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A review by jacki_f
Names for the Sea by Sarah Moss
3.0
I've read two of Sarah Moss's novels and I love the way she writes. This is a non-fiction book, about the year in 2009-2010 that she and her family spent living in Iceland while she worked for the local university. It's an uneven read that is sometimes fascinating and entertaining, but at other times a bit too much hard work.
I've realised that I like my travel accounts to be personal. I've enjoyed books like "Me Myself and Prague" and "Almost French", when the author brings their own background into the story and presents the place that they are living in within the context of their own lives. And parts of "Names for the Sea" are like that, but then there are other chapters where Moss writes like a journalist determined to dispassionately present as many aspects of Icelandic culture and society as she can.
I really enjoyed reading about the differences in schooling, about her impressions of the landscape and the seasons, about what the supermarkets were like and the crazy local drivers and her interactions with her students. Most of the first half of the book is like this. I was less interested in lengthy explanations about the Icelandic economy or myths or beliefs in elves or wartime history. I realise that someone else may feel quite differently and in fact there's at least one review further down the page that says pretty much the opposite of what I've just said. But they were also dissatisfied: I think perhaps Moss had to decide what kind of book she wanted to write and choose one approach or the other.
I've realised that I like my travel accounts to be personal. I've enjoyed books like "Me Myself and Prague" and "Almost French", when the author brings their own background into the story and presents the place that they are living in within the context of their own lives. And parts of "Names for the Sea" are like that, but then there are other chapters where Moss writes like a journalist determined to dispassionately present as many aspects of Icelandic culture and society as she can.
I really enjoyed reading about the differences in schooling, about her impressions of the landscape and the seasons, about what the supermarkets were like and the crazy local drivers and her interactions with her students. Most of the first half of the book is like this. I was less interested in lengthy explanations about the Icelandic economy or myths or beliefs in elves or wartime history. I realise that someone else may feel quite differently and in fact there's at least one review further down the page that says pretty much the opposite of what I've just said. But they were also dissatisfied: I think perhaps Moss had to decide what kind of book she wanted to write and choose one approach or the other.