Svava Jakobsdóttir 12 Women and Under a Volcano review and information about the book with stories by the writer from Iceland. Open Letter Books will publish the English translation of 12 konur and Undir eldfjalli by the Icelandic author Svava Jakobsdóttir, October 6, 2026. Here you can read information about the content of the book, the author and the publication.

Svava Jakobsdóttir 12 Women and Under a Volcano reviews and information

Whenever a review of 12 Women + Under a Volcano book with stories, written by Svava Jakobsdóttir, the writer from Iceland, appears in the media, we’ll highlight it on this page.

• “Svava Jakobsdóttir´s original and compelling stories are simple on the surface but uniquely subtle and powerful in their critical irony, taking the accepted and normal and turning it on its head in unexpected ways. Necessary to understand not only Iceland but the entire 20th century and beyond, not least from a woman´s point of view.” (Katrin Jakobsdóttir)
• “Mixing Norse mythology with surreal storytelling, this compelling narrative chronicles the relationship between a mother seeking justice and her seemingly insane daughter. A leading author in Icelandic literature, Jakobsdóttir’s psychological novel draws readers into the world of suspenseful realism.” (World Literature Today)

12 Women + Under a Volcano

• Author: Svava Jakobsdóttir (Iceland)
• Book type: stories from Iceland
• Original: 12 konur (1965), Undir eldfjalli (1989)
• English translation: Esja Alyssa Matich
• Publisher: Open Letter Books
• To be released: October 6, 2026
• Length: 186 pages
• Format: peperback / ebook
• Prize: € 16,95
• Buying Options >

Blurb of the book with stories by the Islandic author Svava Jakobsdóttir

Few Icelandic authors have mastered the concise art form of the short story as well as Svava Jakobsdóttir. Her stories provide a powerful insight into Icelandic reality and strangeness, while simultaneously reflecting the multifaceted experience and complex relationship between the individual and society. They highlight the vulnerability and loneliness of humanity and are filled with existential peril as well as a unique beauty.

In 12 Women (1965) & Under a Volcano (1989), Svava Jakobsdóttir showcases her iconic feminism and near-mythological voice, beginning with the sparse, classical nature of her earliest work to the more folkloric later pieces. Svava uses her spare prose and incisive observations to interrogate the mundane, probing the relationship between daily life and the sacred elements of being. In these stories, a mother succors her children in a series of gruesome sacrifices, a brother loses himself to the wiles of a mysterious entity, and the disembodied voice of the wind itself guides a young girl as she enters diaspora in a new country.

With an ephemeral undercurrent of folklore and myth, this collection captures the impermanence of experience and examines the many faces of the phases of life, from childhood to old age. Sleek, meditative, and bold, 12 Women & Under a Volcano celebrates Svava Jakobsdóttir’s talent for observation, her gentle wit, and her powerful insight.

Svava Jakobsdóttir (was born October 4, 1930 in Neskaupstað, Iceland. She was a groundbreaking author in Iceland at a time when the island was a nation in flux. She published, among others, ten collections of short stories that often depict the lives of women, and which hold a special place in Icelandic literature and women’s history. In addition to being acclaimed as a playwright, literary scholar, and novelist, Jakobsdóttir was also a leading figure in the campaign for women’s rights, a vocal Member of Parliament, and a delegate to the United Nations. Her transformative work as both a politician, activist, and writer continues to wield a great deal of influence in Icelandic culture. She died February 24, 2004 in Reykjavík, at the age of 73.

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