377. Independent People

Independent People
Halldór Laxness
1934
Around 550 pages

There is exactly one Icelandic novel on the List, and this is it. I know this, because I went to Iceland last year, and I get a bit, ahem, excited about selecting books for travel based on the location I'm visiting. So as I was shivering in my bed at night, listening to the windows rattle in the furious wind, I enjoyed reading about characters who were just as geographically unfortunate as I was. Not to offend any Icelandic readers out there, it's a beautiful country. I was just intensely uncomfortable the entire visit.

The main narrative revolves around Bjartur, who is married to Rosa. Bjartur is determined to be independent, and even refuses to add a stone to Gunnvor's cairn. Gunnvor is the ghost demon woman who roams the hills. I learned after I almost fell in a volcano that Iceland doesn't fuck around. He also changes the name of his farm from Winterhouses to Summerhouses. Oh, Bjartur. Life as an Icelandic farmer is about as easy as you'd expect. 

I loved getting a novel from a country you almost never hear from, aside from Bjork. I also love mythology, and demon ghost women. Of course, it is grueling reading the characters endure such hardship, and Bjartur is insufferable.

This feels emblematic of the Icelandic culture, which is self-reliant and makes the Starks look happy-go-lucky. 

 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The novel helped Halldór Laxness win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

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