Nothing to Be Rescued

Collected here for the first time in English, the short stories of Ásta Sigurðardóttir (April 1, 1930- Dec. 21, 1971) mark the breakthrough of modernism in Icelandic prose, though she herself remains a somewhat unsung figure in the island's contemporary literary history. Sigurðardóttir’s poetic and hallucinogenically-beautiful stories, often written from the perspective of a naïve girl or young woman, grapple with violence in mid-twentieth century Iceland from the vantage points of marginalised voices. Many narrativize strife—sexual, physical, and psychological abuse; houselessness, alcoholism, and income inequality; extramarital pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and child loss—while still others vibrate with the natural forces of Iceland.