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heida

a shepherd at the edge of the world

By: Steinunn Sigurdardóttir

"I'm not on my own because I've been sitting crying into a handkerchief or apron over a lack of interested men. I've been made every offer imaginable over the years. Men offer themselves, their sons . . . drunk fathers sometimes call me up and say things like: 'Do you need a farmhand?' 'I can lift the hay bales' 'I can repair your tractors'. . ."

Heida is a solitary farmer with a flock of 500 sheep in a remorseless area bordering Iceland's highlands. It's known as the End of the World. One of her nearest neighbors is Iceland's most notorious volcano, Katla, which has periodically driven away the inhabitants of Ljótarstaoir ever since people first started farming there in the twelfth century.

This portrait of Heida written with wit and humor by one of Iceland's most acclaimed novelists, Steinunn Siguroardóttir, tells a heroic tale of a charismatic young woman, who walked away from a career as a model to take over the family farm at the age of 23.

Divided into four seasons, Heida tells the story of a remarkable year, when Heida reluctantly went into politics to fight plans to raise a hydro-electric power station on her land. This book paints a unforgettable portrait of a remote life close to nature.