Greenhouse

Audur Ava Olafsdottir was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1958. She studied art history and art theory in Paris and is a lecturer in history of art at the University of Iceland and a director of the University of Iceland Art Collection. She has curated art exhibitions in Iceland and abroad, including the Venice Biennale, and written about art and art history in various media.Audur Ava is the author of three novels, a book of poetry, and a play. The first novel, Raised Earth, was published in Iceland in 1998. Rain in November was published to rave reviews in 2004 and received the City of Reykjavik Literary Award. The Greenhouse, published in 2007 and forthcoming in English from AmazonCrossing, won the DV Culture Award for literature and a women’s literary prize in Iceland and was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Award. Since The Greenhouse was published in France in the autumn of 2010 under the title of Rosa Candida, the book has attracted a great deal of coverage in the French media and received unanimously good reviews. In September 2010, it received the Prix de Page literary award as the best European novel of 2010. The Prix de Page award is determined by a group of 771 bookstores in France where the book was on the bestseller’s list for five consecutive months. The novel was also nominated for three other literary awards in France, including the prestigious Femina award. In January The Greenhouse was shortlisted for the Canadian 2011 Prix des libraires du Québec award. Audur Ava Olafsdottir published The Hymn of Glitter, a book of poetry, in 2010, and her first play will premiere at the National Theatre of Iceland in September 2011.Audur Ava Olafsdottir’s middle name, Ava, was adopted a few years ago as a tribute to the blind medieval French saint, Ava. Audur Ava Olafsdottir lives and works in Reykjavik.

2011 Winner of the Quebec Booksellers’ Prize (Canada)2010 Winner of the Prix de Page for Best European Novel of the Year (France)2007 Winner of the DV Culture Award (Iceland)Shortlisted for the Prix Femina (France)“One of the most unexpected and greatest discoveries of the year.” —Le Parisien“Excellent introduction to Icelandic fiction; funny.” —The New York Times“The Greenhouse is a rare book, full of beauty. After opening the book I was unable to put it down, entirely captivated by its enchanting style.” —Le Page“A revelation.” —Le Monde“[An] entertaining read.” —The Complete Review“At once wryly observant and sweetly comic, The Greenhouse is a meditation on such sweeping themes as sex, death, becoming a parent, manhood, and finding a place for oneself in the world which doesn’t once fall prey to cloying generalizations or cliché. Rather, through the eyes of twenty-two year old Arnljótur Thórir—or Lobbi, as his elderly father affectionately calls him—author Audur Ava Olafsdottir breathes a freshness and sincerity into her subject matter which is as charming as it is insightful.” —Three Percent