PositiveThe Washington Independent Review of BooksWithin the pages of Hotel Silence, a reader will find little action and certainly no overt emotions. Instead, the writing’s brilliance is in how utterly relatable it is, how softly human ... The writing also creates a sense of moving through a fog, as if life itself has become too dense, simultaneously pushing in and on the reader. Strangely, brief snippets of random prose occasionally trip up the narrative ... trite phrases litter the story. Perhaps these sound poetic in the original Icelandic. In English, they feel like missteps. Nonetheless, this novel is not to be missed. The overall pace may be slow, but it suits the notion that Ólafsdóttir explores so beautifully: that life need not be exciting; it need only be purposeful.
Ivy Pochoda
PositiveThe Washington Independent Review of BooksIvy Pochoda’s third literary outing, Wonder Valley, is not to be missed, though it does contain a few minor flaws … The novel follows the delicate balance between the life a character lives versus the life for which he or she wishes. Wonder Valley is a chronicle of the quotidian and the ever-present struggle to rise above it … The first two quarters of Wonder Valley bounce haphazardly between characters and timelines. Consequently, the gradual reveal of how the 2006 events relate to — and influence — the later ones are less satisfying than they otherwise might have been … Flaws aside, however, Pochoda’s novel is compelling.
