THE WOMAN AT 1000 DEGREES

'The hottest new book from Iceland is The Woman at 1000 Degrees... What a story it is.' Washington PostEighty-year old Herra Björnsson lies alone in her garage waiting to die. Oh she has two weeks left maybe three - she has booked her cremation appointment at a blistering 1000 degrees so it won't be long. But until then she has her cigarettes her laptop a World War II grenade and her memories to sustain her. One of the most original narrators in literary history Herra takes readers with her on a dazzling ride of a novel as she reflects - in a voice by turns darkly funny poignant and always always smart - on the mishaps tragedies and turns of luck that shaped her life. And with a bawdy uncompromising spirit she has survived it all. As hilarious as it is heartbreaking Hallgrímur Helgason tells the deeply moving story of a woman swept up by the forces of history.