About this title: A novel by an Icelandic Nobel Prizewinner, about a sheep farmer who wants only to be an independent man. When his daughter expresses her own needs for independence, the battle of wills that results is both harsh and poignant. Brad Leithauser writes in his introduction: "I finished its last chapters one late afternoon in Rome, seated in an all-but-deserted café....I read as though furtively, hunched over the pages. I did this for two reasons. The light had turned dim. And I didn't want anyone to notice I was steadily weeping."
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1997-01-14
ISBN-13:9780679767923ISBN:0679767924
Description: Good. Binding is tight and square. No names or remainder marks. Text is clean and bright. Light edge or corner wear. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend PRIORITY mail for even faster delivery! read more
Edition: Book Club (BCE/BOMC)
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: KNOPF
Date Published: 1946
Description: Good. No Jacket. FICTION. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. NAVY BLUE BOARDS. NO DUST JACKET. 470 PAGES. TRANSLATED FROM THE ICELANDIC BY J.A. THOMPSON. THE LIFE STORY, ANCIENT, MAJESTIC, FOREVER NEW, OF THE STRONG CREATIVE MAN WHO GLORIES IN HIS DEPENDENCE ON CHOSEN ACRES OF THE FRUITFUL EARTH. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9781860467769ISBN:1860467768
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Knopf
Date Published: 1946
ISBN-13:9780679767923ISBN:0679767924
Description: Fair. Save some $$$. Perfectly Good Reading Copy. Collectible 1946 Knopf hardcover printing. No dustjacket. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage Books
Date Published: 1997-02-01
ISBN-13:9780679767923ISBN:0679767924
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780679767923. read more
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: Reprint
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage Books, New City, N.Y.
Date Published: 1997
Description: Very Good+++ No Jacket, as Issued. Soft Cover Edition. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. This book was the 1955 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. " At last this funny, clever, sardonic and brilliant book is back in print. " There is a crease on the front cover else, very good +++. read more
Description: Good. B000GP2Q9W no dust jacket, some cover wear otherwise very good condition, writing on book spine unreadable ** INTL BUYER-additional postage may be required. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: VINTAGE Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780099527121ISBN:009952712X
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 544 pages. Bjartus is a sheep farmer. after 18 years of servitude to a master he despises, all he wants is to raise his flocks unbeholden to anyone. nothing, not inclement weather, not his family will come between him and his goal of financial independence. only asta solillja, the child he brings up as his daughter, can pierce his stubborn heart. (Paperback) read more
Edition: First Edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: KNOPF., NY
Date Published: 1946
Description: First American Edition. Close to fine in a Nf. dj. (A few faint spots at top edge. Couple short edge tears in dj. Spine on dj. lightly age toned) A choice copy of this Nobel Prize winning author's major novel. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 28/09/2001
ISBN-13:9781860467769ISBN:1860467768
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 28/09/2001
ISBN-13:9781860467769ISBN:1860467768
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
"I don't know much about Icelandic history, culture or society, but apparently it is a country infected with a strain of stupid "rugged individualism" similar to the strain we have in the United States. This novel is a mordant satire of this outlook on life, and it manages to be moving at points as well.
The protagonist, Bjartur of Summerhouses, reminds me of no one so much as Don Quixote. Granted, unlike Don Quixote he is a modern and rational figure when it comes to the superstitions that still afflict his remote corner of Iceland, but his outlook on life is shaped by the old sagas that he recites from memory and with admiration. And like Don Quixote's obsession with the previous heroes of his national literature, Bjartur's unrealistic and foolhardy attempts to emulate his heroes are a source of amusement for the reader but the cause of suffering for the people closest to him, and ultimately Bjartur himself. His quest for "independence" is an undesirable one from the start, and it comes as no surprise that he loses even that in the end."
"I'm reading this because my friend Steven loved it so much. I don't think I've ever read a piece of modern (well, 20C) Icelandic literature, and I'm enjoying it, especially the parts written from Nonni's point of view. There is plenty in here for the fiber-obsessed (ahem) to enjoy. Our civilization really does rest upon the textile arts!
But warning, you might want to read this in warmer months. It would be a pretty bleak story in the dead of winter. You will be happy that your belly is full (assuming it is)."
"The jury is still out on this book--while Laxness is brilliant at character portraiture, he glorifies socialism in this work. I am fascinated by the portrayal of Icelandic people he conveys and desire to read more of his works. I think it would be fascinating to study what literary devices he uses effectively to persuade to his "flavor of the month" belief, i.e., Caholicism, anti-religious, socialism, anti-socialism, Taoism, etc."
"The first third of the book is so filled with misery as to be off-putting, but has sufficient points of light to keep one reading until the second 'book', when little waves of beauty and tenderness come lapping up to comfort you through the harsh Icelandic winter. There are, for instance, passages transcribing the inner lives of children that are heartbreakingly acute, and with great tenderness you are lead along with the characters until their actions seem inevitable and right, even as you dread the consequences.
In general, Laxness is unusually respectful, and interested in, the richness of human consciousness as it exists in the context of poverty and deprivation. He doesn't indulge the common novelistic habit of assuming that people are somehow less complex, their suffering more straightforward, maybe even less painful, when they live in difficult conditions and have few emotional and intellectual resources. These are lives lived with nuance, even on the edge of survival, eating "refuse fish".
This book really is an epic, though it covers less than thirty years in one man's life. I envy someone about to read it for the first time, and I can see that it will be a book I will re-read."
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