Seal Woman

Travel Guide

Iceland

The sections of the novel about art and painting were  an insight into the art world of Iceland! We were also taken with the wildflowers that grew in Iceland and learned a lot about the flora and fauna of the landscape which really gave the novel a nice touch. The rugged, moss covered landscape and the flowers are lovely and are beautifully evoked.

The native lore of the country is woven into the novel – the Seal woman of the title derives from Icelandic legends revolving around a seal, or selkie, who transforms herself into human form. While human, the seal woman falls in love, marries and has human children, but she must at some point return to her seal form to rejoin her pups in the ocean. Such a decision is a very difficult one to make for a woman.

Germany

The contrasts between Germany and Iceland were quite something and a particularly enjoyable part of the novel. The scenes set in Germany before the Nazis took full power were particularly interesting and moving.

Memorable scenes aplenty here too such as the line ‘Bulging sheep eyes watched from both sides of the road’

For a visit and for more atmosphere we found a ghost story called The Deacon of  Dark River which tells the tells of a ghost in Hörgárdalur valley in North-Iceland. It certainly adds to rural ghostly happenings