Karitas Untitled
Karitas Untitled is a newly translated Icelandic novel peopled with unique, quirky, and well-defined characters. With the talent of a true artist, the author paints stunning descriptions: “The rain holds the house in its embrace, the windowpanes weep.” This is a novel about Icelandic life in the early 20th century; it is about family within a closely-knit village, country life, and delightful characters; and most importantly it is about Karitas—her choices and her journey to define herself within conflicting desires and responsibilities.
Karitas is a young girl living in the Westfjords with her mother, Steinunn, and five older siblings after their father is lost at sea. The book opens in 1915 with a comical introduction of the family’s maid who is prone to losing her wits. When the mother announces a move to a city where her children can be educated, the neighbors decide she is the mad one, not the maid. Steinunn’s brave move shows her as a forward-thinking and deeply devoted mother doing something unheard of. When their economic situation becomes dire, Karitas, too young to attend school, is clever at bartering with shop keepers to acquire the family needs, making deals for her family to fulfil. When the privileged Madam Eugenia offers to teach her drawing, her artistic talent comes to light.
We follow Karitas over 24 years until the start of WWII—her childhood, art training in Copenhagen, her marriage to Segmar, birth of her children, and growth and setbacks as a woman. Titles of Karitas’s artwork comprise the chapter subtitles. The book’s early chapters are subtitled ‘Untitled’ (a motif linked to the book’s title), then as her art develops, Karitas begins to assign a descriptive title to her pieces. These subtitles are mirrored in Karitas as she matures and defines herself. This is a rich novel that readers who enjoy international literature will appreciate.
