Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A tale of life with sheep, 1 Dec 2002
This is probably my favorite book of all time, even though I have only managed to read it once. I was assigned to read this book for an Icelandic literature course when I was living in Reykjavik for the year. Every time I went to read it, I had to brace myself to withstand the onslaught, but when you are reading it, time passes quickly, and you can lose yourself in the words. It is only when you put the book down and have to think about what you have just read that the full scope of Bjartur of Summerhouses' life hits you. The detail that is contained in these pages makes for a depressing catalogue of deprivation.The story contained here revolves around sheep, and the determination of Bjartur to accept no help, aid or loan. Bjartur manages to raise the money necessary to buy a piece of land and a flock of sheep. No-one has wanted this land, because it once belonged to a witch, and she still curses the land. (This may be difficult for the average person to accept who has not been in Iceland, but a more desolate and wind-scoured landlacape does not exist. When you are there, you can easily accept trolls, elf-mounds and witches.) Bjartur buys his land and marries a girl who has worked at the nearby prosperous farm, where he worked as well. She is already pregnant with the son of that family's child, and this starts the long and depressing marriage of Bjartur. As the book continues, you can feel the great difference in their lives that a single cow makes, the prosperity that comes with world war one, and the return of poverty after the war. The rest of the world seems to move on, without touching the cold interior of Iceland. I love this book, but warn anyone who goes to pick it up, that this book demands involvement, and it is NOT a piece of light reading.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic literature, historical and social satire., 8 Jul 2003
This novel acquaints the reader with the harshness of life in Icelandic farming communities, that persisted until quite recently. Much of the tragedy of the story is clear. Bjartur's stubborness and obsessive self-sufficiency cause terrible damage to his family and all who come in contact with him. But it becomes apparent that such qualities aid survival in the harsh conditions, for when he finally takes a more generous attitude, it leads to his downfall.
It is less obvious to the non-Icelander that this is actually a tragic comedy. Icelanders like black jokes. It incorporates a deeply satirical commentary on Icelandic history and social condition, and Icelandic speakers tell me that it is full of Icelandic "in-jokes". So perhaps we should compare this to Flann O'Brien's "The Poor Mouth".
One simple example of the difficulties we foreigners have. We might consider Bjartur's initial refusal to buy a cow a little miserly; in fact it is shocking. At the time, the Icelandic population obtained about 50% of their meagre calorific intake from dairy products, so he is condemning his family to malnutrition.
Icelanders have also told me that it is linguistically very rich, and Laxness was inclined to make up his own words and constructions, making it a tough read even for the locals.
Though it is unfashionable to say so, I find the translation rather annoying; the translator is attempting to give the reader a hint of the writer's style, but for me it comes out as a parody of Thomas Hardy. Magnusson's translations of Laxness's other books are less obtrusive.
To obtain full value from this extraordinary work, I would suggest that the reader invest the effort to read two other books first. One is Laxness's "The Fish Can Sing". It is shorter, lighter and more obviously funny, and the translation is less distracting, providing a gentle introduction to this work. The other is "Iceland's 1100 years" by Gunnar Karlsson, a very readable history of this extraordinary and unique country, from which the reader might obtain a feel for the some of the social commentary. And of course, go there!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The book of my life, 3 Dec 2006
There are no sufficient words to describe my love for this book. It is without a doubt the greatest novel I have ever read, and I continue to savour every re-read, gaining a little more understanding and a little more devotion to it each time. I won't describe the plot, since it has been done before. I will stress the beauty of the writing, which is overwhelming at times. It is not a roller coaster of a book, it is a long, slow journey into the 'labyrinth of the human soul'. Melancholic, but often hilarious, it is impossible to describe to someone who has not read the book the way it feels. All I can do is sincerely reccomend that you read it and discover for yourself. I do not guarantee that you will love it, but from reading the reviews on here, it seems the majority of people are touched as I was. This book may very well change your life. It is a travesty that it is so little known.
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