Hello Gentle Reader
Iceland is one of the most diverse countries, environmentally wise. It is a country of ice and of fire. Glaciers, ice fields, volcanoes, and geysers, as well as lava fields – and of course the famous hot springs; speckle this amazing country. Geothermal power is the main resource, of power and electricity. Yet this country is known as a brutal place. It is a place known for its barren and bleak winter – where Norse Viking settlers called home. Iceland has a rich and deep history; as well as some of the greatest works of ancient literature in the world. The Icelandic Saga’s are famous, for their continual relevance in contemporary Iceland; and how well preserved they have become over the years. Iceland has one Nobel Laureate in Literature to its name Halldór Laxness. Yet one of the most interesting facts of Iceland is that it has retained its ancient and archaic language throughout the years. It is said to be one of the most difficult languages to learn in the world. Still hearing an Icelandic person speak in English their accent sounds truly, beautiful. Rough like a stone covered in frost; and it has a certain musical beauty in the quality. That and it seems when Icelandic people speak English they choose their words with utmost care, to provide the greatest weight to what it is they are saying. This may come from the fact that ninety-three percent of country of Iceland, read at least one book a year; while forty percent read more than five a year. Even though less than half a million people reportedly live on the island country, an approximate annual 2.5 million books are sold within a year. Even with the financial struggles, book sales did not plummet. One of the most culturally interesting events is that, since the nineteen-fifties, it has become a tradition to exchange books at Christmas. Today an Icelandic person will find at least one book under their tree. This event is called “The Book Flood before Christmas.” Another interesting fact about Iceland is that their love of reading and writing has exploded in the dawn of the internet. Almost every Icelander has a blog. I have also read that the average Icelander will publish at least one book in their life time. Iceland also publishes five books for every thousand Icelander. Literacy and literature is something that Iceland celebrates.
Sigurjón Birgir Sigurdsson also known as: Sjon; is an Icelandic poet, lyricist and novelist. Sjon himself considers himself to be a novelist who occasionally dabbles in poetry. Yet with his fiction, it can be seen that Sjon, takes elements of poetry and places them in prose concepts. Often creating intensely lyrical and poetic imagery:
“In the halls of heaven it was not dark enough for the Aura Borealis sisters to begin their lively dance of veils. With enchanting play of colours they flitted light and quick about the great stage of the heavens, in fluttering golden dresses, their tumbling pearl necklaces scattering here and there in their wild caperings. This spectacle is at its brightest shortly after sunset.”
[ . . . ]
“Then the curtain falls; night takes over.”
One maybe more acquainted with Sjon more than they realize. Sjon has co-written Icelandic singer Björk’s lyrics. These include songs like “Virus,” “Bachelorette,” “Jóga,” and “Wanderlust,” among others. Sjon was nominated for an Academy Award with Lars Von Trier, for the song “I’ve Seen It All,” – from the film “Dancer in The Dark.” Yet coming to Sjon’s fiction is a better acquaintance to the author and writer, and his own talents. Sjon’s poetry is known for being surrealistic or fantastic (as in fantasy) that often places a high demand on the reader. His poems have been compared to dark, twisted fantastical forests. The words appear unrelated, and not truly sure of their own place within in the poem – often appearing to act in a random order. Yet the persistent reader and patient reader will come to see the pulsating nature of each line, as well as the humours possibilities of these unrelated images. One of the most interesting aspects of Sjon is that his first book of poetry was published when he was sixteen years old.
The prose of this small but epic novel is something quite interesting. The first section is, best compared to flashes of brilliant poetic fiction. They’re quick vignettes. At times only a sentence long. This first section depicts in a few days’ time, a hunters quest to kill a blue fox:
“There was a daughter of Reynard on the move.”
This line struck me, because of its allusion to the trickster figure Reynard the red fox. It’s a great summarization and comparison of the blue vixen on the run from the hunter.
The first part of this novel was rather difficult. I am not a hunter. I don’t like the idea of killing an animal for sport – as is why someone fox hunts in my opinion. Trophy hunting is not a sport. To kill or be more correct; to hunt for survival and or food it is different; but to kill for a pelt, or a head – a trophy; it is not something that on a personal basis that I agree with. Yet Sjon takes this hunter on a transformative quest. Yet getting over the hunting aspect of the first part of this novel, one begins to see some of the most surrealist imagery that is often compared to the fantastical; and has earned this slim novel, comparisons to a fable:
“He praised the Snow Queen and Jack Frost for the shelter they had given him on this fair path of ground; from this vantage point he sees far and wide over the white frozen waste.”
The second part of this novel is about the herbalist Fridrick, and his charge Abba. Which one begins to sense a bit of modernity and contemporary, reality within this novel – from the twisted time frame; to the sense that there is something that appears to transcend the time frame in which Sjon presents to the reader. Yet Fridrik and Abba’s story is a lot different than, the first part. The second part of this novel opens with the following description:
“The streams trickle under their glazing of ice, dreaming of spring, when they’ll swell to a life threatening force. Smoke curls up from the mounds of snow here and there on the mountainside—these are their homes [. . .]
“Everything here is a uniform blue, apart from the glitter of the tops. It is winter in the Dale.”
This subdued cinematic imagery of this place – “the Dale,” – what came to mind, was Tolkien’s Hobbits. Of course the exception is, the people have burrowed in snow, stone and mountain, surrounded by ice and a bleakly cruel landscape. Whereas Tolkien’s little Hobbits, live in hills and meadows, within soft earthen wombs, surrounded by green pastures and flowers. Yet still the image of smoke bellowing out of the mountains, from chimney’s invaded by snow, brought to mind a village of frost bitten trolls.
Yet Fridrik and Abba’s story is moving. This is when one comes to understand exactly what time period we are stuck in; and only have since began to come to terms with specialised care for the people who suffer from the affliction that Abba herself suffers from. Abba suffers from Down Syndrome. She survived the midwifery obligation to kill the child, before it can wail. Yet one begins to wonder, if letting the child to survive was the worst possible thing that the parents could have done. For Abba’s life has been less than kind. She was found shackled on an abandoned ship. There she was held captive in an outhouse; where Fridrik finds her. There his own humanity is awakened. Fridrik himself had been living Denmark, studying at the University of Copenhagen; the plan to be a pharmacist; and eating lotuses. He only returned to Iceland to tend to his parents estate after their deaths. After the discovery of Abba; Fridrik, takes her on as his charge.
The last quarter of the novel is than a beautiful tying in of these aspects of the novel. It doesn’t feel neatly finished though. It comes down to a realization. Each one is bound to each other. From an act of inhumanity; to an act of kindness – all three of them share a bond that ties them together – that creates something of a legend but also a fairy tale. There is no doubt or wonder in my mind why Sjon won The Nordic Council Prize for this novel, back in two-thousand and five. It’s slim, but powerful. With opaque imagery, that flows like melted water, and then crystalizes in a sudden flash freeze; creates opaque imagery that combines poetry and prose, to create an epic novel in just over a hundred pages long. This novel is strong, and it’s pulled along by its language, but also by it is sense of mystery and fairy tale like qualities. It is one of those books that one would have to read and re-read over and over again, to understand and gain a better comprehension of the novel. One cannot review the highly atmospheric, feel of this title. Of the glacier land in which all the characters inhabit. Yet it is something of a truly amazing piece of work. With sparse, plot and an understanding of words, Sjon has created a masterpiece. Where some writers would take six hundred to eight hundred to a thousand pages, to make the point clear, Sjon allows the point to hover throughout the text, adding mystery and delight throughout. Re-reading this book, I think the reader, will see the tracks in the snow they left the first time; and will come back and take continual different routes, in an ever expansive odyssey to understand the novel, and how it is able to succeed.
Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
*And Remember: Downloading Books Illegally is Thievery and Wrong.*
M. Mary
P.S. Gentle Reader, Happy Halloween!
