Halldór Laxness
Paperback | Pages: 425 pages Rating: 3.89 | 1697 Users | 129 Reviews
Point Books During Iceland's Bell
| Original Title: | Íslandsklukkan |
| ISBN: | 1400034256 (ISBN13: 9781400034253) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Jon Hreggvidsson, Arnas Arnaeus, Snaefridur, Magnus Sigurdsson |
| Setting: | Iceland |
| Literary Awards: | American-Scandinavian Foundation Translation Prize (2001) |
Rendition To Books Iceland's Bell
Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, Iceland’s Bell by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering from extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes an improper joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king’s hangman. In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as “Iceland’s Sun,” a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king’s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, Iceland’s Bell creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.Declare Based On Books Iceland's Bell
| Title | : | Iceland's Bell |
| Author | : | Halldór Laxness |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 425 pages |
| Published | : | October 14th 2003 by Vintage (first published 1943) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. European Literature. Scandinavian Literature |
Rating Based On Books Iceland's Bell
Ratings: 3.89 From 1697 Users | 129 ReviewsArticle Based On Books Iceland's Bell
Extremely well-written, but I found it very depressing. It was an "I want to slash my wrists" kind of book. I couldn't stand the way the people are treated by the occupying Danes, and how their love of their culture has been eroded. Laxness is such a good writer. You would have to be a good writer in order to take somebody on such an emotional roller-coaster.This was a vexing book. I'm not sure if the problem was in translation or Mr. Laxness' prose. Many instances of shifting tenses drove me nuts. A paragraph of section would begin in the present tense and a few sentences later it had quietly morphed into past tense...which is how the book is presented.Also, I had difficulty keeping my mind in the book. I suspect this is more from my own inexperience with dense prose of this nature than it is a fault of the book. Despite my difficulties
Laxness has given us a crazy, wonderful, hysterical, silly account of an historical lawsuit in Iceland. Follow the misadventure of poor Jon Hreggvidsson as he gets kicked all over Europe by nasty upper crust rotters and smug Danes. My favorite Laxness novel...
"Cackling crows flocked in the fog suspended over the bare black treetops."I first must admit that I slogged through many passages, particularly ones that concerned law and history. However, the story is interesting enough and the characters, though often without redeeming value, are likable. Even the female protagonist, Snæfríður, is likable despite her seeming lack of logic in her decisions.Interestingly, most of the characters and most of the story are based on true stories and people.I may
While I admittedly learned quite a lot about Iceland and its people, I wouldn't want to read this book again, and I wouldn't recommend it either. There is a difference between writing in great detail about hard or sad lives, and actually making the reader feel as devastated as the people in the book. If the main characters meet other people, there is little or no impact on them at all and the conversations seem totally random. I did have to look up a lot of things that were mentioned (and I
I don't know how to describe this book. it is sort of a historical novel, but it is also part 17th century romance/thriller, though these are really inadequate descriptors. the story may not seem that thrilling or romantic, unless the reader can get down with the harsh reality of iceland under the danish boot. the harsh conditions described by Laxness are that which constitute the culture and its history that he is also describing. this makes the characters and the story interesting. the
This book was totally absorbing. It sounds boring, but isn't. Give it a shot- you won't regret it!
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