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jodar's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This long novel took me several weeks to finish and it is grim reading, with little joyfulness. But it has great depths to it and is well worth the effort.
Set in late-19th and early-20th-century Iceland, the MC is a poor sheep farmer who has worked for years till he could buy his small holding and so become financially and socially independent. In fact, extreme independence is the MC’s ’philosophy of life’; he is willing to sacrifice his own happiness and the happiness and wellbeing of his children and family before this obsession:
Set in late-19th and early-20th-century Iceland, the MC is a poor sheep farmer who has worked for years till he could buy his small holding and so become financially and socially independent. In fact, extreme independence is the MC’s ’philosophy of life’; he is willing to sacrifice his own happiness and the happiness and wellbeing of his children and family before this obsession:
[The MC comments to a son:] I consider that a man should make up his mind himself and follow none but his own behests. (Chapter 56)
and as the MC later contemplates,
The strongest man is he who stands alone. A man is born alone. A man dies alone. Then why shouldn’t he live alone? Is not the ability to stand alone the perfection of life, the goal? (Chapter 62)
The harshness of the climate reflects the harshness of the family’s life. In both there are brief respites of warmth and comfort, only to be replaced once again with bitterness and loss. The writing, even in translation, evokes a sense of immediacy and realism in these stark rural lives.
There are also some psychological contradictions that feel convincingly true to life: an MC who is so stubborn and even cruel, yet also an admirer of the beauty of old Icelandic bardic poetry; the MC’s foster daughter, who develops an intense hatred for her father and yet is emotionally overwhelmed with love for him.
The novel is unique to me in exploring the ugly results of the pursuit of extreme independence: the MC bows before no one, not even before God, and is reluctant to accept anyone else’s opinions. More often I have read books that consider the dangers of conformity with society, the “tyranny of mankind” (Chapter 32) and the needful challenge of an individual to pursue a noble path towards their ‘true self’. Although set in a particular time period and place, there is a timeless and universal precept for the reader to contemplate: a view of what self-centred, extreme individualism can lead to, when any consideration of others or the understandings of other people are rejected if they don’t conform to the individual’s desires.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Pedophilia
Minor: Incest and Xenophobia
bvdelft's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I thought this was a great book, apart from two main issues:
- One scene which comes close to incest (minor spoiler:
father places hand on hip of his adopted daughter, experiences this as a sexual act ), which likely puts many readers off. It is not helped by the end of the book,which might be hinting that the girl is now pregnant from him . - The term "negroes" is used (just a few times) and it seemed unnecessary in this modern translation.
But really, other than these, I really enjoyed the lyrical writing style which was very well preserved in the translation. The book creates caricatures and makes fun of effectively everything it discusses (the "financially independent" Icelander, Christians, capitalism, socialism, communism). It is a book that I'd consider reading again.
It's a pity that with all the vivid descriptions of Icelandic landscape, the Northern lights do not make an appearance.
Readers might like to read a bit about Laxness' life on Wikipedia, since one of the characters is clearly heavily based on the author himself.
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest
marissahd's review
challenging
slow-paced
I disliked all the characters and the plot wasn't enough to interest me either. Just people being terrible to each other.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest and Sexual assault
gemmagetson's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Pedophilia
Minor: Child death and Death
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