Nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize, Quake: A Novel is a haunting novel-in-translation about Saga, a woman who comes to on the pavement alongside a busy street to find that her three-year-old son is gone. She’s just had a grand mal seizure—the first in years—and cannot remember what she’s doing or where she’s going. As her memory begins to return, big chunks remain mysterious. Why is her husband no longer living with her? Whose funeral flowers are on her table? Why has her mother gone missing? Desperate to piece together the fragments of her life, her declining health and frayed relationships drag her backwards in time into long-suppressed family secrets.

Hailed as Auður Jónsdóttir's best-written novel so far, Quake is a shocking and revelatory exploration of the blurred lines between fact and fiction, reality and imagination, and where mother ends and child begins.

“The novel of the year.” —Morgunblaðið

“With each new book Jónsdóttir's style gets better and better, and [Quake] is probably her best-written novel so far. The text is literally lip-smackingly good, so that one wants to read some chapters over and over, out loud as well as to oneself.” —Fréttatíminn

“Put simply, Jónsdóttir's novel deserves every bit of the praise that has been heaped upon it.” —Hugrás

“A complex family drama as well as a mystery novel that thoroughly develops the theme of what it’s like to be unable to trust your own mind and body...A fusion of literary and plot-driven genres that is a thoroughly entertaining read and will appeal to a diverse readership.” —Bokmenntir.is

“An ingenious way of telling a family saga...Jónsdóttir is incredibly skillful at painting a complete picture of every single character...She has me totally captivated. I was completely absorbed by all of this.” —Kiljan, National TV

Quake, the film, directed by Tinna Hrafnsdóttir and produced by Ursus Parvus

Presented at the Finnish Film Affair's Nordic Selection and the Toronto International Film Festival

About the Author and Translator