irving a knack for masterful plotting and clever, sarcastic humour...anyone willing to...revel in its flights of language will find much to enjoy.' * <i>Booklist</i> * 'Helgason's sad and funny novel begins in 2009, as 80-year-old Herra Bjoernsson lies dying in a Reykavik garage, still in possession of a live hand grenade from World War II...In her unsentimental, unsparing narrative, she offers insights into Icelandic culture and character, including a riff on reticence and a brief summary of Iceland's financial meltdown. Like the Icelandic landscape, she can be both appealing and treacherous.' * <i>Publishers Weekly</i>, starred review * 'This novel is a shock, a laugh, an evocation of grief, and a tribute to survival and imagination.' * Affinity Konar, author of <i>Mischling</i> * 'Gripping, darkly comic, and utterly original.' * Valerie Martin, author of <i>Property</i> * `An explosive experience' * <i>Elle</i> * 'This is a profoundly, triumphantly feminist book... There's nothing like it in our language.' * <i>Toronto Star</i> * `By turns funny, sweet, gripping and sad but never sentimental, Helgason's work...is a sensitive tale of a nearly lived life.' * <i>Monocle</i> * `A mind-blowing doorstopper' * <i>Le Monde des Livres</i> * `Helgason's characters are rare beauties. One falls for his absurd fantasies immediately.' * <i>Spiegel.de</i> * `This novel is toxic. The cover, the crumpled lady with the pink wig should have been warning enough, still one is stunned. This novel charges at you like a little terrier after you have opened a garden gate. It barks short, hoarse sentences. However, you don't want to put this book down again!' * <i>Der Spiegel 1</i> * `A ride through the 20th century of the ice island through the Nazi German Reich to Argentina and back again - wildly, tough, and devilishly clever. Like it? It rocks!' * <i>Stern</i> * `The most surprising, funny, bonkers novel of the season' * <i>Lire</i> * `You don't know her yet, but she already despises you... With a biting humour, she examines love, marriage, sex, politics, and those who practice them.' * <i>Le Figaro Magazine</i> * `Passionate, explosive and fiery...' * <i>El Periodico</i> * `Book of the year!' * SWR3 Radio * `A caustic and human story that is tragic with a great sense of humour at the same time.' * <i>ABC Libros</i> * `If this had been written by a different, non-Icelandic author, it would be a pulp Charles Dickens, with a bit of Chuck Palahniuk thrown in.' * <i>Il Giornale</i> * `Playing with time and with history, this is a tragicomic and hard-hitting novel in which the author gets to the heart of a global situation and the vagaries of Icelandic politics.' * <i>El Diario</i> *

`Breathtaking... Herra's life, and voice, is deeply compelling.' * <i>Financial Times</i> * `The Woman at 1,000 Degrees is incredibly funny, incredibly insightful and incredibly moving.' * Fiona Mozley, author of <i>Elmet</i> * `What a novel! Helgason's Woman at 1,000 Degrees is a gutsy, brilliant book: I could not tear myself away from it. Octogenarian Herra Bjoernsson's dying recollections, as she lies nursing a hand grenade between her legs in an Icelandic garage, hurtle the reader headfirst into an epic narrative of war, loss, desire and survival, across years and continents. Both funny and deeply moving, I finished it utterly dazzled, my ears ringing.' * Hannah Kent, author of <i>Burial Rites</i> * `In this black-humoured novel...the narrator recounts her misshapen life with engaging vividness.' * <i>The New Yorker</i> * `One of the most original novels of the year.' * <i>Irish Independent</i> * '[Herra] is the most unreliable of unreliable narrators, but her perspective might be just what we need in these uncertain times: She survives and shares her story on her terms. And what a story it is, one worth reading to further understand the complexity of World War II - and to enjoy the quick wit of a woman you won't forget.' * <i>Washington Post</i> * 'The Woman at 1,000 Degrees is a bold work of fiction that gnaws at the silence blanketing the blackest holes of humanity to lay bare the author's dark vision of truth.' * <i>Washington Independent Review of Books</i> * 'Helgason's sad and funny novel begins in 2009, as 80-year-old Herra Bjoernsson lies dying in a Reykavik garage, still in possession of a live hand grenade from World War II...In her unsentimental, unsparing narrative, she offers insights into Icelandic culture and character, including a riff on reticence and a brief summary of Iceland's financial meltdown. Like the Icelandic landscape, she can be both appealing and treacherous.' * <i>Publishers Weekly</i>, starred review * 'Icelandic novelist Helgason shares with John Irving a knack for masterful plotting and clever, sarcastic humour...anyone willing to...revel in its flights of language will find much to enjoy.' * <i>Booklist</i> * 'This novel is a shock, a laugh, an evocation of grief, and a tribute to survival and imagination.' * Affinity Konar, author of <i>Mischling</i> * `Herra...is exceedingly quick-witted and has a wickedly colorful way with words... Brilliantly written with flashing insights.' * <i>Kirkus</i> * 'Gripping, darkly comic, and utterly original.' * Valerie Martin, author of <i>Property</i> * `An explosive experience.' * <i>Elle</i> * 'This is a profoundly, triumphantly feminist book... There's nothing like it in our language.' * <i>Toronto Star</i> * `By turns funny, sweet, gripping and sad but never sentimental, Helgason's work...is a sensitive tale of a nearly lived life.' * <i>Monocle</i> * `A mind-blowing doorstopper' * <i>Le Monde des Livres</i> * `Helgason's characters are rare beauties. One falls for his absurd fantasies immediately.' * <i>Spiegel.de</i> * `This novel is toxic. The cover, the crumpled lady with the pink wig should have been warning enough, still one is stunned. This novel charges at you like a little terrier after you have opened a garden gate. It barks short, hoarse sentences. However, you don't want to put this book down again!' * <i>Der Spiegel 1</i> * `A ride through the 20th century of the ice island through the Nazi German Reich to Argentina and back again - wildly, tough, and devilishly clever. Like it? It rocks!' * <i>Stern</i> * `The most surprising, funny, bonkers novel of the season' * <i>Lire</i> * `You don't know her yet, but she already despises you... With a biting humour, she examines love, marriage, sex, politics, and those who practice them.' * <i>Le Figaro Magazine</i> * `Passionate, explosive and fiery...' * <i>El Periodico</i> * `Book of the year!' * SWR3 Radio * `A caustic and human story that is tragic with a great sense of humour at the same time.' * <i>ABC Libros</i> * `If this had been written by a different, non-Icelandic author, it would be a pulp Charles Dickens, with a bit of Chuck Palahniuk thrown in.' * <i>Il Giornale</i> * `Playing with time and with history, this is a tragicomic and hard-hitting novel in which the author gets to the heart of a global situation and the vagaries of Icelandic politics.' * <i>El Diario</i> *

Author Information

Hallgrímur Helgason is an Icelandic painter, novelist, translator, and columnist. His first novel was published in 1990 and he came to international fame with his third novel, 101 Reykjavik, which was translated into fourteen languages and was made into a film. A father of three, he divides his time between Reykjavík and the island of Hrísey. Find out more at hallgrimurhelgason.com. Brian FitzGibbon is a translator and author. He is the translator of 101 Reykjavik, also by Hallgrímur Helgason, and of Butterflies in November by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, which was longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2014. He lives in Reykjavík.

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