Synopses & Reviews
* Long-listed for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2014 *"I cant remember the last time I was so enchanted by a novel like I am by Butterflies in November. Zany, surprising, full of twists and turns, it left me breathless. I just love this book." Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle and The Obituary Writer
After a day of being dumpedtwiceand accidentally killing a goose, a young woman yearns for a tropical vacation far from the chaos of her life. Instead, her plans are wrecked by her best friends four-year-old deaf-mute son, thrust into her reluctant care. But when the boy chooses the winning numbers for a lottery ticket, the two of them set off on a road trip across Iceland with a glove compartment stuffed full of their jackpot earnings. Along the way, they encounter black sand beaches, cucumber farms, lava fields, flocks of sheep, an Estonian choir, a falconer, a hitchhiker, and both of her exes desperate for another chance. What begins as a spontaneous adventure will unexpectedly and profoundly change the way she views her past and charts her future.
Butterflies in November is a blackly comic, charming, and uplifting tale of friends and lovers, motherhood, and self-discovery.
Review
International Praise for Butterflies in NovemberNamed a Best Book of the Year by the Financial Times, one of the Top 50 Best Winter Reads by The Independent, and long-listed for The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
A whimsical Icelandic journey . . . there are moving moments of sadness and hilarity.” The Guardian
The wintry roads of Icelandand the metaphorical paths taken and not takentwist and turn throughout this evocative, humorous novel, beautifully translated. . . . It's the humans here who behave like butterflies, landing briefly before fluttering off again, and so the engrossing narrative is patterned: following loosely the road-trip chronology, the narrator wings her way through memories of flirting and flitting between lovers. . . . The beguiling imagery captures the fragile and fleeting beauty of those loved and lost, as well as the possibilities of self reinvention; of shedding skins, growing wings.” Anita Sethi, The Observer
It is as rare to be hit in the heart twice as to win the lottery. Yet thats what happens with the new novel by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir.” Elle (France)
Quirky and poetic . . . an extraordinary novelist.” Madame Figaro
Funny and wistful . . . What begins as a tragicomic, quirky tale develops into a very moving, layered and optimistic piece of writing.” Financial Times
A bright and blissful journey into the darkest month in Iceland. Ólafsdóttir repeatedly smashes our idea of the everyday, only to sew it back together in a magically surprising and beautiful embroidery. A highly original and very charming novel.” Hallgrimur Helgason, author of The Hitmans Guide to Housecleaning
Enchanting and moving.” Paris Match
Youll recognize the generosity, and the poetic idiosyncrasy that makes Ólafsdóttirs style so delightful.” Le Nouvel Observateur
Sadness and humor coexist beautifully in Butterflies In November.” Metro
[A] super talented writer . . . quirky, fun, adorable and bizarre. Youll savor each page of this book.” Company (One of Five Female Authors You Need to Know)
Review
"With subtle prose and sardonic humor Olafsdottir upends expectations."
Carmela Ciuraru, New York Times"Quirky and enchanting . . . a tale of resilient spirits on a journey." Boston Globe
"This picaresque novel . . . is carried by the evocation of [Icelands] bleak, moody beauty." New Yorker
"Anyone whos fallen inexplicably in love with a European road-trip story will be vulnerable to this fictional journey around Icelands Ring Road." New York Magazine/Vulture.com (one of "9 Books You Need to Read")
"Two very unlikely travelers take a genuinely funny and gleefully manic Icelandic road trip. . . . A fresh and zany novel . . . and at its heart, is a tragicomedy rich in pathos and humor." Malcolm Forbes, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"A beguiling road trip tale . . . an engaging and entertaining read." New York Journal of Books
"Thoughtful and fun . . . a novel of surprising tension and tenderness." Kirkus Reviews
"A funny and bizarre travelog of Iceland's unique culture and landscape . . . give in to the quirky spirit of the book." Library Journal
"Ólafsdóttir has created a singular heroine in Butterflies in November: unafraid, unapologetic and also unforgettable. When she enters a lottery, she wins it. When she has sex with the wrong man, she gets back into her car and keeps on driving. I loved her and this quirky, enticing novel that never stopped surprising." Marcy Dermansky, author of Twins and Bad Marie
"Authentic. The story explores what freedom really means when romantic and familial bonds are pushed aside." Publishers Weekly
"A bright and blissful journey into the darkest month in Iceland. Olafsdottir repeatedly smashes our idea of the everyday, only to sew it back together in a magically surprising and beautiful embroidery. A highly original and very charming novel." Hallgrimur Helgason, author of The Hitmans Guide to Housecleaning
"A funny, moving, and occasionally bizarre exploration of lifes upheavals and reversals." Financial Times
"[An] evocative, humorous novel. . . . The beguiling imagery captures the fragile and fleeting beauty of those loved and lost, as well as the possibilities of self reinvention; of shedding skins, growing wings." Observer
"A whimsical Icelandic journey. . . . There are moving moments of sadness and hilarity . . . and Olafsdottir shows a rare ability to write a serious and convincing small child; the boy's flowering relationship with his clueless foster-carer is beautifully handled." Guardian
"[A] super talented writer. . . brilliantly written . . . quirky, fun, adorable and bizarre. Youll savor each page of this book." Company (one of Five Female Authors You Need to Know)
About the Author
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir was born in Iceland in 1958, studied art history in Paris and has lectured in History of Art at the University of Iceland. Her novel, The Greenhouse, won the DV Culture Award for literature, was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Award, and translated into twenty-two languages. She currently lives and works in Reykjavik.