Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HALLDÓR LAXNESS
Over his long lifetime, Nobel Prize-winner Halldór Laxness (1902-98) succeeded in re-
shaping the world of Icelandic literature, and reviving the saga-scale story. Today he is
Iceland's most celebrated 20th-century author.
Laxness was born as Halldór Guðjónsson, but he took the name of his family's farm
Laxnes (with an extra 's') as his nom de plume. Ambitious and inquisitive, Laxness had
his first work published at the age of 14, and began his restless wanderings at 17. He wrote
his first novel, Undir Helgahnúk(Under the Holy Mountain), from a monastery during a
period of fervent Catholicism. Laxness then left for Italy, where his disaffection with the
church and increasingly leftist leanings led to the writing of Vefarinn Mikli frá Kasmír(The
Great Weaver from Kashmir). In the 1930s he moved to the US to try his luck in the
fledgling Hollywood film industry, before becoming enthralled with communism and trav-
elling widely in the Soviet Bloc. In 1962 the author settled at Laxnes, near Þingvellir, for
good (his home is now a museum). It was here that he wrote Skáldatími(Poets' Time), a
poignant recantation of everything he'd ever written in praise of the Communist Party.
In 1955, Laxness won the Nobel Prize for Literature and became - in true Icelandic
style - a hero of the people. His works are masterpieces of irony, and his characters,
however misguided, are drawn with sympathy. Unfortunately only a portion of his 51 nov-
els and countless short stories, articles, plays and poems are currently available in trans-
lation, the most famous of which is Independent People(1934-35).This bleak tragi-com-
edy is told in lush, evocative language and deals with the harsh conditions of early-20th-
century Icelandic life. It focuses on the bloody-minded farmer Bjartur of Summerhouses
and his toiling family, and creates a detailed depiction of traditional farmstead life. Also
fascinating is Iceland's Bell, a saga-like portrait of extreme poverty and skewed justice,
set in an Iceland subjugated by Danish rule. Other translated works are World Light,The
Fish Can Sing,Paradise Reclaimed,The Atom Stationand Under the Glacier.
Music
Reykjavík's cutting-edge Harpa concert hall with its facade of glimmering hexagons has
four state-of-the art stages and amazing acoustics. It's a great place to catch a show.
