Secretaries to the Spirits
One day, Eyja wakes up in a fishing village in the west of the country, newly-wed to a man who is twenty years older than her. They live in a red area, just a few steps from the rubble where, not long ago, an avalanche claimed nineteen lives.
A long time later, Eyja writes again from the same place to try to understand the past, the fiction of life, her family and the meaning of being a poet, but first and foremost, all the stories that life gives us and that we must not forget.
Secretaries to the Spirits won the Fjöru Award 2012 in the category of fiction.
The characters are written with a deep human understanding and are especially fascinating for all their advantages and disadvantages. There are some beautiful insights in this book., about time and generations and what matters in life. Besides this, she's hilarious and funny. … I'm really speechless over this complicated, beautiful and funny story.
Þórunn Hrefna Sigurjónsdóttir, Fréttablaðið
Magnificent family story… Auður's narrative style is particularly effortless and so magnificent and graphic that in a few words the reader sees the storyline vividly… I look forward to reading the next book.
Viktoría Hermannsdóttir, DV
Fun to read, full of warmth and humour. The women in the story are particularly memorable characters, strong and expressive. Among the best novels of the year.
Kolbrún Bergþórsdóttir, Morgunblaðið
Auður is a great humorist – this is a very funny book in parts, it is also ironic and it is extremely lyrical… This is Auður's most mature work and probably the highlight of her writing career so far.
Fríða Björk Ingvarsdóttir, Kiljan
This is a really fun book about a lot of fun people.
Egill Helgason, Kiljan