Flight attendant Teddy gets into a little dispute with a passenger on her last flight at the end of a 35-year career. To regain composure she escapes to the lavatory, but just before she is ready to come out from there the plane loses altitude and she is thrown to the floor where she lies motionless, unable to do much of anything besides listening to the commotion and distress coming from the other side of the door.
Herewith begins the story of this woman’s life and all that hides behind the rigid definitions of her profession. Underneath the uniform and silk scarf, the sun-kissed complexion, the red nail polish and the costume jewelry is an astonishing story. It begins in the mid 20th century at a small farm at the edge of the Odadahraun lava field and gradually reaches into the country’s highlands. And from there out into space and eventually to the moon.
Sigrun Palsdottir is also the author of the novel Embroidery, the Icelandic Winner of The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) 2021. Embroidery is available in English translation.
• Nominated for the Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize 2021
FOUR STARS
“… Author Sigrun Palsdottir offers up pieces of puzzle from various angles, which, in the end, fall into a place to form an impressive whole. Boudoir is a realistic novel with a fantastical bent. The book’s compelling characterizations bring about a strong sense of sympathy, so strong in fact that this book is not one that fades quickly from memory, but rather lingers in the reader’s mind where its story continues to spur further reflection.”
RAGNHILDUR THRASTARDOTTIR, MORGUNBLADID DAILY
“Boudoir by Sigrun Palsdottir tells the story of a farmgirl born in mid 20th century. Theodóra (or Teddy as she is known) has an uncommon talent for mathematics. But at that time and place, the world of technology and science is a man’s world where women are not welcome. In the end, Teddy’s analytical mind allows her to turn the odds in her favor and she proves triumphant. Boudoir is a quiet story with a powerful subtext that speaks loudly to the reader’s sense of justice in the world.”
COMMENTS FROM JURY FOR THE ICELANDIC WOMEN‘S LITERATURE PRIZE
“Boudoir is a rather unusual story. We follow the character of Teddy, quite an exceptional girl and woman. Growing up on a remote farm, she finds herself in incredible adventures. Teddy has an encounter with an American astronaut trainee under unusual circumstances, lost out in the lava fields in the middle of the highlands, and becomes pregnant with his child. It is also soon discovered that she is a prodigy in mathematics.
The scene is reminiscent of the theme in the film Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon, in which a young man who works as a janitor at a university turns out to be a math genius. Teddy’s interest in flying gets an entire chapter to itself, but it also proves to be a thread throughout the book. She gets into all kinds of incredible situations in the air, and flight ends up being a big part of her life, but not in the way the reader might expect. The book is in this way quite captivating, and difficult to put down until you know how things are going to turn out.
… CONCLUSION: Sigrun is a terrific historian and clearly a great novelist. This is the work of an extremely talented mind, and almost equally in both capacities.”
ELIN HIRST, FRETTABLADID DAILY
