By Kaylie Seed
Content Warning: graphic depictions of self-harm, suicide, gaslighting, emotional abuse, mental illness
Magma is Þóra (Thóra) Hjörleifsdóttir’s debut novel and is it ever an important read. Icelandic university student Lilja has fallen head over heels for a young man and quickly learns that love isn’t always as it seems. Lilja has allowed herself to fall for this unnamed man and along the path of her destruction, she weaves a story about deceit, pain, manipulation, love, hopelessness, and the desire to be wanted. Hjörleifsdóttir has written a piece of Icelandic literary fiction that is visceral, poetic, and dark.
The reader won’t get to know other characters as well as they will get to know Lilja and they won’t even find out her lover’s name. The reason is that this is Lilja’s story to tell and the name of her lover is moot in this instance. As Magma progresses the reader will witness Lilja’s undoing as she becomes destructive to everything in her life. Love is powerful and it can make us do some things that we may not normally do; throw in a manipulative partner and you’re bound to fall faster. Hjörleifsdóttir has created a real and raw character in Lilja, one who readers will likely be able to relate to on some level.
Hjörleifsdóttir has written and published a lot of poetry, so it’s no surprise that Magma was breathtakingly poetic in its prose. While Magma doesn’t follow the rules of a traditional novel, its short chapters are powerful, and the messages that Hjörleifsdottir is trying to get across to the reader are clear. The themes throughout Magma include abusive relationships, manipulative partners, forgetting our boundaries, the failings of the psychiatric system, and our primitive desire to be loved. While the style may not be for everyone, Magma is brilliantly written and those who love literary fiction and poetic prose will find this to be a quick and powerful read.
Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.