Reading in Reykjavík

This is a "crimes of the past revisited" story, something Arnaldur has done before in several of his other books (e.g. Silence of the Grave , The Draining Lake and Strange Shores ). Told in chapters alternating between 1944 and the modern day, it tells the story of how the murder of an old man sets a retired police detective on the trail of another, unsolved, murder that happened during WW2 in Reykjavík. This is not a detective Erlendur story and does not feature either of his two closest collaborators on the police force but instead introduces a new character, a recently retired detective named Konráð. I don't know if the English title given for this book in the Wikipedia entry on Arnaldur and elsewhere on the web (except that literature.is gets it (almost) right), is the one that will be used for the eventual translation, but to me it looks suspiciously like a Google Translate blooper. Skuggasund actually means "Shadow Alley " and is the name of a stre...

Since its almost Halloween, I decided to post a ghost story. This is one of the most chilling and tragic ghost stories found in the Icelandic folk-tales, and almost everyone knows it. The folk-group Islandica has recorded the ghost’s poem under a haunting melody, sung by a little girl, that chills me to the bone every time I hear it. I have incorporated it into the story. I think I mentioned it in the introduction to last’year’s Halloween ghost story, but will repeat it anyway, that verses that were supposedly spoken by ghosts in Icelandic folk-tales usually have repeated words and/or lines in them, which are the mark of a ghost. Once upon a time there was a young woman worker on a farm. She had gotten pregnant and given birth to a baby and to avoid punishment she had left it out to die of exposure. This was not uncommon in those days, as the law concerning babies born out of wedlock was very harsh. An unmarried woman who got pregnant risked heavy fines at best (if she had powerful...

It was announced yesterday at the Frankfurt Book Fair that AmazonCrossing, Amazon.com's publication imprint for translated foreign books, would be publishing 10 books by 6 Icelandic authors in 2012. This is good news for the authors, as it is very difficult for authors to break into the American market if they don't write in English. (only about 3% of all books published in the USA are translations). Listed below are the 6 authors, and the 5 titles I could find: Hallgrímur Helgason: The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning (in Icelandic: 10 ráð til að hætta að drepa fólk og byrja að vaska upp ). Hallgrímur wrote 101 Reykjavik . This book is no less funny and sarcastic in tone and it is also a thriller. Audur Ava Olafsdottir: The Greenhouse (in Icelandic: Afleggjarinn ). No idea what this one is about. Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson: The Flatey Enigma (in Icelandic: Flateyjargáta ). A double mystery. Vilborg Davidsdottir: Galdur (same title also in Icelandic). Historical nove...

Icelandic title: Sendiherrann, ljóð í óbundnu máli German title: Der Botschafter (2009) Danish title: Ambassadøren (2008) Genre: Literary fiction Year of publication: 2006 Setting & time: Iceland Lithuania; contemporary Bragi Ólafsson is an Icelandic poet, playwright and novelist (and former member of the band The Sugarcubes ). This novel was nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize and the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 2006. It was published in English in 2010. The novel tells the story of Sturla Jón Jónsson, a middle-aged Icelandic poet who has just published what he intends to be his last book of poems. He is on his way to a poetry festival in Lithuania when the story begins. Once he is there trouble starts piling up, starting with a man back home in Iceland who accuses him of plagiarism and escalating from there. This novel is full of very subtle humour and observations of Icelandic society and Icelanders, and specifically of what it‘s like to be a...

Icelandic title: Brekkukotsannáll (Literally “Annals of Brekkukot”)   Genre : Literary fiction, historical Year of publication : 1957 Setting & time : Reykjavik area, Iceland; beginning of the 20th century. This novel by Iceland's only Nobel prize-winner, the first he published after winning the prize, boasts what is the most memorable opening sentence I have ever read in a novel: "A wise man once said that next to losing its mother, there is nothing more healthy for a child than to lose its father." Álfgrímur (the narrator of the story) is a young boy abandoned by his mother and raised by his foster-grandparents at Brekkukot, a small house in what is now nearly the center of Reykjavik but was, at the time of the story, one of a small cluster of buildings separate from the commercial and administrative center of town. The house is a haven for people who are down on their luck and acts as a sort of social center for the community and a counterpoint for the ...

Genre : Lad-lit Year of publication : 1996 Setting & time : Reykjavík, Iceland; contemporary German and English title : 101 Reykjavik Gex-X slacker Hlynur spends his days moping around, watching porn, chatting on the Internet, bar-hopping and spending his unemployment benefits on booze and Ecstasy, all the while enjoying living in what we Icelanders call “Hotel Mom”. Two unexpected pregnancies precipitate an existential crisis, but in the end he manages to overcome it. This is a not-so-subtle twist on the classic coming-of-age storyline, except the character doesn’t grow and doesn’t learn anything and just stays the same. The language is creative and verbose, sometime overwhelmingly so. For example, the Icelandic version has one sentence that is over four pages long (can anyone confirm that this structure has been kept in the English and/or German versions?). There has been some mention of the language in the English translation coming across as stilted and unnatural at tim...

The Icelandic book I read this month and had planned to review for the challenge was Eftirmáli Regndropanna by Einar Már Guðmundsson, but as it turns out, it doesn’t seem to have been translated into German (I was convinced it had been, but I can’t confirm it). As it is too late in the month to find another book to review, I am instead reviewing another book by Einar that I read several years ago: Englar Alheimsins , which was translated into English as Angels of the Universe (by the late, brilliant Bernard Scudder and published in 1995 and again in 1997) and into German as Engel des Universums (by Angelika Gundlach and published in 1998). It is his best known and most popular book to date, and has been included on the literature curriculum in Icelandic schools. It earned the author the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1995. The story has been filmed (the author writing the script) and I can recommend the film, although not for people who only enjoy happy endings. The ...

Originally published in November 2004, in 2 parts. Book 40 in my first 52 books challenge. Author: Unknown Year published: this edition: 1985; original: 14th century Pages: 141 Genre: Saga, medieval literature Where got: Present from my parents Today we Icelanders celebrate the Day of the Icelandic Language, and therefore I decided to read something in my native language for a change, and what is more Icelandic than a Saga? I chose The Saga of Grettir the Strong because I have special ties to it, having lived in Skagafjörður and visited Drangey, the island where Grettir spent the last years of his life. The version I am reading is from a controversial modernised spelling edition of the Sagas. This Saga is available in English for reading online: Saga of Grettir Click here to visit my Drangey page . It contains a short summary of the Saga of Grettir, along with a couple of legends about the island. The Story: The life story of one of the greatest warriors in Icelandic history. He ...

I just came back from an information lecture on Iceland's role as guest of honour at the 2011 book-fair in Frankfurt, where I became aware of a fabulous new website about Icelandic literature, art and culture. It will play an active role in promoting Iceland and especially Icelandic literature in the months leading up to the fair. The website is in three languages: Icelandic, German and English, and they are adding new material all the time. There is a newsletter you can subscribe to for free, and each month they introduce a new Icelandic author, a reader of the month, and a video. Do visit this gorgeous and very informative website (the biggest website about Icelandic literature on the web). The link will take you to the English version of the website. In connection with this event, I am planning to read and review at least one Icelandic book every month until the fair, choosing books that have been translated into English and German, starting in November. I am calling this t...

Since this book has yet to be published in English, I have no way of confirming if Veins of Ice is the title it will be published under, but I found it on a reliable site on Icelandic literature. The Icelandic title is Auðnin (The Wasteland). Here is a little teaser for the book, translated by myself: They walked out of the shop, but Þóra stopped suddenly in the doorway when a familiar voice was heard from the direction of the security gate. "If I can take one lighter aboard, why can't I take two?" thundered Bella. "What can I possibly do with two lighters that I can't do with one?" Þóra turned back into the shop and headed in the direction of the strong liquor shelves. Those who have read the previous books in the series will know that Bella is Þóra's secretary and the bane of her existence: a rude, crude young woman foisted upon her and her law partner by their landlord. In this scene, taken from early in the book, Þóra and Matthew are heading to Gre...

Book 15 in my first 52 books challenge. Originally published in 3 parts in May 2004. Entry 1: Author: Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir Year published: 2002 Where got: public library Genre: Food, recipes, social history Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir is at the moment Iceland's most famous cookery book author who is not a chef. Her previous two cookery tomes, Matarást (Love of Food) and Matreiðslubók Nönnu (Nanna's Cookbook) are veritable food bibles. The first is an encyclopedia of food, ingredients, cookery methods, kitchen science, cookery terms, food history etc. etc., and the second is a collection of over 3000 recipes from all over the world. Both are unfortunately only available in Icelandic. Icelandic Food and Cookery is Nanna's first cookery book written in English (to my knowledge). It focuses on food that may be called Icelandic, both traditional and modern. This book is of special interest to me because what Nanna is doing with this book is exactly what I have been doing wit...

Arnaldur Indriðason's book The Draining Lake ( Kleifarvatn in Icelandic) has been shortlisted for the 2009 Macavity award , in the category for "Best Mystery Novel". See my review of the book. The Macavity Award is awarded annually in several categories, by Mystery Readers International, a large mystery fan organisation. (Found through Petrona )

This book is due to be published in Britain and the USA in April. Original Icelandic title: Sér grefur gröf Genre: Murder mystery Year of publication: 2006 No. in series: 2 Series detective: Þóra Guðmundsdóttir Type of investigator: Lawyer Setting & time: Snæfellsnes, Iceland; contemporary Story: Þóra’s client, a hotel owner in Snæfellsnes (south-western Iceland), wants to sue the people who sold him the land for the hotel on the basis of the place being haunted. This would not be a problem if the hotel were an ordinary one, but it is a new age health spa and some of the staff claim to be sensitive to that sort of thing, the owner included. Þóra goes up there to investigate and prepare the lawsuit (or rather to dissuade the client to go on with it), but arrives in the middle of a murder investigation. The architect who designed the hotel has been brutally murdered, and when a second person connected with the hotel is murdered as well, Þóra’s client is arrested on suspicion ...

Icelandic title: Þriðja táknið (literally: The Third Symbol ) Genre: Mystery Year of publication: 2005 No. in series: 1 Series detective: Þóra Guðmundsdóttir Type of investigator: Lawyer Setting & time: Reykjavík (mostly), Iceland; contemporary Story: Icelandic Lawyer Þóra (Thora in English) is hired by the parents of a German history student who was found murdered in the offices of the history department of the University of Iceland. They want her to help Matthew, an investigator they have sent over from Germany, to find out why their son was murdered and why his body was mutilated. Since they are not convinced that the suspect the police have arrested is guilty, they also want Þóra and Matthew to find the real killer. The victim had been researching and comparing the history of witch hunts in Germany and Iceland and was the leader of a clique that practiced magic rituals. The mutilation of his body is connected to a magic spell found in an old grimoire, so it would seem l...

I wasn’t sure if I should post this review right away, considering that the book will probably not be published in English until 2010, but then I though “why not?” It just means the review will be there for those who want to know something about the book beforehand. Unfortunately I do not have an English title for it, but I will post it once I know what it will be. Added April 7, 2011: The English title is Outrage , and it is due out in June of this year. Genre: Police procedural Year of publication: 2008 No. in series: 9 Series detective: Detective Erlendur Sveinsson and colleagues, of the Reykjavík detective force Type of investigator: Police Setting & time: Reykjavík, Iceland; contemporary Story: Erlendur, the leading investigator in the previous books, is away on vacation, and the detective in this book is his colleague Elínborg. She is called in on a murder case involving a young man found with his throat cut and some Rohypnol tablets in his pocket. Was the ...

This is one of the Icelandic challenge books. It has been translated already into German, French and Danish, and I read somewhere that it is being translated into English, which is why I am reviewing it here. What the English title will be remains to be seen, but the Icelandic title translates as Season of the Witch , taking its name from the song by Donovan, which has a bearing on the plot. Genre: Mystery Year of publication: 2005 No. in series: 4 Series detective: Einar the journalist (I didn't see a last name - perhaps it's revealed in the earlier books) Type of investigator: Investigative reporter Setting & time: Northern Iceland, mostly Akureyri, contemporary. Story: A woman falls overboard during a rafting trip in Skagafjörður, hits her head on a rock and later dies without having gained consciousness. Her mother contacts Einar and tells him she was murdered. Einar finds this hard to believe but starts investigating anyway, more as as sop to the old lady, whom h...

The English title of this book will be Hypothermia . According to Amazon UK it will be published in Britain in September. The Icelandic title is the name of a mountain in the area where Erlendur is supposed to have grown up, meaning something like “a bare and sharp-edged mountain”. It has a bearing on events from Erlendur’s past that have been mentioned in previous books. Interestingly (at least from a linguistic viewpoint) another meaning of harðskafi is close to the meaning of the English word hardscrabble , and I am sure it is no coincidence that the two words sound similar. Genre: Mystery, police procedural Year of publication: 2007 No. in series: 8 Series detective: Detective Erlendur Sveinsson Setting & time: Reykjavík and Þingvellir, Iceland; contemporary Story: A woman discovers her friend’s body hanging from a beam in a summer house by lake Þingvallavatn. She seems to have killed herself, but the friend is convinced she would never have done that. This is enough for ...

Now that my mission to discover 52 new mystery authors is completed, I have decided on a new challenge revolving around the number 52: I am going to read one Icelandic book (on average) per week for the next year. I feel I have been neglecting my native literature lately, and I plan to rectify that. There will only be reviews when I know a challenge book has been translated into English. I will start counting from the first complete week of 2009, i.e. next week. The challenge books I do review will be tagged as "52 Icelandic books".

The film Mýrin (The Mire)is based on the book of the same title by Icelandic crime writer Arnaldur Indriðason. It was published in English as Jar City (also as Tainted Blood ). I read the book a couple of years ago but never got round to reviewing it. Here is a link to Maxine's review: Jar City review . The story begins with the discovery of the body of a murdered man in a basement apartment in a neighbourhood known as Norðurmýri, The North Mire , so-called because that is what was there before the houses were built. He turns out to have been a vicious thug and the investigation soon leads the police to start trying to find the victims of crimes he committed years before and which may explain why he was murdered. They also decide to re-open the investigation into the disappearance of one of his cronies many years before, an investigation that was closed with what Erlendur, the leading investigator, thinks is suspicious haste. The movie was directed by Baltasar Kormákur who is pr...

Title in translation: Arctic Chill Series detective: Erlendur Sveinsson and co. No. in series: 7 Year of publication: 2005 Type of mystery: Murder, police procedural Type of investigator: Police Setting & time: Reykjavík, 2005 Number of murders: 1 Some themes: Immigrants, racism, child abuse, missing persons Story: On a frosty January morning a young boy, half Thai, half Icelandic, is found stabbed to death outside the building where he lived. Most people assume that the crime was racially motivated, but Erlendur is not so sure. He and his team patiently sift through evidence and question suspects, and other cases intrude. When the murder weapon is finally found it leads the investigators down a disturbing path. Review: When I reviewed the last book I mentioned that the reiterations of the police officers' personal lives and problems was getting boring. Fortunately it is not so in this story. Arnaldur only uses very brief summaries to ensure new readers know what...