Woman at 1000°C

«Woman at 1000 °C» – is a sparkling confession of an eighty-year-old Icelander named Herbjörg Björnsdóttir, who lives alone in a garage in the eastern part of Reykjavik, actively corresponds online, and recalls her eventful life. The story, inspired by the memoirs of the granddaughter of the first President of Iceland, tells of family joys and incredible twists of fate, of the tragedies and shocks of the 20th century, including World War II in Denmark and Germany. The emotional register of the novel is very broad – from high tragedy and the finest lyricism to caustic satire on modern Icelandic society, and the author's style is free from clichés – just like the biography of the narrator.
The novel «Woman at 1000 °C» was nominated for the Nordic Council Literary Prize (2012) and became a bestseller in many European countries. The book is published in Russian for the second time in a new edition.
Hjálmar Helgason (b. 1959) – is one of the most famous contemporary Icelandic writers, a three-time laureate of the Icelandic National Prize, and a knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France (2021). The author's poems and novels «101 Reykjavik» (2008), «Housekeeping Tips for Hitmen» (2010), «Sixty Kilograms of Sunshine» (2023), «The Author of Iceland» (2024) have been published in Russian.